Finally found an ENELOOP offer I can present to my fellow ozbargainers. Online only, offered on eBay at $26. No eneloop markings, so not sure if suitable as part of collection display (maybe at the back as the bastard child?)
http://www.dicksmith.com.au/mobile-phone-accessories/panason… Also available in white.
Pity about the shipping cost. Can anyone vouch for the quality of these?
These aren't actual Eneloops, but an Eneloop branded, albeit low capacity, USB Lithium ion battery charger.
You can get higher capacity ones at a similar price at your local computer store.
Terrible
Look for genuine Xiaomi's instead, 10400 mah ones were going for $25 before (free ship)
This one is approx $16 delivered, only 2,650 mAh
It's also probably 1/4 the size.
I have a 2600 mAh Romoss one that I find really handy because it can just slide into a pocket with my phone. Basically the size of an AA battery with a hard plastic case around it (and enough room for a USB socket on it).
Being Panasonic it should be a decent device, albeit compact so limited number of recharges offered from it. They make decent safe chargers, and they make good li ion batteries.
The Xiaomi has to source batteries so they MIGHT all be different, well over periods of time. Not to mention the all too common fakes.
The batteries are very important part of these devices, and anything li ion as the chemistry is so volatile and has serious potential for injury. All batteries do, but this chemistry realises it far more often. Mostly due to poor charger designs, poor handling, disrespect of a dangerous chemistry, and or cheap Chinese crap cells.
its very neat if your phone uses micro usb for charging . the end comes off and thats the usb to micro usb cord. for charging and recharging
Max output is 1A if anyone is wondering.
2850mAh so basically a bit better than an AA?
Pretty much. NiMh rechargeables can go up to maybe 2600mAh, so this is just a bit higher. Having said that, the voltage is twice as high since it's a lithum rechargable battery. So you'd get a bit more juice out of it. It's ok if you want a emergency charger for your phone, but not much more.
No, it's way better than AA. Battery capacity needs to be compared in Wh, not only mAh.
2850mAh at 3.7V is 10.545Wh. An AA NiMh Eneloop is 2000mAh at 1.2V, which is 2.4Wh. A 2900mAh NiMh cell is only 3.48Wh. The cell in this portable charger has 3-4.4x more energy than an AA NiMh cell.
at first i thought one can use this to charge phone with AA batteries. would have been good use of eneloop collection.
anyone know if such a gadget exists?
These do exist, I had a cheap eBay one a while back. Try 'Emergency AA Mobile Phone Charger'.
Sorry, pfeerick, I'm not trying to be negative. But be very careful if you are getting AA mobile chargers on ebay. Check if they can supply enough power to charge your battery. Some (especially cheap ones) don't have circuits to prevent overdrawing by the device being charged. I bought one from ebay, plugged in my phone and it was charging fine for a few minutes. Then it started to burn. Luckily, I was nearby to disconnect my phone. Imagine if I'd put it in my backpack or left it unattended! Pay a bit more to get a decent/reputable one. Cheers.
I don't suppose you know where to find a decent one please Jabo?
@Geewhizz:
Varta has this one: http://www.varta-consumer.com/en/Products/Chargers/Professio…
It has USB out (and USB in).
They also used to have a 2-battery versions which did a tolerable job, but (as you might imagine) went through a lot of batteries to give your phone a full charge.
Whether you trust Varta or not, though…
@Geewhizz: The only reputable AA batt powered charger that I know of is the Minty Boost (http://www.adafruit.com/product/14). But it only comes in kit form. So, you need to be handy with a soldering iron and it's not cheap. In case you are not familiar with Adafruit, it is a well known site for DIY electronics. I think there's an Australian distributor for their stuff. Personally, I ended up with a Xiaomi PowerBank. I think it's more cost effective. Good luck!
No complaints from me! I can certainly agree with that point. I've been lucky so far… nothing has burnt me yet :) I know the first AA charger I bought was pretty woeful, and I would agree with you later comment about the Adafruit Minty Boost - you might have to do a bit of soldering, but it is worth it. I would add a power switch to the design thou if intending to leave batteries in it, as it will flatten them if not used! You might be able to get away with a 3xAA unit if you can still find them, or there might be some 4xAA which a LDO regulator. lithium powerbanks are the way to go nowadays - cheap, light, and pretty reliable.
For anyone wondering, the Qi charge reference is to another product - some Qi charge pad that goes with this. At first I thought it might be worth it if it had both Qi charge and micro USB charge options built in. Panasonic Product Page
Paying more than half the products price in shipping kills this deal for me.