Next up we have a small generator with NewTrent’s Powerpak iCarrier. This is a portable power pack that comes carrying 12,000 mAh of power and has two USB outputs for simultaneous charging. Not sure how much juice is exactly available? Let’s just say it is enough to fully charge a phone six times without recharging. The iCarrier is an upgraded version of NewTrent’s popular iCruiser tablet and smartphone external battery and their highest capacity pack to date, so it’s time to unplug the chargers and see how long it takes before I have to refill.
I have had power packs in the past, mostly somewhere in the ballpark of 2000-5000 mAh, and usually around half the size of the iCarrier. It is small and easy to take on the go, rather than supplying one, maybe two, full charges on the go, it is able to provide almost a week’s worth of juice and fully recharge overnight. The size is nice and compact, but with great power comes great weight, not enough to weigh down a laptop bag, but enough to be uncomfortable swinging in a pocket. It may seem like a long time to fully charge, but looking back at the amount of usage to drain, it is easily worth an overnight charge. It sports a matte finish to prevent fingerprints, but says nothing about smudges as I was often wiping it clean, luckily the velvet pouch that is included helps keep the external battery smudge free. The iCarrier comes through in a clutch, especially on road trips, with the dual charge output, it can recharge quickly multiple devices at the same time along with tablets and other mobile devices/accessories.
The iCarrier is the end all be all of external battery packs and bulky power cases. In my usage, I was able not use my iPhone wall charger for about a week before recharging. With a 12,000 mAh battery pack, there are not a lot of external batteries out there with the same amount of juice and a price tag south of a hundred dollars. You do have to use the wall charger as it does now charge via USB cable like other external battery packs, so make sure the pack is full or you have the charger with you as this is a heavy paperweight without juice. With a guaranteed minimum charge cycle of 500 times, the NewTrent iCarrier is available now for $76.95.
