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Power
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Portability
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Features
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Value
Summary
Not as fantastic as the Anker Astro E1, but the ZILU Smart Power Basic is slightly smaller and is still a great bang for the buck nonetheless due to its low price and safety features.
- Compact and very portable
- Fast charging times
- Low recharge time; takes a mere 3 hours to charge the powerbank
- Low quality charge ports
- Power button is pushed easily by accident
Here at Portablewise we’re always looking to test out those brands that are easily overlooked. We’d never heard of the brand ZILU before but have seen the name pop up quite a lot lately. In this review we’ll be taking a look at the highly popular ZILU Smart Power Basic 4400mAh Power Bank.
Design and portability
The design of the ZILU Smart Power Basic is very simple and practical. It’s one of the lightest power banks I’ve come across and it weighs only 40oz. Mainly because the casing is made of plastic. It doesn’t feel like the greatest quality case but it’s scratch and fingerprint resistant and is sufficiently strong for a power bank at least.
The device is also very small and measures only 3.72 x 1.8 inches. This is about the length of a credit card and it easily fits in a pocket. It is quite thick though at 0.85 inches, which is about three smartphones stacked on top of each other. But overall, this power bank scores high in the portability department.
Measurements: | 3.72 x 1.8 x 0.85 inches |
Weight: | 113g (4oz) |
Features
The ZILU Smart Power Bank is not feature packed but is equipped with the most important features you need in a portable charger. It has one charge port rated at 2A. Which means you can charge just about any micro USB device like smartphones, smartwatches and even tablets. Keep in mind though that with such a low battery capacity you’ll only be able to charge half of your tablet if you’re lucky. If you’re looking for a dedicated tablet power bank is best to look at some 20,000mAh power banks like the Ravpower 22000mAh.
The input and output ports are fitted with a whopping nine safety features to protect your battery and devices. These range from overcharge and overcurrent to heat management and short circuit protection. All great features that keep your batteries from damaging and of course your power bank too.
On the front of the power bank is a power button that can be used to turn on the charge mode, or double tapped to use the built in flashlight. However, this button is so sensitive that it can easily be pushed accidentally, which causes the power bank to stop charging. Small design flaw.
Charging ports: | 1 (2A) |
Smartports: | No |
Compatible with: | Smartphone, digital camera etc. (basically any micro USB device) |
Safety features: | Overcharge, overcurrent, shortcircuit protection and 6 more |
Battery indication: | 4 LED lights |
Flashlight: | Yes |
Power
The ZILU Smart Powerbank basic does not possess a huge amount of power, but at this size, you can’t really expect it to. It has a battery capacity of 4400mAh which is enough to give an average smartphone one and a half charge. Some bigger smartphones like the Samsung galaxy Note 4 can be charged just once. For a power bank of this size, that’s pretty good. It also charges quite fast thanks to its 2A output port. Yesterday we reviewed the Crave Travel 5200mAh Powerbank and were disappointed by how slow it charged. This ZILU powerbank however charges about twice as fast and charges an iPhone 5S in under two hours.
The great advantage of a small capacity power bank is also that out recharges very fast when it’s empty. Especially if it also has a 2A input port like this one. The ZILU recharges in three hours when it’s empty, if you use a 2A wall charger.
Power capacity: | 4400 mAh |
Total max output: | 2A |
Time to charge itself: | 3 hours |
Conclusion
The ZILU Smart Power Basic 4400mAh does exactly what it should do: provide you with a quick charge for your smartphone on the go. The case material isn’t the best and there have been reports from users that complained about the charging port retracting after long use. So it probably needs some better quality control. But overall, the ZILU is a very decent power bank for the money.