ThinkPower: world's fastest 10000mAh mobile battery pack PIC

[Nickolai]

I would like to draw everyone's attention to the following crowdfunding project that is running on Kickstarter now:

ThinkPower - it's a ThinkPad-styled USB battery bank that is rechargeable with ThinkPad's AC adapter and can charge two devices via USB, at the same time, simultaneously. Compatible with either Lenovo's classic round-barrel power charger tip or newer, slim rectangular tip (how nice of them!).



I have already backed them, but I'm afraid the project might not reach its funding goal without help of other ThinkPad enthusiasts.

[RealBlackStuff]

If they would make those batteries so you could use them as a spare Thinkpad battery, I could understand that.
But supporting iPads and iPhones? Over my dead body!

[no_man]

Thank you Nickolai. I have funded it, a product my family will appreciate.

[Saucey]

I'll will back them on payday!!!
Very cool looking unit, I hope they won't be sued for the font type!
Is that charging port compatible with the T6x/T500 line or the T410 - T530 units?
Its hard for me to tell.

Those USB chargers are very handy, I've misplaced the unit I had but it had a slow charge.... This one doesn't it seems.

[Nickolai]

If they would make those batteries so you could use them as a spare Thinkpad battery, I could understand that.
But supporting iPads and iPhones? Over my dead body!

Well, you not necessarily support iPads and iPhones. You can charge your Android phone, tablet or any other USB-powered device with this.
I've recently bought my first smartphone, and I think I will definitely need an extra battery of some sort, even if I'll change it for the device with longer battery life.

[Nickolai]

Is that charging port compatible with the T6x/T500 line or the T410 - T530 units?
Its hard for me to tell.

AFAIK, there are only two distinct types of connectors: round one and rectangular one (X240, T440). This device comes in two varieties, to support either one or the other.

[Summilux]

I wish they used a regular TP keyboard in the promotional pictures.

[jhullin]

Cool! Looks like Harry Wang will get funded

[loyukfai]

Interesting.

Could be a good fit for ThinkPad users. OTOH, with USB 3.1 coming and the availability of higher power supply, it may not see much life.

Besides, when you use this, you cannot charge your laptop, or you have to bring 2 laptop adapters. Of course you can always switch between the two.

Cheers.

[Saucey]

Looks like they had to get rid of the ThinkPower name, or that there wasn't a logo for those photos in the first place.
No matter, I'll will just slap a ThinkPad sticker on there.

It got funded!

[RealBlackStuff]

There is some stiff (and cheap) competition for that thing:
10,000 mAh http://www.amazon.com/10000mAh-Dual-Por ... 199&sr=1-3
15,000 mAh http://www.amazon.com/15000mAh-Portable ... 199&sr=1-6
20,000 mAh http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NG ... B005NGLTZQ

[PowerPC]

But if I combine the 12V and 9V outputs I will get 21V, not 20V.
Would a 20V ThinkPad tolerate the difference?

[twistero]

The only real advantage this one has over its competitors is the fast charge feature. It only has 5V outputs, therefore only charges mobile devices and perhaps small Windows tablets which charge through MicroUSB. It certainly doesn't charge ThinkPad laptops.

But if I combine the 12V and 9V outputs I will get 21V, not 20V.
Would a 20V ThinkPad tolerate the difference?

I would guess 20V ThinkPads will take a 21V input fairly well. However, one should not "combine" two voltage outputs from two separate power packs. Not in series, not in parallel. Doing so can be dangerous.

[PowerPC]

Even if I take both outputs from a single unit, assuming they work at the same time?
If not, why is this being recommended as an alternative?

[twistero]

Even if I take both outputs from a single unit, assuming they work at the same time?
If not, why is this being recommended as an alternative?

You are referring to the 3rd option posted above by RealBlackStuff, I assume? It's not really presented as an alternative for charging ThinkPad laptops, because the product in OP does not charge laptops at all. It can only charge USB devices. Also, the Anker has a single DC output port that outputs either 9V or 12V, so they do not work at the same time.

But back to the question: assuming there is a power pack which outputs DC 9V and DC 12V at the same time, why can't one combine them to get a DC 21V output?

Because "voltage" stands for "electrical potential difference". Voltage does not exist at one point: it's always the difference between the electrical potential of two points.

"A power pack outputs 9V DC" actually means the power pack is capable of keeping the electrical potential difference between the positive output pin and the negative output pin at 9 volts while current is flowing out of the + pin and into the - pin. Similarly, a 12V power pack maintains 12 volts of potential difference between its + and - pins.

And, DC consumer electronics always connect the - pin of everything together and call it "ground" (even when it's not connected to the ground). Therefore in a power pack with separate 9V DC and 12V DC outputs, you'll have 3 points of different potential: 0V (ground), +9V and +12V. There's no potential difference larger than 12V anywhere.

[rkawakami]

Just received my PowerX (née ThinkPower, before the Lenovo lawyers got involved) battery pack. Slightly bigger footprint than my iPod Touch in a flip case and just about the same thickness. Plug a Thinkpad 20V adapter into it for charging; I selected the standard barrel plug option during the Kickstarter campaign. Big LCD display to indicate charge capacity and charging rate. Delivered at 82% charge, it took only a few minutes to get to 96%. Plugged a regular Apple USB cable into the 1A port and the iPod indicated it was charging. Using the same 1A output port, I plugged in my iPad and it charged as well but the 2.1A port would probably be better used. Weighs just 258 grams (9.1 oz) so it won't be too noticeable in my laptop bag.

I'll be taking this to work next week and see how it can power/charge my hotspot and iPod at the same time.


Click on thumbnails for 1024x768 images (~100KB each).

[Norway Pad]

Cool. I have been thinking about buying a battery pack for a while, but never really gotten around to actually do it. So would like one of these, but how do I buy one? Where is the Buy button? Note that there might be something vital about this whole concept I am missing out on, so don't laugh.

[Saucey]

Hmmmmm.
I can't seem to find a place to buy it other then the original kick starter campaign, but I am unsure if its available.
There seems to be a battery company called PowereX which I am getting hits for... Hopefully they won't get sued by that company for a very similar name.

The finish is nice, just like a ThinkPad.
Havent had the chance to use it yet, it was a bit bigger than I expected but hopefully it won't go missing like the battery pack it is replacing.
Neat that there are two USBs to charge electronics with.

Now to get the right ThinkPad sticker to go over the PowerX label...

[rkawakami]

As far as I know, Kickstarter backers of $40 or more are the first ones to get their battery packs. You can buy the pack directly from Harry's web site:

http://www.zettaly.com/

Both Lenovo models are listed as in stock; barrel or rectangular 20VDC plugs. Note that the price is currently $90. Dell and HP models are in the pipeline.

Charged my pack until it registered 100% then disconnected the AC adapter. After a little more than 15 hours, display still indicates 100% charge. It would be interesting to see how fast the batteries bleed off the charge. One thing I would have liked to see incorporated is a cycle count much like what's available from Thinkpad batteries.

[PowerPC]

As far as I know, Kickstarter backers of $40 or more are the first ones to get their battery packs. You can buy the pack directly from Harry's web site:

http://www.zettaly.com/

Are you sure this is the correct site? Maybe I'm too used to ad blocking, but I had to open this on another computer and your link was ridden with advertisement everywhere.

Edit: the computer was infected with malware, no problems at the site.

[brchan]

Are you sure this is the correct site? Maybe I'm too used to ad blocking, but I had to open this on another computer and your link was ridden with advertisement everywhere.

Strange, the link works fine for me, and I see no advertisements (verified with adblock stats and chrome with no extensions). Maybe you got advertisements from hidden adware on your computer?

[rkawakami]

As it does for me as well. I went to that site in order to verify availability and price. I do use some ad blocking techniques (mainly hosts file blocks) and pop-up blocker in Firefox so there are things that I don't see. For example, using my normal A31p here in the home office, I don't see the ads at the bottom of each forum page but I do see them if I browse using my iPad.

[zettaly]

Hello everyone, a late Happy Thanksgiving! This is Zettaly Customer Care team. This thread came up on our Search Alerts. We want to respond to a few questions:

@rkawakami, glad that you like PowerX. Thanks for spreading the words.

@brchan/PowerPC/Saucey/Norway: you can buy PowerX from our official site: http://www.zettaly.com/store/. Also check out a recent post on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/zettaly) for a 30% OFF coupon (expires tomorrow).

@PowerPC, it's likely that one of your computers is infected with ad spamming malware.. you may want to give it a checkup. Kindly let us know ( contactus@zettaly.com) if you continue to see spamming ads on multiple computers.

- Zettaly Team

[PowerPC]

Yes, the problem was caused by malware on that computer, I spent a couple of hours fixing it.

[rkawakami]

Hello everyone, a late Happy Thanksgiving! This is Zettaly Customer Care team.

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

You'll find that there's a lot of Thinkpad enthusiasts here that are passionate about their laptops.

[BillMorrow]

@ zettaly..
I knew the Lenovo lawyers would be sending you guys a lawyer letter when I saw the ThinkPower logo on your first iteration..
but I just now was made aware of this thread and the battery..

it is an interesting concept you have there..
you DO know there are "adapters" to adapt the round barrel charger to the slim "square" thinkpad..
they go for about $2 on amazon..

[Norway Pad]

@brchan/PowerPC/Saucey/Norway: you can buy PowerX from our official site: http://www.zettaly.com/store/. Also check out a recent post on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/zettaly) for a 30% OFF coupon (expires tomorrow).

Thanks, I see it now. $89, plus import taxes to Norway definitely puts this on the expensive side for power banks. Particularly when I ended up being too late for the 30% off coupon. I'll look into it and see what I'll do.

[zettaly]

@BillMorrow, yes, we're aware of tip converters. We decided on multiple models with tailored sockets to optimize for end user experience - having a converter is handy when you upgrade your laptop, but there are users who prefer a cleaner setup.

@Norway Pad, we aren't fully ready to ship internationally yet, but stay tuned.

[rkawakami]

Used the pack to power my mobile hotspot all day yesterday out of the 1A USB port. Worked out to be about 9 hours straight. Pack started at 73% and went down to 17%. The battery in the Overdrive Pro is rated at 1800mAH and it typically lasts me about 3 hours of continuous use. So at 600mAH consumption, I would expect the PowerX to go about 16.7 hours before running flat (10,000mAh / 600mAh). 9 hours from 16.7 is 54% which is pretty close to the 56% reported by the battery pack. I just charged it back up and from 17% to 100% took just less than an hour using a 90W adapter.