I was recently given the opportunity to test and review the Sony 5000 mAh Wireless Portable Charger on behalf of Verizon Wireless. Wireless charging is the future of charging technology, and I was happy to oblige them in their request. With all of the travel our family does during the summer, it is impossible for my devices to stay fully charged at all times. If you find yourself looking for an outlet everywhere you go, you might consider giving a portable charger a try on your next vacation.
My initial thoughts upon receiving my test device were a mix of excitement and confusion. This charger seemed huge and I wasn’t entirely certain it was going to work for my lifestyle. I’m more of a discreet, lipstick-style charger kind of girl. Right out of the package, it wasn’t completely user intuitive either. However, I only needed to read the directions once to “get” the essentials of how to use it, so that’s a plus in my book. Who has time to read pages and pages of user instructions? Being married to an IT savvy husband, I’ve learned that good devices shouldn’t require too much reading to figure out how to use it or users will move on to something easier. I find that to be true for me as well (Also, can we get kids’ toys to come that way too? Would save a lot of headache on Christmas Eve if you ask me!).
While I wasn’t initially impressed with the size of the device, I was excited to try out the wireless charging capability. Unfortunately for me, we are Apple junkies in our house, and none of the Apple products we had on hand (Mac, iPhone, iPad) are currently Qi compatible. What exactly is Qi? Qi wireless charging is a global standard to which many smartphones adhere. It allows you to wirelessly charge a compatible device’s battery using induction transfer, simply by placing it on top of a wireless pad. There is no need for cables or adaptors (other than to the wireless charger itself). If you have a compatible Qi wireless device, this charger would be perfect for you, but if you don’t have Qi, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere for a charger until technology catches up with itself and all devices on the market can charge wirelessly (can we get on that, tech people?).
Regardless of my inability to test my devices, my dad was kind enough to let me try his out. He recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and it just so happens to be Qi compatible, so I was very eager to try the wireless function with his phone.
As you can see in my video, it worked perfectly. Make sure you read all of the directions that come with the Sony 5000 mAh charger just to be sure you understand how to use it. I skimmed the directions that said to “quickly” place the device on the charging unit, but the first time I did it, I wasn’t quick enough. Even though you have to be quick with your movements, it is nice to know that if you accidently turn on the charger, it won’t stay on and drain the battery if it doesn’t sense a device connection. While lipstick-sized chargers are great for portability, I feel like they don’t hold a charge as well or as long as the Sony 5000 mAh.
Overall, this is a product I would recommend, but only if you have a Qi compatible device. If you’re an Apple loyalist like my family, you may want to do a little more research before devoting funds to a charger.
