Vaas 5000mAh Dual Port External Rechargeable Battery Pack VM50BK for all iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android, PSP - Black

We have 3 of these packs, my kids think they are the greatest thing to recharge their phones, they use them all over the house so they are not tied to the wall.UPDATE - 5-1-2014I have purchased 5 of these, 3 for our own use and 2 for friends who really liked using ours at our home or away from home.All are working great Ours are used daily by the family to charge iPhones and iPads while not being tethered to an outlet, one is always being charged while the other 2 are being used.When friends come over they use them to charge their devices while they are over.Of the three we own, one was bought a year ago, one about 3 months ago and one a week ago.NOTE - I do not use the included connectors, ever, I have plenty of micro USB cables to charge it and apple cables to charge our devices. I don't think their cable is the greatest, but that is my opinion.There is an updated model, but the one we just bought this week from Amazon was not the updated model, that came from a daily steal sight as did the original one.The updated one has a new VAAS logo, comes with an iPhone 5 charger tip (lighting cable), the status LEDs are different (one LED in each vs 2 per bar and they all flash during charging) and the power button functions differently (you have to hold it to turn off where the old style is one press on one press off).I have been really impressed with these power bricks from Vaas.I also have had other Vaas iPhone battery cases and bricks, but have been less impressed with the quality of those (the 5200 brick while smaller, has no off button and only a 1A output, and had a 2000 stick that was cheap quality, and some of the battery cases had issues).I would definitely recommend this item though due to my consistent results with the 5000 brick and the reasonable cost.My teens say this is the best thing "ever"Pros:works every timeinexpensiveallows you to charge devices without being tied to a wall outletCan charge brick from your car USB charger, wall USB charger, or solar (if you have goalzero panel for example)Cons:No included charger (this is not really an issue, you can use one of any of your USB charges)uses a MINI USB style port to charge (not the more common and recent micro USB port)weak cable included to charge unit or charge devices (I use my own that I have collected over the years)

I have been using this charger for almost a months now. But for sure this is not 5000mAh. After charging & discharging it 5 times to optimize it, I tested it for charging & the following are the exact numbers. Add them up & draw your own conclusion.I have a Samsung Galaxy Note II with 3100mAh battery.With 85 percent of battery empty, I get a full charge which equals to 2,635mAh.Then the 2nd time, With Battery at 65 percent remaining charge, I get to 78 percent which equals to 23%=713mAh. Then the charger at this point is totally drained.So 2,635mAh + 713mAh = 3,348mAh, which is the total capacity of the charger, and NOT 5000mAh.Consider these number with a fresh full recharge of the charger in 2 days. If you use the charger in longer periods, it will be less. That means that when you charge the charger in full & don't use it for a few days, it will drain a little.Other negatives are the on switch can be very easily pressed accidentally. It is also a finger print magnet. It does not come with AC mini usb charging plug & cable & you have to supply your own. I use my Galaxy Note II AC charger (2.1A) with a mini USB cable that I already had & it takes about 6.5 hours to fully charge the Vaas5000. If you use 1A ac plug, it definitely will be longer.Also product description states that:"The Battery Backup contains a high quality Li-ion battery which can be cycled over 1000 times."I am not convinced. By the nature of rechargeable batteries & chemicals used in Li-ion batteries, the better accurate number is between 300 to 500 charges.Despite above issues, still it is worth it if you can buy it under $15.00, but not more than that.The goods are:It is relatively small.Using it's USB 2.1A port, charges my Galaxy note II in about 3 hours (from 15% to 100%), which is fairly fast for a portable battery.

For the price, this seems to be a very solid product for having an extra 5000mAh in a pinch. However, it doesn't output the advertised 1A when charging my Galaxy Nexus.Android users know you can tell via Battery settings interface whether your device is charging via 1A wall adapter (AC), or via 500mA (USB). When plugged in to the 1A output on this charger my phone charges in USB mode, rather than AC. The same applies with the 2.1A 'iPad' port as well. Other 5V 1A chargers like my car cigarette USB port correctly charge my phone in AC mode, leading me to believe that this Vaas charger does not in fact output the advertised amperage.All in all, I still like this product. I was under the impression it would charge as quickly as an AC adapter, but instead it only seems to be charging at half that rate, as if plugging into a USB port on my computer.Update 12/14/12: I tested this with a variety of mirco-USB cables I had acquired for my phone, all of which charge the phone in AC mode from both the stock 'cube' charger and my car cigarette USB adapter. All of these cables only charge in USB mode using the Vaas. However, the Franken-cable that comes with the charger does in fact charge the phone in AC mode.