This is one tough mofo – I mean, Mojo.
Yes, the ibattz Mojo Battstation Tough Dual Pro external battery is just as big, heavy and rugged as its name is long. Coming in a tad shy of half a pound, this power bank is not exactly pocketable, though it is definitely portable. So if you do need to recharge your personal gadgets on a long trip and carry the most powerful battery you can still comfortably fit in a gear bag, the Mojo with its whopping 8400mAh capacity deserves consideration. Let’s take a closer look.
Out of the box, the Mojo comes wrapped in an impressively heavy-duty casing of silicone rubber that looks like it’ll soak up any abuse you might want to throw at it. The surface is adorned with what looks like a tribal design or a ninja star or something, I’m not quite sure what. The net effect: with this sheath, it looks like a battery charger that Sylvester Stallone would keep in the glove compartment of his Humvee. ibattz says this thing will withstand the occasional impact or splash of water, and yeah, I’d believe it.
I have to admit: I was a little confused as I turned the weighty solid black rubber chunk over and over in my hands – I didn’t see any ports! Then I realized that I needed to peel back a couple of rubber flaps with my fingernail – aha, there they are! There are a pair of USB ports into which you plug your gadgets; both output the standard 5V but one pushes power out at 1A while the other one runs at a more sedate 0.5A. You can use both ports simultaneously.
Take note though: neither port is powerful enough to slake the thirst of current iPads which are used to seeing 2A. When asked, the owner of ibattz explained to Technoodling that a 2A output would generate too much heat and not be energy efficient; the 1A output is thus a compromise between speed and battery drain. In simple English: this means your iPad will still charge, just not as quickly as if you used the stock 2A/10 watt Apple power charger.
For whatever it’s worth, the Mojo also has an LED flashlight built into it. I’m sure that might come in handy one of these days – I’ll let you know if ever I use it.
After a day or two of carrying the Battstation around in my gear bag, I wondered if I could manage to make it fit better into the bag’s front pocket by stripping off the rubber case. I have to say, it fits a lot better into my bag once the sheath came off it. It’s sort of like a portable hard drive in shape, size and appearance.
In actual use, the 8400mAH capacity and dual ports are a godsend for any road warrior armed with multiple gadgets. During an after-hours meeting out of the office, I was glad to be able to simultaneously plug in my nearly drained Galaxy S3 and my Nexus 7 to boost them back up to a point where they would last me til I got home. And even after doing so, the Battstation still showed half capacity on its gauge.
Admittedly, this might be too much battery for some. If all you need is the occasional top-up, there are much smaller and more portable battery packs on the market. But they would be hard pressed to compare with the Battstation’s very reasonable price of P2,550 which, for an 8400mAH dual port battery, is quite impressive. And if your lifestyle or line of work somehow demands a power source that is splash resistant, shock resistant, and comes with a flashlight, why then, this is perfect!
Price:
8,400mAH = Php 2,550
7,200mAH = Php 2,150
Availability:
All Digital Hub, Digital Walker and Beyond the Box outlets
