When I was given the opportunity to review Mimico’s Powerbot charger at PAX East 2016, I jumped at the chance. Who can’t use another portable charger these days? With PAX East killing batteries quickly and everyday life draining power it’s something worth checking out. Not to mention one that boasts 3 full phone charges of power that comes in cute animal shapes. I was sold, and picked the panda.
I have a couple of other power packs, but they’re pretty minimal–a block about 4” long with a USB port, micro USB port, an on/off button, and a light to indicate if it’s charging or on. There’s no way to know how much power is left and it certainly won’t charge a phone 3 times. Oh, and the cable that came with it reminds me of an octopus with a USB on one end and 3 extensions coming out for the other port plugins.
The Powerbot from Mimico is a completely different animal (see what I did there?). It has a light indicator in the base that changes color based on the percentage of charge left. If you want to see where you stand, press the button on the bottom and watch for the flashing light. It will change from blue (fully charged) to green to yellow-green to yellow to orange to red (nearly out). The light also indicates the power level during charging.
MimoPowerBot™ Specs:
- Capacity: 5200mAh
- Cell Type: Li-ion battery
- Input: DC 5V 1A
- Output: DC 5V 2.1A
- Cycle Life: 500 times
- DC Charging Time: 3-4 hours
- Dimensions: 3.5” x 2” x 1.5” (89 x 51 x 38mm)
- Weight: 5.1oz (145g)
- Compatibility: Most USB-powered devices (5V input), such as smartphones (iPhone/Android), tablets (iPad/Android), MP3 players, cameras, GPS, handheld gaming systems, etc. Some USB charged devices may have proprietary charging specifications and are not compatible.
The charging cable that is included is short with USB on one end and micro USB on the other. It comes with a micro USB to lightning cable adapter. This is so much better than the octopus or juggling multiple cables. If you need longer reach you can use your own USB cable that you may already own. I’ve used both the cable it came with as well as my own device cables. Also included in the box is a small drawstring bag, big enough to fit the charger, cable, and adapter. It might seem insignificant, but if you’re carrying the Powerbot around in your daily carry bag it’s nice to have it all together. Mimoco really thought of everything with the basic set of USB charging devices.
While the one I used happens to be the Panda as already stated, you’ll find many other animals and tons of pop culture characters. At PAX East we even saw another style USB charger that looked just like a classic Nintendo controller. I haven’t specifically tested the 3 full charges claim, the Powerbot will absolutely take you from “low battery” to plenty of charge in a short amount of time. I don’t have to worry about letting a friend power up with it at school because there will be plenty of charge left for me later. It’s also a great way to extend mobile gameplay when you’re at home and don’t want to be tied to a wall.
Our Senior Editor Andrew has borrowed the charger for his Pokemon GO expeditions and has drained it quickly on almost a nightly basis. As many users know Pokemon GO will kill a phone quickly, so this is where the unit really shines. He has even stated that he’s let other use it to keep a charge on their phone as well during Pokemon GO. Based on my experience, I would highly recommend purchasing the Mimico Powerbot as a primary battery backup for mobile devices. The power capacity, quality of the product, and ability to hold charge longer-term are worth the money. With PAX South and PAX East next year this will sure be one device that will be brought with me to keep our phones charged.
