If there’s one accessory category that’s more popular than ever, it’s external battery packs. Kinkoo’s Infinite One 8000mAh Portable Backup Battery Charger ($80) is just the latest example of a new company getting in on the game. The long, flat pack holds a relatively large cell, and has a supposedly 2.1-Amp output from its single USB port. While there aren’t a lot of bells and whistles, the battery comes in both black and white, and ships with two Micro-USB cables; one is long, the other, short.
A travel bag is also included.
Unlike many of the other battery packs we’ve covered in the past months and years, Infinite One isn’t obviously trying to set itself apart from the competition. A box with a few ports, a button, and some LEDs, it’s about as plain as a battery pack can be. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but in a market propagated with some really great designs, it is noticeable and pretty unexciting.
When it comes to batteries, performance is more important than looks.
Unfortunately this is another area in which Kinkoo’s pack is just fine rather than impressive in any way. Despite the 2.1A labeling, it took Infinite One more than five hours to bring a fully depleted iPad Air to 68 percent, at which point it was out of juice. While the percentage is pretty good—a point or two above average—a proper iPad charger can fully refill the tablet in about four hours and 20 minutes. Clearly, the company’s speed claim is off.
