Review: TYLT Energi
Allistair Lee December 4, 2013 3 Comments
Running out of battery on your smartphone or tablet can be a real nightmare. It’s made especially worse when you are out of proximity of a wall outlet. Fortunately, TYLT came up with a solution, the Energi portable charger. The TYLT Energi combines a backup rechargeable battery pack with a rapid home charger. It’s high capacity battery will fully charge your smartphone once while on-the-go.
Features:-
- Folding Plug for wall charging and easy storage
- Built-in Flex Arm with Micro USB for charging on the go
- USB Socket for charging any USB device
- LED Battery level Indicator lights
- Retains a single charge for up to one year
- Built-In Lithium-Ion Polymer Battery
If you have not checked out our unboxing post of TYLT Energi, you can do so by clicking here.
Review
Design & Build Quality: The Energi is a little rectangle charger, with the dimension 3″ by 2.6″ by 0.9″, and weighs about 3.8 oz. Unlike the other chargers that are offered by TYLT, the Energi features a pop-out AC plug on the back. At the bottom, there’s a full-sized USB port, and a rubber arm that pulls out from the side with a Micro USB plug on it. The ease of being able to plug it into the wall at night alongside our other devices is convenient. The build is also notably rugged.
On the front, a single button is ringed by four LEDs, which show how much charge the Energi has left.
Features: TYLT have designed a compact and ultra light battery pack, which neatly fits into a pocket. The design is sleek, with the use of glossy black plastic over the entire exterior body and a single rounded edge at the top gives the battery pack a streamlined effect.
You can’t beat this device for flexibility. It’ll charge two devices through its two ports simultaneously. When it’s plugged in, it acts as a travel charger; you don’t need to carry a separate charger for your gadget. The Energi charges up its 1,800mAh built-in battery in about four hours.
The only thing that we didn’t like was the glossy black finish of this charger, which will catch every fingerprint that it comes across. So, be prepared to wipe it down on a regular basis.
For dimension comparison purposes, let’s compare it to TYLT PowerPlant and TYLT Zumo.
Real-world Test: In my testing I found that the Energi does a great job at quickly getting a phone charged back up. With a full charged Energi and a completely dead phone, I was able get an almost full charge (91%) in an hour, at which point, the Energi is drained. Charging Energi itself is a pretty quick process too. Energi is small enough to easily fit in a pocket, though it is a little chunky. The built in cable is great because you don’t have to worry about losing it, and it doesn’t hang out awkwardly.
Pricing: For the size of the battery, portability, and quick charging times, $39.99 is definitely a steal. You can pick up TYLT Energi on the their website for $39.99.