Battery
manufacturer Duracell has launched its own series of portable power banks in
the Indian market. The power banks are available online exclusively through
Amazon. The Duracell power banks are available in three capacities, 10,050mAh,
6,700mAh, and 3,350mAh.
The 10,050mAh model
has dual output ports while the other two have a single output port. All three
models output at around 10W and have a microUSB input port for charging the
power bank. Duracell sent us the 10,050mAh model to check out. The design and
color scheme of the power bank looks very similar to the company's famous two
tone black and gold battery design. The 3,350mAh model, in particular, looks
like a AA battery.
All models also
have a button on them to check the remaining power. It would have been
inconvenient but cool to see the same two button design used on some of their
AA batteries to check remaining power, which require you to pretty much destroy
your thumb to press.
While the
powerbanks work as advertised, they feel a bit cheap due to the entire body
being made out of plastic. In comparison, many of the other models on the
market use an aluminum housing. Duracell touts many safety features for these,
including overvoltage protection, flame retardant case, dual safety circuits,
over temperature protection, over charge and discharge protection. All models
get three year warranty.
At INR 1,999 (US$ 27),
INR 1,499 (US$ 20) and INR 999 (US$ 13), the Duracell power banks are more expensive
than models from Xiaomi, which doesn't make them particularly good value. They
also lack features such as fast charging, USB-C connectivity and have a plastic
body. We'd imagine a discount of some sort might make them decent value, but at
current prices they are in a rather tough position.
