Ventev Powercell 3015 External Battery Review and Giveaway

The Ventev Powercell 3015 External Battery is not the most powerful external battery we’ve reviewed, but its small size, light weight, and low-price make it a good option if you are looking for something inexpensive that will keep you from running out of juice three-quarters of the way through the day. Here’s our review and a chance to win one.

As we have seen with other products from Ventev, the packaging is nothing to get excited about. That’s really not an issue, since this is all about having the practicality of a small, light, inexpensive external battery. Fancy packaging would simply add to the waste and perhaps to the price. The battery comes in two colors – gray/orange and white/light gray, and it includes the battery, some paperwork, and a USB-to-microUSB charging cable.

There’s nothing fancy about this battery. It doesn’t include a flashlight or any bells and whistles. This is all about the battery and the functionality you get. The plastic is rather shiny and feels high-quality. The company name is splashed across the lower portion of one side.

On one end you’ll find the full-size USB charging port, which allows the 3000mAh lithium-ion battery to charge an external device at a maximum charge rate of 1.5A. If you are charging a device that uses a micro USB charging port, then you can use the included cable. If, on the other hand, you are looking to charge an iOS device, you’ll want to bring your lightning cable with you.

The other end of the Ventev PowerCell 3015 External Battery is the micro USB port; this is used for charging the battery. Since it doesn’t ship with a wall adapter, you’ll want to plug the included cable into a computer or into a wall adapter that you provide.

Despite being a bare-bones battery, it does include a power indicator light, which consists of four LEDs and a power button that activates them. I don’t really consider this a “bell and whistle”, since knowing how much charge the battery contains is a fundamental aspect of any external battery.

Pressing the button to the right of the LEDs activate them. I was pleased to discover that the battery ships with a full charge already waiting to bail you out of a potential disaster.

Video Review of the Ventev Powercell 3015 External Battery

 

In all, this isn’t the most impressive external battery we’ve reviewed, but for $34.99 it certainly gets the job done. It is a simple accessory that comes at an affordable price. This is the kind of product that would make a great stocking stuffer, and it is easy enough to purchase and throw into your gear bag. Once there you can forget about it until you actually find yourself in need of the extra charge it provides. When you do use it, you’ll find that it gives you an extra 12 hours or so of talk time. Having been in Chicago for the day earlier this week and finding myself low on charge, this would have been handy. But of course, yet again, when I actually needed an external battery I had neglected to bring one along. I’m headed to Dallas on Sunday, and I won’t be making that mistake again.

You can learn more and order yours here. You can, however, win a brand-new review sample by simply watching the video and following the directions toward the end.

Source: Manufacture supplied review samples of the Ventev PowerCell 3015 External Battery

What I Like: inexpensive; simple to use; small and light; includes charge indication system

What Needs Improvement: Output of 1.5A; far smaller capacity than many of the batteries we’ve reviewed in recent months