REVIEWED: Veho Pebble Smartstick portable smartphone battery
Lipstick-shaped emergency charger sends a flat iPhone 5S to 80%
Buy the Veho VPP-002-SSP Pebble Smartstick portable battery
Price at time of review: £11
Portable batteries for smartphones general trav gear are everywhere, but most are poor value. At just £11, the Veho Pebble Smartstick breaks the mould by bundling a 2,200mAh battery with an excellent, portable design. Weighing just 70g, it measures 22x86mm.
Tips & adaptors
Although the Veho Pebble Smartstick’s USB output means virtually anything can be recharged using its own charging cable, this purple, pink or grey gadget comes with a range of tips and adaptors that clip onto the Veho Pebble Smartstick’s 10cm-long USB-3.5mm jack cable. Tips for Sony Ericsson and Nokia are include as well as for micro USB, mini USB and an Apple 30-pin connector. No Apple Lightning, then. There is, however, a tiny black and grey sock to wrap-up the Veho Pebble Smartstick for long journeys.
Love the simplicity
Though we love the simplicity of the Veho Pebble Smartstick, the lack of LED lights that track its charge make it impossible to know when it’s done lending a charge to a phone. Consequently we weren’t sure how long to leave it attached, though when it’s charging-up itself from a computer’s USB a small LED glows red.
Smartphones only
With charging via micro USB taking around an hour, the Veho Pebble Smartstick is best left to charge-up until it’s undeniably full, then left in a bag, handbag or even a laptop case (it’s that small!). In our test we managed to get a flat iPhone 5S to an impressive 80%, which is enough to get many more hours of music. It’s not able to feed any power into a tablet (that would require a 2.1-amp USB output), but this is nothing short of the most efficient portable we’ve ever seen.
Great for travel
Perfect for eking out a few hours more music while on a long haul flight, the Veho Pebble Smartstick offers an 80% charge to an iPhone 5S and can be used with almost any rechargeable device. Pick your adaptor, sling the sock, and wander off into the sunset knowing your favourite gadget won’t die on you. This tiny battery – by far the best value and most efficient we’ve ever seen – offers nothing short of travel bliss.