MiLi Power Shine

First we wanted our smartphones to be powerful. Then we wanted our smartphones to be thin. Finally, we wanted them to have giant displays, GPS, and constant, high-speed connectivity. Sounds perfect? Well the bubble has burst. All that power in a svelte package comes at a price: battery lifespans measured in hours, not days. Remember when we charged our phones every other night? Those days are now long gone. A mid-day charge, once unthinkable, is now essential.

And so we now see a torrent of third party power options for every smartphone under the sun. One of the more progressive manufacturers is MiLi, who carries a variety of portable power solutions. Today we’re looking at the MiLi PowerShine, a slim powerbank that has a capacity of 4,000 mAh. Let’s break down the PowerShine:

Form Factor
These days, there are power solutions that come in the form of tubes, smartphone cases, keychains and more. For the PowerShine, MiLi has elected to follow the same rough size and shape of a smartphone.

The PowerShine is about the size and slimness of an HTC Wilfdire S — a little bit smaller and a bit thicker than an iPhone 4/4S.

At first glance, you might think the PowerShine was something designed by HTC, which is a good thing. I particularly love the way the USB ports angle out like exhausts in a sports car. Despite the plastic all around, it doesn’t look cheap or flimsy.

Connectivity
The Powershine itself has two USB “out” ports that can connect to external devices, while a micro-USB “in” port serves as your charger. This baby charges via USB — no wall charger included.

There are three cable connectors. The micro-USB connector does double-duty: you can either plug the USB end into your main device to charge the Powershine via its Micro-USB “in”, or flip it around and plug the USB end into the “out” port of the Powershine and into your micro-USB smartphone.

There are also adapters for the iPhone/iPad and the Galaxy Tab. While this may be a concern to those with old-school devices or non-standard ports, the truth is if you have the requisite USB cables you can charge anything with it.

“Power … Unlimited Power”
Well, not quite, but it does acquit itself fairly well considering the form factor. The box claims that it can fuel a smartphone for 26 hours of data, 34 hours of talk, or 90 hours of media listening (the headphone icon seems to indicate music).

Realistically, let’s talk about the PoweShines 4,000 mAh capacity, when compared against the battery capacities of a few current-generation devices it’s meant to charge.

• The iPhone 4S: 1,432 mAh. The Powershine can (in theory) provide 2.79 full charges.
• The Samsung Galaxy Nexus: 1,750 mAh. Looking at 2.28 full charges.
• The Samsung Galaxy Note: 2,500 mAh. We’re expecting to get 1.6 full charges.
• Finally, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 with a 6,000 mAh battery. While not really meant for tablet charging, the

PowerShine should still be able to get a 2/3 discharged tablet back to a full charge.

If you need to find out how much juice is still in the juicer, the PowerShine features a handy button on one corner of the device which displays a little LED battery indicator.

Verdict
The MiLi PowerShine looks good and does what it’s supposed to: help your gadgets go the extra mile.

One thing that’s quite admirable about the device is that you don’t really need any proprietary cables to operate it. You can charge the PowerShine with any micro-USB charger, and charge your devices through the USB ports. In a world where I’m carrying too many cables already, that’s a relief.

Finally, the 4,000 mAh capacity is more than enough to get one or two smartphones through the day. I never liked the idea of throttling down my smartphone power options to get it through the day. With the PowerShine, that’s not an issue.

I consider it a proud addition to my man-purse.

Pricing and Availability
SRP is Php3,650. Now available in various Apple Reseller Stores like Digital Hub and Beyond the Box. You can also order via their Multiply Page. You can also post inquiries on the MiLi Philippines Facebook page. 🙂