If you like your gadgets black and shiny, then the New Trent Easypak NT70T is going to be the external battery pack of choice. With a polished black top surface and a matte back, it looks great but won’t slip out of your hand either. It’s perfect for travelling too, with built-in connectors, dual USB ports and a substantial 7000 mAh battery.
Physically, the Easypak is about 7cm x 12cm x 1.7cm, and is easily mistaken for a slightly fat smartphone. The shiny top surface has single button which when pressed either shows the current charge level of the pack or starts charging any attached devices. Four green LED lights across the top of the surface show the battery level, and they flash while charging. Personally, I would rather the LEDs were blue or white, but that’s just my taste.On one side there are two standard USB ports, but the cool trick is that on two other sides, built-in cables peel out for recharging the NT70T and charging a device via a micro-USB plug. This device charges only via USB which again keeps the weight down when travelling: simply plug the Easypak into your laptop and it charges. A USB extension cable is included in the box.
(Apologies for the less than perfect photo – the autofocus on my camera struggled with the reflections from the top surface.)
The two USB ports are rated differently, with one at 2.1A for tablets and the other 1A for smartphones. The micro-USB connector is also rated at 1A and while it might seem that three devices could be charged at once, in practice only two can be charged. In my testing, it seemed that the current draw was the limiting factor but I’m not 100% sure.
Unlike the New Trent iCarrier, the USB ports can’t be used while the Easypak itself is charging, though the micro-USB plug can recharge a smartphone while the Easypak is charging. I note that in the device FAQ, New Trent suggest not to charge while charging, so perhaps best only used in an emergency.
Device charging rates are excellent. With both a Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone and a Motorola Xoom 2 tablet connected, the Easypak charged the phone from 18% to 75% in an hour and the tablet went from 27% to 50% in the same hour (as measured by Battery+). That’s no different from plugging either device into their manufacturer supplied chargers, so a good result there.
Overall, the Easypak is almost the perfact battery pack and I would choose it over the New Trent iCarrier, even though the iCarrier has a larger battery capacity and can charge while being charged. The neatness, the clean design, built-in cables and lower cost make the Easypak the overall better solution for me.
Available from the usual online retailers for around less than £30 or a little over $40.
Disclosure – the Easypak NT70T was supplied by New Trent for review.
