Xboxaddict.com Article
Limeade Blast L180X external battery review
by Brent RobertsNormally here at XboxAddict we strive to provide the gaming community with real insight into the good, the bad, and the ugly with video games. For years XboxAddict has been at E3 amidst the swarm of people and every single year one thing has never changed and that is the need for power. Every year phones, cameras, and more will have to have tapered usage because charging outlets were hard to come by and when you're on the go, become more of a hassle than an oasis. All of this changed this year thanks to one product, the Limeade Blast L180X. Originally a successful Kickstarter program, Limeade is a company on a quest to deliver power to your favorite devices whenever you need it, and it's a quest that they have succeeded in. Time to walk you through the details of this amazing portable power station and explain how this saved the life of not just XboxAddict, but other patrons of E3!
For starters most high end external batteries range between 8000-10,000mah and this is what passed as good, until Limeade. With different mah ratings, the one we were able to test was what could be considered the flagship of the Limeade brand, the L180X. This device absolutely crushed the competition by providing a product with an 18,000mah rating. This is the type of power you need if you want to kick start a dying planet. When it comes to chargers it seems that there are two types. Type A would be universal chargers that try to cater to multiple devices, but ultimately have such a narrow product range that you still feel limited by your choice of products. Or there is Type B which is one product specifically and thus leaving you out in the cold until the company decides to support your purchased electronics. Limeade does more than both these types combined. Here is a sample of just some of the devices that this Limeade battery can support:
- Apple: iPhone 5, iPhone 4, 4S, 3G, 3GS / iPad 4, 3, 2, 1 / iPad Mini / iPod
- Samsung: Galaxy S4, S3, S2, S, S2 / Galaxy Note 2, 1 / Galaxy Tab / Focus S / Infuse
- Google: Nexus 4, 7, 10
- Amazon: Kindle, Kindle Fire, Kindle HD
- HTC: One X, S, V / Sensation / EVO / Radar / Inspire / Vivid / Wildfire S / ThunderBolt / Incredible 2 S / Rezound / Desire / Droid DNA
- Motorola: Droid Razr Maxx HD, Droid Razr HD, M, 4 / Bionic / Atrix / Triumph
- Nokia: Lumia 920, 900, 710, 800 / N8 / N9
- Blackberry: Z10, Q10, Bold, Torch, Curve, Playbook
- Sony: Xperia Z, M, XP, L / PSP
- Other: Go Pro Hero3 / Nook, Nook Color, Nook HD, HD+ / Handheld camcorders / Point-n-shoot digital cameras
You will have to provide your own cable to charge your devices, however the multiple USB ports on the top of the Limeade L180X give you the ability to charge multiple items at the same time. Supporting an USB 1.0A and USB 2.1A output you can really start pumping some power back into your dying piece of gear. Imagine talking on the phone or playing your handheld gaming device and watching the battery charge percentage grow while you use it! This feature became invaluable to XboxAddict over the week due to the fact that while the press conferences were going on, our phones were tweeting, facebooking, taking pictures and uploading all of this via mobile hotspot which as we all knows is a battery drainer. Not a problem though with the Limeade L180X. By the time the conferences started our batteries were in the upper 30% range. We took out our charge cables and plugged them right into the Limeade L180X and before the conferences were finished our batteries were at 100% charged and the Limeade itself hadn't even used 25% of its battery.
^ Reminds me of the Dead Space rig. Maybe this wasn't the intended goal from the beginning, but Issac Clarke would be very proud.
With all of this performance and power in your hand you would think that this device is incredibly heavy and bulky but you would be surprised. The Limeade L180X weighs only 13 ounces so it is surprisingly lightweight which means that you won't feel bogged down when the device is in your pocket, bag, etc. It also is surprisingly small in size with dimensions: 4.9 x 3.1 x .9 inches. It's smaller than an Xbox 360 case, but only very slightly thicker. Some external batteries also feel very cheap when you hold them in your hand, but not Limeade. The outer case gives a solid weighty feel in your hands and the smoothness of the design makes it feel almost natural to hold onto and very comfortable if you decide to put it in your pocket. Some of the E3 attendees at the Microsoft booth got to experience this first hand as we sought out people who were looking for power outlets to plug into. Initial reactions were that of amazement and in a short time of less than 30 min. the Limeade L180X was able to bring a lot of much needed power to devices whose batteries were dropping their charge like flies. This caused quite a commotion when others who were tethered to the wall took notice that it was possible to charge multiple devices while on the go and do so very efficiently.
Compared to a regular Xbox 360 game case and it is truly amazing how something so small can produce so much power.
For sale now to the public you can find the Limeade L180X and the other Limeade external batteries on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/External-Battery-Pack-Limeade-L180X/dp/B00C78YJQY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371535397&sr=8-1&keywords=limeade) and normally priced at $129.99 for the L180X, you can find it there for $99.99 which is an amazing bargain considering the sheer amount of power you have at your fingertips. All week long all our XboxAddict electronic devices were fully charged, and we never had to worry about losing any power to any device, and all of this exceptional quality was thanks to one product, the Limeade Blast L180X external battery.
