yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[General Accessories] vectron:
If you referring to 1.8A per Galaxy Charging Current app, that's an approximation anyway. Unless if you are rooted and using something else where in an identical setup where you exchange cables and see 1.8A in one case and 2.0A in another case?
[General Accessories] Explore3:
Looks great. I would buy it in a second, if it was not so thick. I would not mind a longer wider power bank. A power bank that was 5.7 *4.5*.6 inches would have roughly the same volume as the 2nd generation Astro 3. In other words, the same thickness as the Astro 3E.

PS The volume of the Astro 3E is 9.41 versus the Astro 2nd generation at 14.52. The power bank increased in size more than in power. The Astro 2nd generation is 54 percent larger.
[General Accessories] Ev0d3vil:
What cable are you using for the note 2? Now i'm not getting the 1800mah charge with the anker e4. Ugh.
[General Accessories] vectron:
But it also increase in capacity and efficiency, so you can also look at it as volume per capacity ;) E3 probably had a capacity of around <7k mAh (after 30% de-rating efficiency). With Astro3 you start with 12000 mAh versus 10000 mAh and have at least 80% average efficiency, plus get 3 outputs with one being smart output used for any iCrap including 2.4A iPad 4 (which btw is confirmed). Also, 10% indicator is way cooler. Just imho, a bit of thickness increase is OK because length is a deal breaker for pocket-ability. And yeah, I'm talking about batteries :D

If you want absolutely the slimmest possible battery, checkout review of Astro Slim3 6000 mAh I just posted here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2388894 - 12mm in thickness, that is insane!!! and you get 80% efficiency as well with a built in micro-usb cable.
[General Accessories] Old MuckenMire:
Can't buy this thing on Amazon as it seems Anker for whatever reason has had all their products yanked. Anker sells it on Ebay in their Ebay Anker Store as well .....but they want $199.96 for it! They say it's that high because stock is low. Seems strange to me. I would love to know what is up between Anker and Amazon.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Anker-Astro..._Cell_Phone_PDA_Batteries&hash=item4d0f5d413d
[General Accessories] vectron:
I asked them the same question. Apparently something got messed up with US listing of all of their products and they are working with Amazon to fix it. I had someone from Canada asking me questions about Anker, and I see all of their products are listed fine on Amazon in Canada, UK, Germany, and everywhere else internationally. Something got messed up with US listing and I confirmed with Anker they are working as soon as they can with Amazon to fix it.
[General Accessories] Old MuckenMire:
Just seems strange to me...Amazon is always very good about fixing technical issues and this has been going on for days. In any event none of that justifies charging 200 bucks for the Astro 3 on their Ebay store....low stock or not.

I've never had anything but good experiences with Anker, FWIW.
[General Accessories] vectron:
I agree! But I actually seen someone else do that before. I forgot which product it was, but we had a reply here on XDA to one of the posts jocking they misplaced a decimal point. Then, someone else posted later they just jacked up the price to keep the listing "alive" while they were out of stock and obviously nobody would buy it for the price 100x higher than original. I guess just another trick...
[General Accessories] Old MuckenMire:
All I know for sure is that I would like to order this damn thing already.:) Have not been able to order anything from Anker thru Amazon for almost a week now.:(
[General Accessories] barflybzzz:
I gotta say, I'm getting a little worried about this Amazon "problem" . . . we're heading into one week with no Anker products on Amazon and I just don't see a messed-up listing taking this long to remedy. I finally got through to customer service today because I need a bluetooth speaker and I wanted to pick up their BT 4.0 speaker before I head on vacation. They have no idea how long this is going to last and the CSR I spoke to said, in so many words, that I might want to purchase my speaker elsewhere. Understand, I informed her I was under a time constraint so that obviously affected her response, but Anker is getting excoriated on their FB page. I hope everything is rectified soon, because my experience with this company has been spectacular.
[General Accessories] CocheseUGA:
Thanks for the review. I'm torn between trying to wait for this one to become available again or to bite the bullet and order the old 3 for $5 more.
[General Accessories] vectron:
First of all, I just saw that all the Anker products are back online on Amazon!

But, I also see that Astro 3 (2nd gen) is on back order due to demand. In my opinion, wait until its available. Why buy old technology when you can get unit with a higher capacity, more USB outputs, better efficiency, and new indicator?

... UPDATE... It is sold out on US Amazon, but should be back in stock in 1 week.

In general, and this doesn't refer just to Anker but any other product/vendor I have reviewed. If anybody has a question for a vendor and can't get an answer right away - let me know because I receive review samples directly from their marketing department and can get in touch quicker to get you an answer.
[General Accessories] Ev0d3vil:
Hi, i'm getting a really slow charge with the Anker battery. Are you rooted and flashed with Perseus? I can't seem to get a 1.8A charge on any power bank. Stock here btw.
[General Accessories] vectron:
Which battery and what usb cable are you using? I'm all stock, not rooted. Either Anker or any other brand I have tested, if they rate output to 2 - I always see 1.8A charging and can confirm it by timing and watching % charge. But I do use either oem usb cable or usb cable from my ue Boom or monoprice cables. No matter how great your battery, the cable will be your bottleneck if its not true 2A cable. Plus I have tested and can confirm that with a number of external batteries if you are charging from "apple" designated port or port rated at 1A - they put some current limiting to keep it capped.
[General Accessories] Ev0d3vil:
Tried with the cable that came with the phone, stock, sometimes the charge drops to below 1000ma on the 2A port. Tried with a HTC cable. Same issue. Also tried with the cable that came with the anker, same thing. Am using an Anker E4 so i believe their build quality is more or less the same right?

Which monoprice cable are you using? Can you give me a link on amazon? Guaranteed true 2amp cable?
[General Accessories] vectron:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003L18S0E/
[General Accessories] Ev0d3vil:
Thanks! so the stock cable isnt a true 2 amp cable as compared to this? From what i see, its gold plated and ferrite?
[General Accessories] CocheseUGA:
My issue is I'll need it by the 21st, so I can wait another week or so but then I'll have to buy the other one. I suppose I could do without it on my trip, but I'd rather be safe.
[General Accessories] ChodTheWacko:
It's available On amazon.uk, but they won't ship to the US. @*($&@#*
[General Accessories] vectron:
Just wait until next week, they told me it will be back in stock. Btw, someone from UK replied in my mirror review on AndroidForums where they confirmed it's charging iPad 4 at full speed from the smart output. Since I only review it from Android perspective, it was nice to get a confirmation from another user who has both Note 2 and iPad4.
[General Accessories] CocheseUGA:
Them taking the US link off their website, and the apparent deletion of it from Amazon doesn't instill confidence.

I'm surprised they've limited their merchandise stream to just Amazon.
[General Accessories] vectron:
I can't speak for them, but since I reviewed this product and now getting hits with tons of PM messages in both XDA and AF forums, people asking me questions (like if I'm Anker's rep lol!!), my only guess is they underestimated popularity of this battery and really out of stock. That smart output is probably one of the only external batteries that can charge iPad4 at full speed so in addition to usual Android users they probably got hit with Apple users. From what I can tell, Anker replied to me that battery should be back in stock in US next week. I just briefly checked and see that every other products is back on US Amazon, except for Astro 3 (2nd gen). I'm guessing they took down US Amazon link until they get it back in stock.

Btw, they are running back2school flash sale with some awesome deals here: http://www.ianker.com/adpage.php?act=us - one of the deals being original 10k mAh Astro 3E and 15k mAh Astro E5 together for $76.99 which is insane deal. There are other combos, but this one really stands out with some serious combined capacity. Plus, their new Bluetooth headset is for $55 (that one has the same design as BlueBuds X and BackBeat Go 2 with much lower price, and with bluetooth 4.0 and Apt-x technology which makes wireless sound to be almost identical to wired sound without any loss of quality).
[General Accessories] ChodTheWacko:
It's in back on amazon US and is in stock:

http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Generat...F8&qid=1376371431&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+12000
[General Accessories] Sushimoto:
Anker Astro 3 2nd Gen.

Yes, it's back up on Amazon. I just ordered one last night.
[General Accessories] Ev0d3vil:
I just got this set, so far so good. Does it need a few charge cycles to calibrate the meter reading?
[General Accessories] vectron:
I think it does. Good point. Because I have so many different ext battery chargers, I never use one consistently. But I think on the first few charge cycles I noticed how fast it went down to the last few bars and stayed there for awhile. Reminded me of my Zerolemon lol!!!
[General Accessories] Ev0d3vil:
There seems to be some issue with this battery, especially when charging. I let it in the charger at 2 bars. Removed it after ten mins, and then proceeded to charge my phone, the indicator states that its out of battery. Experienced this? Other than that, the battery works fine.
[General Accessories] ChodTheWacko:
I wouldn't take too much stock in a low charged, possibly uncalibrated battery. That could mean anything.

Please use it as most people would - fully charge it, and see how it does after that.

- Frank
[General Accessories] Ev0d3vil:
Right, probably perhaps its because its still relatively new and uncalibrated. Shall monitor it.
[General Accessories] themNu:
yellow cable?

can someone say me where i can buy this yellow cable?:)
[General Accessories] vectron:
It cost $200 and comes with Logitech UE Boom as a free bonus :) This usb cable along with 2A portable wall charger came with UE Boom wireless speaker (check out the review in my signature Review Index link). Glad you mentioned about it, this guy is the best usb/charger I have in my collection. It has a true 2A bandwidth, most likely due to them using heavy gauge wires inside of that flat noodle enclosure. I wish they would sell it separately, as a replacement accessory. I would get a bunch of these.
[General Accessories] opasha:
http://www.amazon.com/Tylt-MIC-DATABK-T-1-Feet-SYNCABLE-Micro/dp/B00CH3UURQ/ref=pd_sim_sbs_cps_1

i just ordered one. looks like it's the same one, but don't quote me :).
[General Accessories] vectron:
Sorry bro, not the same. Ultimate Ears done their own cable design, you can see more details in my review http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2327283

I'm not suggesting Tylt cable won't work the same, would be interesting if you can get full 2A charge without bottlenecking, but in terms of design UE done it a bit different. Btw, UE Boom is still my favorite to day speaker. Waiting to hear if JBL and Bose will provide review samples of comparable Flip and SoundLink, and can tell you it blows Beats Pill and original Jambox out of water. I'm also expecting to get next week EcoROX little guy. The Braven I just recently reviewed, blows in sound quality - built is amazing, but that "dr dre beats" signature exaggerated bass sound is annoying. Sorry, jumped on a different topic, but testing too many speakers and headphones lately, so that's on my mind :)
[General Accessories] opasha:
Oh wow, yeah that's def different, lol. I couldn't see how long it was in your pics. I knew the color was different so I figured it was most likely different.

Also, I ended up buying the new Anker 4.0 headphones and their sounds quality is really bad. I was really disappointed. The bone conduction headphone you reviewed looked cool but seemed pretty impractical, lol. How loud is that thing for the people around you? Wrong place to ask, but just wondering :)
[General Accessories] vectron:
For what you are doing, AfterShokz will be impractical, agree. Regarding Anker 4.0 headphones (those are re-branded, I seen a lot of others selling them, but for a lot more money since you can get these Anker ones for $55 on Back2School sale), the sound was the only thing I liked about them :) I did A/B with BluebudsX, Tone+, S4A, UE600vi, and a few others headphones - it's not on part with $100+ wired headsets, but the sound was cleaner then bluebudsX in my opinion. Not as much bass, but I thought mids/highs were very clean. The combination of apt-x codec implementation and BT4.0 with Note 2 actually made it sound good, but the key is to have a good ear seal. I think I ended up using largest tips. But in all honestly what I didn't like about these is the proprietary charging clip, useless wings, and buttons on the in-line remote that were hardly noticeable and you have to slide you finger to determine which one is in the middle and on the right/left; and considering its all rubber - these "bumps" will wear off quickly. I provided my feedback after testing those for their next get to look for something with a common micro-usb connector and better in-line remote.

Btw, I'm hoping to test Backbeat Go 2 as well, one of these days if they will ever send me a review sample.
[General Accessories] PieWai:
Hi [MENTION=3996566]vectron[/MENTION]

What adapter (Amps?) do you use to charge your Anker Astro 3 2nd gen 12000?

I just got one myself and have a Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 charger (1.2 A and 2.0 A output respectively). What would be the best adapter to charge this Astro 3, since the input is 1.5.
[General Accessories] vectron:
You would always want to go with a higher current rated charger. Current rating is how much it can supply. But the device will not draw more than it's max rated charge speed. So if you use 2A charger, Astro3 will not draw more than 1.5A from it. Also, keep in mind these ratings are in "ideal" condition so most likely it will be a little bit less. Either way, use the charger with 2A rating. Btw, do you have 2013 Nexus 7 or the original version? I have two original Nexus 7 and OEM charger is 1A and I have confirmed before it charges at 1A rate.
[General Accessories] PieWai:
I have the original Nexus 7 3G. Does it mean that our chargers can only supply 1A or that the old Nexus only draws 1A.
[General Accessories] vectron:
Correct, original Nexus 7 battery can charge at max rate of 1A and the original OEM charger (from ASUS) is rated at 1000 mA (1A). You need 2A charger for max charging speed. Anker has one as well. Check out the link in my signature for all the reviews. It's somewhere in there.
[General Accessories] sblantipodi:
I read people that claims that with the 12000mAh atro 3 gen2 they can't fully charge an iphone 5.

Can you tell me if you can charge a GS4/GS3 an iphone fully with this charger?

If yes, how many times you can recharge it?

They advertise that you can recharge a GS3 from 4 to 5 times. Is this value reliable?
[General Accessories] apallohadas:
It's just basic math.

Making all the numbers round (for simplicity):

12000 mAh battery (source) divided by 3000 mAh (target battery) = 4 charges.

Again, that's just to keep the math clean and easy.
[General Accessories] vectron:
Where do you read this? Please be specific because there is a handful of other external battery vendors who like to post on XDA and Amazon with bullsh!t stories because Anker is #1 selling ext battery brand on amazon, and competitors like to spread lies about their products. As it was mentioned above, do a simple math of total capacity of the battery (-20% loss due to conversion efficiency) divided by battery capacity of your phone and you will get a number of your phone charges.
[General Accessories] sblantipodi:
I read on the comments written by customers on the anker site.

There are dozens of customers who complain that the anker products discharge by itself in two or three days,

this could be a great problem if you don't use the battery pack every day.

Read the astro 3 slim second gen comment 6000mAh, there are people who says that they don't even charge a GS2 completely.
[General Accessories] vectron:
Gee, I feel sometimes I sound like someone who works for Anker lol!!! I do that with every product I review since I feel responsible when I highly recommend a product and you guys reply back with issues :D

So, all the reviews on ianker.com page are the copy of reviews from Amazon. If you go to Amazon directly and look at the reviews and comments, for example Astro Slim 3 has 4.75 star rating and those comments with 3-star remarks of people having problems - ALL have reply from Anker support mentioning about defective product and urging to file RMA for immediate replacement. Keep in mind, Anker doesn't manufactur this stuff. It's re-branded from China, but everything has to pass their quality control. Since they sell so much products, not every single piece can be tested and they rely on manufacturers, so a few bad units can slip through. This is normal with every product. That's why you have 18-months piece of mind warranty where your product will be replaced.
[General Accessories] sblantipodi:
have you ever tried to fully charge you astro and don't use it after 5 or 10 days?

what is the battery charge after 10 days?
[General Accessories] Ev0d3vil:
How's the build quality of this? My Anker just took a whack with the cover on and it hit my cabinet, about less than a metre drop before hitting the office carpet. Will this affect its charging capabilities?
[General Accessories] vectron:
Don't think so. You have a solid charging board inside and solid battery cells.
[General Accessories] darksideauto:
I'm really glad I got this battery. I have an LG G2, Nexus 7(2013), HTC one, and satechi BT audio cube. This thing will charge all of them with a single charge. I use the G2 charger and cable to charge the battery because the charger is rated at 1.85A. Everything is working well so far. Sometimes in a pinch I use my moga power pro controller to charge a device. Its only 2200mah with maybe 1500mah of usable capacity and it only charges at 500mah but its nice to have while the anker is attached to the wall for 8 hours.
[General Accessories] yokozuna82:
I got the anker astro 3 about two months ago and I absolutely love it ...I usually get extended batteries for my phone but since I sell them often it would be more of a money saver if I just bought this...it charges my note 2 faster then the stock charger
[General Accessories] cliftonite:
I love these packs, they are such a life saver when we go on vacation.
[General Accessories] vectron:
Got Anker's Astro Pro2 with 20,000 mAh and LCD display :) That one is a monster!!! Will have review in a few days, posted in general accessories section per my signature link.
[General Accessories] klvnhng:
I'm a bit late, but I finally picked up one of these. So far I'm loving it--it charges both my nexus 4 and my iPad 2 quickly.

I have noticed though that the battery itself heats up considerably near the input port (on the back and front) when charging the battery itself. I use the 10w 5.1v/2.1a iPad charger. Anyone else noticing this?

Sent by carrier pigeon
[General Accessories] Philip:
How many SMART ports?

How many of the USB ports on this unit are Smart ports?

The initial review (and opasha's review) say that only 1 of the 3 USB ports is a Smart port, and that the other two are Universal ports.

However, the current listing on Amazon UK for the WHITE Astro 3 (2nd Gen) says that it has 3 Smart ports - and although the description of the BLACK Astro 3 (2nd Gen) only mentions 1 Smart port, the photograph again shows all 3 USB ports labelled as Smart.

Link to White 2nd Gen Astro 3 on Amazon UK

Link to Black 2nd Gen Astro 3 on Amazon UK

Has Anker changed the spec of the 2nd gen to now have 3 Smart ports?
[General Accessories] vectron:
Good question! Looks like they revised it with an updated version having all 3 ports SMART. Let me confirm it with Anker. Maybe I will request a review sample of the new part and will update my review with it after confirming all 3 ports.
[General Accessories] klvnhng:
I ordered the black unit. All ports are smart.

Edit: image attached

Sent by carrier pigeon
[General Accessories] jambon58:
Mines on order.
[General Accessories] vectron:
Yep, seems Astro 3 (2nd gen) has been updated with all 3 smart ports. That's the only one they have for sale on amazon (in black and white).
[General Accessories] vectron:
Review of the updated version of Anker Astro 3 (2nd gen)

A lot of companies follow a simple formula: if it ain't broke, don't fit it. So if you have a great selling product, just continue with it. But, not the Anker guys. I was very impressed with their 2nd gen release of Astro 3 external battery, but was made aware they took it to the next level with a few of important updates. Now, I got a chance to receive it and to confirm these changes.

In general, it's the same 3 full usb port external battery with a capacity of 12,000 mAh per my original review you will find in OP. The footprint didn't change, the shape and the soft touch material stayed the same, in addition to black color you also get a white color option. One important change was update from 5V/1.5A charging input to 5V/2A which means 30% faster charging of the actual battery. I think it's very important considering it's large 12,000 mAh capacity. Another update is all new velor draw string storage pouch which is more durable and looks classier than a previous mesh pouch. But the most important change is that now ALL 3 ports are Smart universal ports able to charge any Android or Apple device (even the latest gen iPad) at the max charging speed. Just keep in mind, the combined max current is still capped at 4A, so don't expect to connect 3x iPads :) But as you can see, I had my Note 2 (charging at max speed) along with 2x Nexus 7 tablet without any problem while still maintaining 85%-87% charging efficiency.

Below are the pictures of the updated Astro 3 (2n gen) external battery (http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN7904S-BA).
[General Accessories] myd.:
Thanks, im probably buying that one soon :)
[General Accessories] narsilion:
I got my unit two weeks ago from Amazon.ca and was happy to see they sent me an upgraded version. I thought I should test it to see how much energy it could actually deliver, and I wasn't very happy with the results. I knew I would not get the 12000 mAh, but I was expecting at least something close to 9000 (which would represent a loss of 25%).

I tested the Anker 12000 by charging my smartphone multiple times. I have a Lumia 720, which has a 2000 mAh battery. Of course, I charged the battery pack completely before doing this test. I was able to charge my phone (from about 4% to 100%) 3.8 times (3 full charges and a last charge of 80%) before the Anker died. That means it was able to provide about 7600 mAh, a loss of ~36%.

Do you think the difference from my test to yours has anything to do with you doing the test with a "non-upgraded" version? Or I might just be unlucky and have received a defective unit?
[General Accessories] valefour:
were you using your phone while it was charging? that would be wasting energy as it charges. If you were going to check it using that method, I would say to turn off your phone while charging to 100% and see how much times it works.
[General Accessories] vectron:
Exactly! Sounds like something was draining the battery while he was charging it.