Star Wars mimoPowerTubes By Mimoco – Review

The Nerd Fu crew are extreme power users of mobile devices like phones and tablets, and always need them ready for action. Take it from us, there’s nothing that can bring convention coverage to a screeching halt faster than a dead mobile device. As we enter comic-con season, making sure we have the right gear to keep us going is one of our top priorities. We’ve been looking for small, portable USB chargers that fill that need. Something easy on the eyes help as well. The Star Wars mimoPowerTubes by Mimoco are here to save the day. With these little guys, you can rest easy knowing that a charged smartphone is never too far, far away.

The Company

While some companies choose to focus on either the design or the internals of mobile device accessories, Mimoco decided to focus on both. Their stance is not only to provide products like flash storage devices and backup battery charges for those on-the-go, but do so with a creative edge that seldom can be seen elsewhere. A little more on the identity of Mimoco:

Since 2005, Boston-based design house Mimoco has fused the art of contemporary characters with the functionality of personal data storage devices, making its name known in both the pop-culture driven Art Toy underground and the savvy high-tech ‘tronic world. With a mission to bring style and soul to consumer electronics, Mimoco is renowned for our flagship collection of MIMOBOT® designer USB flash drives and our brand new line of mimoPowerTube® backup battery chargers.

Refresh. Enjoy. MIMOBOT!

Star Wars mimoPowerTube (STORMTROOPER)

When I saw the Star Wars x mimoPowerTubes hit the interwebs, my initial reaction was “those look pretty sweet but are they just looks?”  Turns out, there really isn’t a dark side to the little powerhouse chargers at all.

Unboxing the Stormtrooper PowerTube was like saying “hello” to an old friend. The packaging was very nicely adorned with logos and callouts to show what you’re going to find inside. The back of the box also let you know the same but with a little more information such as the unit’s ability to charge not only your mobile phone, but also your MP3 player, digital camera, and more. Once opened, the contents were nestled in a plastic packing tray that once pulled out, showed all the glorious contents. We found the following inside:

• The Star Wars mimoPowerTube Stormtrooper unit
• A Mimoco-branded soft carrying pouch with drawstring closure
• A charging cable
• 5 power tips to cover all your charging needs: Micro USB, Mini USB, Nokia Mini, Apple 30-Pin, and Apple Lightning

 

When I took everything out, the main thing I noticed was the nice heft the charger had. In no way did it feel cheap. The graphic was nice and shiny and not painted on. The graphic looks to be printed on high quality adhesive vinyl then applied around the tube. Personally, I think this is good approach for somthing like this. Even though it comes with a small pouch for carrying, I can see the potential for a small nick or scratch eventually. A painted surface would be way less forgiving than the piece of slightly thicker vinyl in my opinion.

Using the device takes zero guess work. The charger came pretty much drained (red indicator light) which made it perfect for finding out long it would take to charge itself. I used the micro USB tip with the charging cable and connected it to my computer. In a little under two hours I achieved a full charge (blue indicator light). That really isn’t a bad charge time at all, plus the Star Wars mimoPowerTube never felt hot as these devices usually can be while charging. When I used it on my iPhone 6 Plus, the charge time was almost the same as charging the device itself, though I never let my phone die completely…but close. Something that the PowerTube has in common with most of these portable USB chargers – the time it takes to charge your smartphone really depends on how much battery is left on the phone itself, which is normal. There really isn’t a way to tell how much juice is left in the charger but you can always plug it in to check. Once fully used a first time, it was comforting to know that the Star Wars mimoPowerTube still had some charging power left.

The Verdict

For me, the Star Wars mimo PowerTube – Stormtrooper hit all the points I was looking for in a super portable USB charger: compact size (literally fits inside the palm of your hand), offers over one full charge (1.5x is pretty accurate as the box says), a quick charge time, and multiple device charging options. Add all those perks up along with a $30 price tag and these little guys are tough to pass up. With the Star Wars lineup, you can choose from the Stormtrooper, Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber, C-3PO, Darth Vader and recent additions R2-D2, Yoda, Boba Fett, and Darth Vader’s Lightsaber.

WHERE TO GET THE STAR WARS MIMO POWERTUBES

Purchase your favorite Star Wars PowerTube (or any of the other 18 Tube designs) at

• Mimoco.com
• ThinkGeek 

For small and reliable power on-the-go……..the Star Wars mimoPowerTube are USB chargers you’ve been looking for.