EMIE Power Blade Review – Great Back-to-School or Work Portable Battery

There are literally thousands upon thousands of portable batteries in the market. From ultra-high capacity to solar-powered to some with crazy designs, the choices are practically limitless. So why the heck would I be writing a review about another portable battery solution for your smartphone or tablet? Well, this one really jumped out at me because of its design. The EMIE Power Blade is different. It’s unique. And I feel it’s a great back-to-school gadget (or a nice addition to a worker’s tool chest).

First, in full disclosure, this is a sponsored review. But, I don’t usually agree to do sponsored articles on anything. The product or service must be compelling and interesting and not run-of-the-mill. While I may be chosen to write about something, there are times where I don’t feel that the product or service fits into what my audience is expecting. In this particular case, I did feel that the EMIE Power Blade fell into that niche of technology and parenting, and it was something that I felt warranted additional coverage.

Below is a video review of the EMIE Power Blade portable battery in case you don’t want to read the rest of this review.

It’s funny though. As soon as I mentioned the words “back to school,” I received a chorus of groans from my daughters. Yes, the school year starts only in a few weeks, despite the complaints of my girls, and parents need to start thinking about school supplies needed for a successful school year. This includes pens, paper, binders and yes, even gadgets. While many schools prohibit the use of tablets or smartphones during class time, I personally believe they are important to have while at school, provided they don’t pose a distraction. Smartphones, for example, are useful for school pickups or coordinating after-school activities. If the smartphone is dead without power, it doesn’t do much good. That is where a portable battery can literally be a life-saver.

The problem with school also is that often kids lug around backpacks full of books, binders and supplies. By the end of the day, their backs are aching. So adding another item to their overloaded bags might not be the best thing. But that is why I’m actually reviewing the EMIE Power Blade. There are several features of this portable battery that are great for students (and adults).

Great Back-to-School Features of the EMIE Power Blade

Briefly, here are the features that really stand out to me about the EMIE Power Blade, making it great for school (from elementary through college) as well as in the workplace:

• It’s lightweight
• It’s thin and small
• Its design is convenient
• It’s powerful
• It’s useful

Yes, carrying around a battery can weigh you down. This is an important factor when shopping for a portable battery charger. And here, the EMIE Power Blade is definitely a contender in the lightweight division. Weighing in at just 300 grams, you or your child will barely notice the difference. For comparison, the iPhone 6 Plus weights 172 grams, about half as much. A can of soda weighs more, at least 368 grams.

Just as important as weight are the dimensions. Frequently, portable batteries come in mini “brick” sizes or other awkward shapes and sizes. The design of the EMIE Power Blade (which I talk about later) allows it to have very compelling dimensions. Let’s start with how thick it is. It’s only 5.2 mm thin. Apple’s latest iPad Air 2 is 6.1 mm thin in comparison. The EMIE Power Blade is 213 mm long and 140 mm wide. It’s tiny.

Ok, so why is the design important? Well, the EMIE Power Blade also has binder holes built into one of the edges. It is truly designed to be clipped into any type of binder, large or small. There are a variety of holes to allow for a variety of binder rings, like a standard A5 binder book. But it can also be potentially clipped into day planners or work portfolios. And because it is so thin, it really doesn’t add much bulk to the binder. The finish is a sturdy aluminum alloy which is nice to the touch. Also, because of the thin nature of the design, you need to pull the USB ports back slightly to widen the hole for the USB cable. This allows the design to remain thin. (See the video for more on this.)

So the design is nice and tiny. But does it still pack pretty good power? I think so. It is an 8000 mAh battery which means it can charge a couple of smartphones or tablets (depending on size and capacity) a couple of times. You charge it using the included micro USB cable plugged into a laptop or other power supply which is not included (or any micro USB cable for that matter). And it has two full-sized USB output ports. These are fast charging 2.1A ports which are great for tablets and larger smartphones. There are LED lights that indicate the charge level of the battery as well.

If you combine all of the above factors together, you can hopefully understand why the EMIE Power Blade is so compelling and useful. It’s easy to carry around in a binder due to its light weight and small form factor, yet it packs enough power to be able to charge devices a couple of times, making it practically a necessity.

I feel that the EMIE Power Blade is reasonably priced at around $80 (you can also get it on Amazon for $79.00). So if you are already doing back-to-school shopping (cue the groans from your kids) or looking for a useful gadget for work, you may want to have the EMIE Power Blade on your list.

Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page.

HTD says: I was quite impressed with the size, weight and design of the EMIE Power Blade. I have a feeling my kids will be trying to steal it from me for their school gadget power needs!

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Apollo Box. The opinions and text are all mine.