Suggestion for portable iphone charger

Anyone have a suggestion for a good, small, portable charger for an iphone that I could just stick in my purse while out and about it Vegas? I'm not looking to spend more than $20 for it. Amazon had a few that looked good but I don't want to spend $ on it then have it work like crap when I get it.

Thank you!

 

The iPhone charger (as well as all chargers for all phones) is just a USB cable with a specific adapter on the end, in the case of the iPhone an adapter designed by Apple.

What that means is: if you go to a local dollar store and buy an "iPhone compatible charger" for $1 it will work just as well as an official iPhone charger the Apple store is charging $30 for.

As for small and portable: you can get iphone compatible cables that are attached to spools and such so that they are small (1cm thick, maybe 2-3cm wide) and still have a cord that is long enough. They sell them here at the dollar stores for around $1.50-2

 

I'm not really sure how you could get anything smaller than the iPhone charger itself, I'm afraid.

 

That is what I was thinking, they are already pretty small.

 

To charge on-the-go use a battery pack like the PowerGen. These come in multiple capacities from 3200mAh to 13000mAh for $20-$40. With these packs you can charge your phone in your purse, etc. Otherwise get a cheap wall-charger for $10-15 like this one

 

I'm pretty sure I didn't explain well enough. I'm looking for an on-the-go one that doesn't have to be plugged in..like the one mentioned above. I'll check that one out.

I do alot of photo posting, tweets etc while I'm in Vegas and we can leave the hotel early in the morning and not return until late at night...without any way (or time) to plug it in and wait for it to charge.

 

I think your best bet is a case with built in charger. I use my Mophie case whenever in Vegas and love it. There are cheaper generic brands if you search Amazon.

Here are some reviews:

http://www.macworld.com/article/2045268/review-best-battery-cases-for-the-iphone-5.html

 

I'm a fan of the Anker series of battery chargers, check them out on Amazon, they have all sorts of sizes and capacities. We went with a larger capacity one because it has the capability to charge multiple devices at once. The smallest capacity ones will only allow 3/4 to 1.5 full charges, while some of the largest ones will allow up to 5 full charges before being depleted.

Please keep in mind that the mAh rating isn't the actual available charging capacity as 20-30% is given up to inefficiencies and maintaining the battery (meaning a 1000 mAh battery can only provide about 700-800 mAh to your phone).

 

I always make sure I turn off any apps/features I don't need so my battery will last while out and about. We sometimes return to the room during the day but rarely long enough to recharge our phones.

My son uses a battery pack often to keep his iphone charged (PowerGen I think). He hasn't broken it yet (takes it camping or on long trips) and he typically gets 3/4 charges before he needs to plug it in again. I can't say how fast it refills the phone though.