MiPow Power bank

MiPow Power bank

Worried that your power bank could be a fire hazard? MiPow's Power Tube 3000 syncs with the JuiceSync iOS app for monitoring temperature and remaining capacity. But how does it fare as an iPhone power bank? We find out in our MiPow Power Tube 3000 review. Also see: Best power banks 2015.

We received our MiPow Power Tube from GearBest. It is also available in the UK via Amazon, but it's much cheaper over at GearBest - £34 vs £44.99. If you do decide to go with the cheaper option, read up on our advice on buying grey-market tech.

Well, we really thought we'd seen it all with power banks. But the MiPow Power Tube 3000 has something entirely new: built-in Bluetooth. This enables it to pair with MiPow's free JuiceSync app on your iPad or iPhone and allow you to monitor the remaining battery capacity and power bank's temperature. You can also set an 'Away Alert', which will warn you if you accidentally leave behind the power bank. Also see: How to improve smartphone battery life.

The ability to monitor the power bank's temperature will be a nice touch for those concerned by power-bank safety in the wake of claims that certain EE Power Bar models can be a fire hazard.

By default the alert is set to trigger at 55ºC; when we first plugged in the MiPow to our iPad it recorded 25ºC and within a few minutes rose to 29ºC. The hottest it became during our testing when discharging was 42ºC.

With a 3000mAh capacity, of which you'll likely see not much more than 2000mAh (some is lost through heat generated and voltage conversion), you can expect one full charge for your iPhone or iPod and potentially a little bit more, depending on your model and its battery capacity.

As with many power banks the MiPow uses a three-LED system to show you how much power remains. Through the companion app you can see the exact battery percentage, but to be fair you're only ever going to get one full charge out of this power bank, so how handy this will prove to be is debatable. You can set the app to warn you when the remaining capacity gets down to 30-, 20- or 10 percent remaining. 

At this pocketable size and with only a 5W output the MiPow isn't really designed for iPad, certified by Apple as 'Made for iPod' and 'Made for iPhone'. It did work with our second-generation iPad mini (sometimes iPads can be fussy with slower outputs), although you shouldn't expect a full charge. Indeed, in our tests with the screen on so we could monitor the app our battery capacity went up only a few percent. To begin charging you simply plug it in and press the power button.

It's not possible to simultaneously charge your iPad or iPhone and the Power Tube - not only would the design make doing so difficult, but the lack of passthrough charging makes it impossible.

 

The MiPow Power Tube is exactly what it sounds like: a compact tube with a rubberised coating that comes in black, grey, blue or red. It has an end cap that is tethered to the Power Tube via a built-in Apple certified Lightning connector. 

Also under the cap is a full-size USB connection, which allows the MiPow to refill its own battery at 5W, either by plugging it into a USB port on your computer or directly into a USB wall charger. That's not especially fast, but at this capacity it's not too much of a problem.

The MiPow Power Tube feels very well made and we wouldn't worry too much about slinging it in a bag (or it's small enough to go in a pocket). But MiPow does supply a soft carry case in the box.

Note that if your device does not have a Lightning connection the MiPow Power Tube is not for you - there is no way to connect your own cable to charge an Android device or an older iPad or iPhone.

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Pop-up shops : new UK start-ups

Pop-up shops

Almost a third of new businesses launched in the UK over the next two years will start life as a pop-up shop, a new study has claimed.

In a poll of 2,000 consumers by EE, the telecoms company, of the 29pc that were planning to start a businesses within the next two years, 29pc will do so by launching a pop-up store to test out the market and hone their product offering.

A pop-up is defined as anything from a burger van to a market stall that serves as a temporary retail outlet. If these data are extrapolated across the UK, there will be 11.6m start-up entrepreneurs creating 3.4m pop-up shops by 2017.

According to the survey, 30pc of would-be entrepreneurs are seeking to launch a pop-up selling food, reflecting the growing trend towards street food. Some 18pc will offer drinks such as cocktails or coffee, 15pc will sell arts and crafts, 12pc are fashion brands, while 11pc will offer jewellery or accessories, such as handbags.

Many successful retail brands started out as pop-ups. Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Drinks, launched his smoothie company at a music festival, where customers were asked to throw their empty drinks bottles into bins marked Yes or No, based on whether they thought the founders should quit their jobs and launch the business.


UK burger chain Meatliquor was started from a burger van and is now valued at £20m.

• The pop-up shops preventing a village from becoming 'dead' zone
• 'Pop-up shops can save the high street,' says Boxpark entrepreneur
• Top tips on how to open your own pop-up shop

“Pop-ups have become a tried and tested business strategy,” said EE’s director of small business, Mike Tomlinson.

In a bid to find the next generation of pop-up superstars, EE and Appear Here, an online marketplace for short-term retail space, have launched a competition called Space For Ideas, which is open to London-based entrepreneurs.

Winners will receive two weeks’ worth of prime retail space in London as well as tablets, smartphones, and mobile payments devices to help run the business, and £3,000 cash to fit out the pop-up.

The competition will be judged by a panel of retail experts including Julie Deane, founder of the Cambridge Satchel Company and Cerviche restaurateur Martin Morales.

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