Originally Posted by
colleen c
The 2amp port is ok to use with android device although I would start off trying the 1 amp port first.
Start with your phone internal battery is fully charge. Plug the charge cable into the 1amp port. Then go to your navigation screen with the gps enable. Press the on button on the external battery and be sure that the charging indicator light on your phone is showing external power or charging. Try it for an hour and see what your battery level is presently shows. If it had drained, then switch to the 2amp port.
These and most other external battery have an auto shutoff built in meaning that when there is very low or no current draw, the external battery will shut off. This feature has it pros and con. Personally i rather just have an on/off switch but that the way they make most of them these days. If you leave your screen and gps on, your external battery should not shut off automatically because there should be sufficient current draw to prevent the auto off features of the external pack. Not sure if the auto shutoff is more or less sensitive between the two port, so I would think it is best to use the 1amp port if your phone does not draw more than the one amp with screen on maximum outdoor brightness and gps running, otherwise switch to the higher output port and you should be fine.
Everything you said makes a lot of sense. I've noticed that the only batteries that seem to offer a "2A" port are the one's with a higher mAh rating. The only advantage I see of having a 2 amp port would be if you let your battery get real low. Having a 2 amp port could possibly allow your internal battery to charge faster ( while still being used ). Otherwise, if you only have a 1 amp port I would think it be best to turn the external battery on as soon as the ( internal ) battery discharges after about an hour ( while still being used ).
Colleen, I need your thoughts...( others can chime in as well ) ....Do you think an external 4000mAh battery is good enough to get me through a day of constant ( GPS ) use with my Android? Also, is there a place you can buy "shortened" cables that would be used to couple the external battery to the Android while on the bike? Standard cables are about a yard long. I want something about 6-8" long so I don't have a bunch of extra cable I have to deal with. If I can't find something that short on the web I suppose I can just buy a standard cable and try shortening it myself.