Crowdfunding project of the week: POP is a power bank that sticks to your phone

Welcome to your new crowdfunding project of the week! In this article series we aim to highlight some of the hottest products being featured in crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Today we are taking a look at POP. Let’s dig right into the details.

Other featured projects: 

• Zilker
• Jiffy
• Long

It’s 2016 and we are seeing smartphone technology reach levels many of us never thought possible, yet we are still bound to battery life limitations. Current battery performance makes our mobile gadgets not so… mobile. While there are some exceptions, most smartphones still have to be charged at least once a day.

POP will surely alleviate some of your battery woes. It is basically a portable battery pack that sticks to the back of your Android smartphone (or iPhone) and keeps your device juiced up.

It is connected by a flexible cable that simply goes into your microUSB port. But here is the tricky part: given the cable’s placement, your phone’s charging port does need to be on the bottom side, in the middle. Otherwise the battery will be placed in an awkward position; that or you can try to do some tinkering.

Inside you will find an 1,800 mAh Samsung Galaxy S2 battery, which just so happens to be removable. This means you can carry around multiple batteries and simply swap them as needed! It’s also possible to plug your microUSB charger directly to the POP, which will also charge your device in the process.

Pretty neat, but what’s the damage? The POP is actually not an expensive portable battery. You can get it for as low as $15 without the battery. Grabbing a POP with an 1,800 mAh certified battery will cost you as low as $22. Then there are other offers with multiple batteries. Not a bad price – are you signing up?

I happen to dislike the way it looks, and wonder how it will feel in the hand (along with my phone). But we can’t deny the price is right and its functionality seems priceless.