Custom phone chargers with your logo make great tech giveaways, but you may have some questions first. Questions like; what’s the minimum mAh I need my promotional power bank to contain? Or; which phones can be charged with a wireless charger? Are there any phones that can’t be charged wirelessly?
Believe it or not, it wasn’t that long ago when portable power banks hit promo. I mean, it wasn’t even that long ago when they first hit retail big. I remember when it happened and there was a learning curve. Tech is a category where you need to know what you’re talking about. There are always questions and only by immersing yourself until you completely understand all aspects, can you confidently and knowledgably explain the products.
And that’s how I found out everything you need to know about branded phone chargers.
Let’s start from the beginning! First up, is the OG portable power bank. It has 2200 mAh, which let’s you know the power level. mAh is milliampere hour, and tells you the energy level and how long the charger will run before needing to be recharged. Your minimum mAh needs to be 2200. This is the original 2200 mAh power bank charger that took tech promo by storm about a decade ago:
We sold thousands of these for corporate gifts and they were also huge for trade show booth giveaways. This was the hottest thing in promo those first two years.
Then came a techy upgrade. We were so excited about this one!
That’s the same charger as the first one, but with an LED digital display showing you how much power is left in your charger. And I still love this!
Those are OG and guess what? They still make highly impactful trade show giveaways. Anyone will want ones of these, a decade on. We all need a portable charger on us at all times. Even more so than when these were first introduced. The 2200 mAh will charge your phone fully one time, and have power left over.
Within two years, power banks with higher mAh’s were released. Newer and newer iPhones and Androids were taking up more and more battery. People wanted power banks that would charge their phones two or more times before needing to be recharged.
This happened on retail and in promo simultaneously. The next big thing in tech was the slim 4000 mAh metal power bank charger. Like this one:
The Lustre is still an amazing tech giveaway, today. Right now. The great thing about the tech category is that it doesn’t get old anywhere near as fast as you think it does. A 4000 mAh power bank is incredibly useful to anyone in the year 2012, and a decade later. Wild right?
Tech always advances. The next big advancement was integrated charging cords. These make amazing corporate gifts for clients and employees. With a Micro cord, a Lightning Cable & Type-C Adapter built in! Here is one of my favorites in this category. The 10,000 mAh Loop Power Bank:
So, what happened over the past few years? Qi baby! Phones are now mostly Qi enabled and that means wireless charging. When wireless charging first hit promo, I had to patiently explain that some people’s phones would not yet be Qi enabled, as only the very latest, up-to-date models were. Fast forward a couple of years to today, and only those who have what are now old phones won’t be able to wirelessly charge.
Of course, just this year, Chris Evans actually tweeted out “RIP iPhone 6s We had a good run. I'll miss your home button. I won't miss the nightly battle of trying to get you to charge.”
He caused quite a stir. Incredibly wealthy Chris Evans has an out-of-date iPhone! But when you think about it, for some, it’s all about what’s familiar and comfortable, and anyway, yesterday’s tech is right on brand for Steve Rogers. The iPhone 6 was not Qi enabled, and could not wirelessly charge. This would be an unusual case at this point though. And not that it matters for him. Cap could show up at my door carrying two cans held together by string as as his phone, and I'd be like "oh come on in!".
Let’s take a look at wireless chargers.
First up, we have our basic, 5 Volt wireless charging pad. You just lay any Qi enabled phone directly onto the pad, and it charges up. Pretty cool. These are great trade show giveaways, and here are two examples:
With the wireless charging pads, you can move up to 10 or 15 volts, for faster charging. One of my favorites is the 15V Hyper Light Up Charging Pad:
Inevitably, there are going to be folks who just don’t want to wirelessly charge. Maybe you want a charger that does both; charges wirelessly or plugs in. One of my favorites for that is the Octoforce. This is a Qi enabled Power Bank that charges both ways, and includes gorgeous, retail level packaging making a high-impact corporate gift:
As tech has advanced, things have gotten fancy, and a lot of people even want to wirelessly charge their Apple watches. The Watchpost is cool swag at it’s finest. Wirelessly charges both your phone and your smart watch at the same time, has a full color digital imprint, and retail level packaging.
The selection available in custom promotional phone/device chargers is huge, and the above is a curated list to help you understand the basics of each category. The important first step is knowing if you want a tech giveaway for a trade show, or a higher-end tech gift for client or employee gifts. Once we know that, and what your goals are, we will provide you with a selection of top choices tailored to your budget, brand vibe, and goals.
If you have any questions email or call us, we are happy to assist. There are many tech swag buyers with a deep knowledge of retail tech and are just looking for promotional product ideas. Maybe that’s you. But if it’s not, that’s okay too. That was me ten years ago. That could be me ten years from now. Well, if I were to win Lotto and not work anymore. As long as I’m in swag, I will be up to date on the latest tech. Because that’s my job. It doesn’t have to be yours!
And don’t forget to browse our Top 100 Corporate Gift Ideas showroom here.