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Free EE Power Bar with in-store swap out service is launched

by Mark Tyson on 2 April 2015, 11:35

Tags: Everything Everywhere

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UK mobile operator EE has announced a new initiative which it humorously suggests will provide 'power to the people'. Basically, the mobile operator will provide all its customers a free EE Power Bar. This portable smartphone charger can be charged up at home and/or swapped for a fully charged Power Bar in any of EE's stores.

Pippa Dunn, Chief Marketing Officer EE, said: "Almost everyone's experienced the frustration associated with running out of battery and it always seems to happen when you need your phone the most. With EE Power, we're trying to help by giving our customers a Power Bar that can simply be swapped for a fully charged one at any of our stores, at any time, for free."

EE commissioned YouGov research data suggests that 60 per cent of people cope with a smartphone that doesn't provide a full day of charge. Also it found that more than half of smartphone users wished there were more ways/places to charge their devices while out and about.

The new scheme will kick off "in the coming weeks," and has been dubbed 'EE Power'. To qualify for the freebie you need to be an EE customer on a 30 day, 12, 18 or 24 month mobile or fixed line and broadband plan. PAYG customers are eligible if they have been with EE for at least three months. Finally, if you aren't an EE customer but would like to join EE Power you can do so for a one-off fee of £20.

If you are one of the above qualifying customers then you can pick up a Power Bar at any EE store after getting your unique code via text (35p). Mobile customers must text POWER to 365. Broadband customers must text JOIN plus their EE landline number to 60005 and follow the instructions provided.

The free EE Power Bar has the following specs:

  • Capacity of 2600mAh – which is enough to charge a typical smartphone once
  • The EE Power Bar is rechargeable and has a guaranteed life of 500 charges
  • It features charging indicator lights that will show how much charge is in the power bar
  • It features an LED torch
  • It includes a micro USB lead that will be used to charge bar but also to charge the phone from the bar
  • It takes approximately 4 hours to charge the power bar from flat to full


HEXUS Forums :: 16 Comments

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Wow, EE giving something away free…..there has to be a catch!
I would much prefer mobile phone manufactures to make phones with longer battery life, seems daft to have a super slim and light smart phone only to have to carry around something extra to charge it.
Shame I already have one … although two is clearly better than one, and an LED torch too?!
shaithis
Wow, EE giving something away free…..there has to be a catch!
Erm yes, you have to go into an EE store to get it - and then speak to the sales droids! That said, 2.6Ah is a pretty meaty charger - certainly good enough to full-charge all but large screen phones and phablets, and even there you'd get a good boost. My kids with EE (with me paying the bills) so she'd be eligible, but the only contact I've got with EE is a old T-Mo wireless hotspot on PAYG. Wonder if that'd qualify?
Corky34
I would much prefer mobile phone manufactures to make phones with longer battery life, seems daft to have a super slim and light smart phone only to have to carry around something extra to charge it.
Trouble with that is that manf's are also being told that we want super-light, super-thin devices - which means no space for a decent battery. But you don't have to carry it around all the time, just drop it in a pocket when you're likely to be out and about for a long time. For example, I could have really done with that when I was on holiday in Wales last year. My LG G3 has an issue that the battery performance goes way down if it gets hot, and battery drain is horrific if it's having to hunt for a mobile signal. On that trip I was using the phone as a camera also, and it was quite “tropical”, so in the space of a morning's use I managed to drain about 80% of the battery. No luck in finding any of those little AA-powered chargers, so I ended up having to “nurse” it until I could get it back to the safety of the car's high powered charger. This EE unit would have been quite handy then, although it wouldn't have been able to full-charge the G3 (because that's got a 3Ah battery).
Not clear if it includes us Tmobile (or orange) customers. I deliberately went for a tmobile contract over an EE one as it was cheaper for less data (less minutes but I didn't care). Been thinking about getting one of these for a while so will try it and see what happens…

edit: Just tried the text. Phone converts the 365 number to +44365 and refuses to send as its not a valid number…