EE festival Power bar

[Yesiamaduck]

You don't need a charger, you just need a really shit phone that has amazing battery life. I got myself one of these last year, and it didn't even lose half of it's charge of the whole weekend

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-E1200-Free-Mobile-Phone/dp/B00871NHSG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1397578716&sr=1-1

Yeah Im getting a cheap ass phone for calls but I want to use my phone as a camera/camcorder *don't worry it can record audio great so if I do decide to surface some video for you guys to get all teary eyed over this time next year you can be rest assured that it'll have good sound* for MEMORIES n ting

Edited April 15, 2014 by Yesiamaduck

[Englishdragon]

For anyone wondering the latest smart phone batteries (Iphone 5, S4) are around 2500mAH.

So this pen that EE are selling wont even charge your phone up from empty to full.

I have a 7500mAh that I use for festivals and leave it in my car just in case for the rest of the year and that charged my phone up 3 times over at Glasto. The couple of times I went to the charge tent with friends I got another couple of bars charged on the Pack (I use my phone A LOT) so Id definitely recommend the 12000mAh ones recommended on here.

My plan this year is for 3 fully charged batteries and the power pack for backup.

[JayBalls]

The "EE festival power bar" sounds like something one would come across up at the stone circle

[Abster]

I was eyeing one of these up on Sat in the EE while mother was upgrading her phone....

They are £15 in the shops come in 3 colours and you get five charges out of it, you can't use a car charger to charge it up....

Not sure if i'd get one, I have to charge my phone twice a day...... It's becoming a landline the amount I charge the thing

[rubenz]

My HTC One X has the shittest battery life. I have to charge it twice a day for average use.

How have people found 3G at the festival as well? I'd imagine it being pointlessly slow?

Same as mine it does my head in, you only have to look at it funny and it will fully discharge its battery! Going to leave that one behind and take the 18 quid nokia. I fully charged it and left it on my desk unused and it still had battery after about 4 week! (lasted a full glasto last year with some daily usage)

[Englishdragon]

I was eyeing one of these up on Sat in the EE while mother was upgrading her phone....

They are £15 in the shops come in 3 colours and you get five charges out of it, you can't use a car charger to charge it up....

Not sure if i'd get one, I have to charge my phone twice a day...... It's becoming a landline the amount I charge the thing

You dont if its 2000mAh, you wont even get one charge out of a it with a smart phone released in the last couple of years.

For £15 you can get a decent 7500mAh which will charge your phone 3 or 4 times

[Abster]

You dont if its 2000mAh, you wont even get one charge out of a it with a smart phone released in the last couple of years.

For £15 you can get a decent 7500mAh which will charge your phone 3 or 4 times

Man in the EE shop didn't know what he was talking about then! Glad I choose not to buy one

[Sketchead]

I usually take an old Nokia with me to Glasto but since getting an iPhone 5C, I think it'd be a shame not to take it due to how awesome the camera is. I think I'll get one of these battery packs off Amazon and use that. One charge per night = five charges, should be fine.

[Hello... I'm Johnny Cash]

Getting a larger capacity one from Amazon seems like the way forward for anyone in doubt, but remember that these things are only about 70% efficient when working out how many charges you'll get out of it.

I.e. 7500 mAh will probably only charge a 2500 battery twice from flat.

Best battery saving tips are to switch off Bluetooth, wifi and (especially) mobile data when you're not using them.

Turn screen brightness down as much as you can and if you have a power saving mode - use it.

Constantly switching the phone on and off again uses a lot of power so airplane mode is a better option unless it's for long periods of time like over night.

Finally make sure Dropbox / Google+ auto upload features are turned off if you're using the phone as a camera as they will see you running out of juice in no time.

It's all a bit of a faff on iPhone but if you've got an Android nearly all of the above can be done quickly from the Notification area.

If you do all of the above most smartphones would probably last the 5 days with a full battery on Wednesday and 1 additional charge assuming reasonable usage.

On a related note, does anyone know what the chances of making a video call on Three are / if theres anywhere that I'll be able to get a decentish wifi connection?

I know I should just get on with enjoying the festival but my 19 month year old son who won't understand where I've gone would probably appreciate it if I could manage it once or twice.

[seanjw]

I thought it was a great idea at first but seeing people point out that the charge is probably horrendous has put me right off! Also, it's EE. I can just see the queues for the exchange now, and they probably won't even charge them properly.

Their tents last year were a shambles. You couldn't get a decent charge because the power was unstable and the queues were ridiculous. Last year a lot of my Glasto experience centred around me running around like a headless chicken - every day - trying to get my iPhone charged!

Not happening this year! I'm buying one of these el cheapo brick phones.

Edited April 16, 2014 by seanjw

[Brave Sir Robin]

If it's there, and if you can find it, then maybe you can use... the wifi tractor!

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-23026527

[matt1991]

My 'festival phone' cost me a tenner and lasts all five days without needing a charge. I wouldn't dream of bringing my iPhone to Glasto!

[GlastoSimon]

My 'festival phone' cost me a tenner and lasts all five days without needing a charge. I wouldn't dream of bringing my iPhone to Glasto!

Mental isn't it? Taking expensive shit to Glastonbury gets a huge no from me.

Then again, some of the decent cameras do get some excellent pictures.

[kidsfears]

I thought it was a great idea at first but seeing people point out that the charge is probably horrendous has put me right off! Also, it's EE. I can just see the queues for the exchange now, and they probably won't even charge them properly.

Their tents last year were a shambles. You couldn't get a decent charge because the power was unstable and the queues were ridiculous. Last year a lot of my Glasto experience centred around me running around like a headless chicken - every day - trying to get my iPhone charged!

Not happening this year! I'm buying one of these el cheapo brick phones.

If your festival is centred around having phone charge... you aren't doing it right!

[JGP]

Getting a larger capacity one from Amazon seems like the way forward for anyone in doubt, but remember that these things are only about 70% efficient when working out how many charges you'll get out of it.

I.e. 7500 mAh will probably only charge a 2500 battery twice from flat.

Best battery saving tips are to switch off Bluetooth, wifi and (especially) mobile data when you're not using them.

Turn screen brightness down as much as you can and if you have a power saving mode - use it.

Constantly switching the phone on and off again uses a lot of power so airplane mode is a better option unless it's for long periods of time like over night.

Finally make sure Dropbox / Google+ auto upload features are turned off if you're using the phone as a camera as they will see you running out of juice in no time.

It's all a bit of a faff on iPhone but if you've got an Android nearly all of the above can be done quickly from the Notification area.

If you do all of the above most smartphones would probably last the 5 days with a full battery on Wednesday and 1 additional charge assuming reasonable usage.

On a related note, does anyone know what the chances of making a video call on Three are / if theres anywhere that I'll be able to get a decentish wifi connection?

I know I should just get on with enjoying the festival but my 19 month year old son who won't understand where I've gone would probably appreciate it if I could manage it once or twice.

Do you have a 4G phone? 3 are rolling that out for free on current contracts if your phone supports it so (hopefully) we'll be able to take advantage of the 4G EE mast/tractor/hotspot/whatever it is.

I read somewhere that the mobile internet is pretty slow but there are never really any issues with phone calls. I guess it'll be hit and miss with a video call but at least you'll be able to do a voice call.

[EmsieXxX]

I realllyyyy wish I hadn't read this thread!!!! I have a trusty cheap crappy phone I've taken to the last 2 glastos, and other festivals, battery lasts all 5 days and this battery charger thing on amazon is tempting me to take my iPhone!!!! Arrghhhhh I don't want to, I enjoys not being in touch with social media for the 5 days! But the idea of having my iPhone camera hmmmmmm....... But saying that I do have my digital camera...... Noooo I won't b tempted!!!!!!

[WS_Jack_III]

My Dad got one of those Solar charging ones. We took it to Beautiful Days, got two half charges out of it and couldn't seem to get it to work beyond that.

[the_arsonist]

The last thing that I want at a festival is MORE people using their smartphones. God I thought this was t least 5 days where you can escape from the bullshit of facebook, twitter and the like but I imagine people will be sending their mates snapchats of what a mental time they're having at Ed Sheeran and that they saw 'the drunkest guy in the whole world' *sigh*

[UEF]

The last thing that I want at a festival is MORE people using their smartphones. God I thought this was t least 5 days where you can escape from the bullshit of facebook, twitter and the like but I imagine people will be sending their mates snapchats of what a mental time they're having at Ed Sheeran and that they saw 'the drunkest guy in the whole world' *sigh*

Incorrect - Glastonbury is whatever you want it to be and whatever allows you to feel most comfortable.

It's not the festival for "free thinkers... as long as you think like me"!

[stardustjunkie]

This is the first year I've considered taking my iPhone to Glastonbury.. and I've already bought a battery pack with that in mind. It's mainly because I'm staying in London the night before and I kinda want to have it with me while I'm in London.

I'm planning on taking my DSLR if I can get up the courage to, not sure I trust myself to look after it enough though, that's the problem! I don't want to potentially lose or break two of my frequently used and loved possessions haha.

I don't want to be on Facebook or anything while I'm there. I never miss Facebook etc when I'm there, I'm too busy enjoying myself. But my god do I hate the crappy old samsung tocco I take with me. It's awful! It's an old phone of mine, touch screen but has a good battery life and I have 3 spare batteries charged up every year so I'm never out of battery. I only use it to call/text people who are at the festival, or to reassure my parents I'm still okay and enjoying myself.

[WS_Jack_III]

Oh dear lord, I forgot about Snapchat. People will be all over that shit, especially my friends.

[Chimps in Balaclavas]

What did you all do in the 70s - 80's when you had no mobile phones?

It'd be great if everyone were purposely cut off from the outside world for 5 days.

But then I suppose you'd get more people wanting to communicate to the people at home through the tele with their flags.

[clarkete]

What did you all do in the 70s - 80's when you had no mobile phones?

It'd be great if everyone were purposely cut off from the outside world for 5 days.

But then I suppose you'd get more people wanting to communicate to the people at home through the tele with their flags.

In the 80s you'd wait for a few hours at the meeting point because your pal got drunk/stoned/distracted or post a note on the board there amongst a veritable sea of similar notes and your friends would scan them all hoping for a clue as to where you'd gone.

[stuartbert two hats]

In the 80s you'd wait for a few hours at the meeting point because your pal got drunk/stoned/distracted or post a note on the board there amongst a veritable sea of similar notes and your friends would scan them all hoping for a clue as to where you'd gone.

This. I remember the days before being able to ring each other, which fully covered the 90's for me and most of my mates. You'd plan loads, but still totally miss each other. Right pain.

[shoptildrop]

This is what I have which last a good 10 charges if no more on a smart phone, small enough to fit in your backpack to charge when on the move - it's totally spot on

http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Trent-iCarrier-IMP120D-chargeable/dp/B004CHMP50

Edited April 23, 2014 by shoptildrop