We’ve all had that dreaded moment when you look and notice the battery bar on your mobile flashing red numbers at you giving you only moments to figure out that your phone is about to lose all battery life before the screen goes blank. With the creation of solar power panel charges for mobile phones came the realisation that mobile charging would be useful for a wide audience. Mobile network provider EE decided to address this by offering all of their users a free portable backup battery, the Power Bar. The problem with the power bar was that the device was recalled over health and safety issues and now it would seem like EE have no intention of bringing the product back to the market.
While owners of Power Bar units could walk into a store and exchange their empty charger for a fully charged one, EE suffered one major flaw from the device. The flaw in question was that some units were actually overheating, and while something a little hot in your pocket may not be a concern there were examples where a Power Bar could burst into flames or even explode while charging. This issue made EE call a general recall on their Power Bars, offering a financial reward for any units returned to their stores.
The power bars won’t be making a return as revealed by an EE spokesperson who stated that:
Our EE Power Bar promotion had a hugely positive response from our customers, however after careful consideration we’ve decided not to bring it back. We still sell a wide range of chargers and power packs to keep our customer connected. We’ll share news shortly about ways to stay connected at Glastonbury and the summer festival season, as well as some exciting new loyalty offers throughout the summer.
This means that if you want a backup battery for your phone, tablet or handheld console you’ll have to deal without the free power bar units and instead invest in one of the many that are now available on the market, and for obvious health and safety reasons, the cheapest may not be the best product on the market.
