Living in a pre-war apartment building comes with perks and quirks. From a “pros” perspective, you get sturdy construction, fairly good noise separation between units, and charming touches like crown molding and wood flooring. From the perspective of “quirks”, things are more likely to fail, including the electricity grid. One week, I had not one but two power outages in my building on the same night, and the power wasn’t restored until the early hours of the next morning.
Sitting in the dark with no entertainment is never fun, but I’ve had it Duracell M150 power plant on my desk, which right now costs $40 during Cyber Week salesand helped save the night. It looks like a giant two-tone Duracell AA battery with a copper accent on top, it’s a charging hub with multiple high-output USB-C and USB-A ports, a built-in light ring, and a dock that keeps it charged at all times. They’re $99 right now.
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There is also an adjustable Compatible with MagSafe wireless charging pad on top, along with a storage compartment to store cables. His older brother, the M250it is also present on CNET’s list of favorite portable power stations for its unique design, but if you want something with more capacity, you should consider ours list of best portable power stations.
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The Duracell’s charging dock and light are the killer feature
The problem with most portable power stations is that you need to recharge them periodically or leave them plugged in all the time so that they are always ready for emergencies, at the expense of battery life. This is the case with the Jackery Explorer 300 power station, which I also own and use as a main power backup option. It’s a good device with good battery life, but it requires you to plug it in and out frequently, which can be a pain.
The Duracell M150 makes this process easier with the included charging dock, which keeps the M150 charged whenever I need it. When the power went out, all I had to do was detach the dock from the charging stand and move it where I needed it. This is where the built-in light came in handy. Unlike the Jackery Explorer 300, an unexpected outage didn’t force me to reach for my phone’s flashlight. With the push of a button, I immediately got light and was able to find my way around my dark, cluttered apartment.
Give Duracell credit for its cute, familiar powerhouse design.
The light isn’t as bright as an emergency lantern or camping lamp, but it’s more than enough to do in a pinch, giving me time to check the breaker box to confirm that wasn’t the cause of the outage and to find some backup entertainment options like mine Steam bridge AND Kobo Color Scalealso acting as a table lamp if you needed to go to the bathroom.
Duracell also stands out in terms of size and weight. With just 1.8 pounds for the battery section and 0.6 pounds for the included charging dock, you can carry everything around without much hassle. However, it does not have a carrying handle like the Jackery Explorer 300which would have been a nice touch for added portability.
Is a portable power station a good gift?
Duracell M150 provides power whenever you need it, making it a great gift for those in areas more prone to outages. This can include places like Florida and the Gulf Coast or even people like me who live in older buildings with more decrepit infrastructure.
With its mix of high-output USB-A and USB-C ports and a wireless charging stand, it can charge devices ranging from laptops and phones to earbuds and smartwatches. Two additional models are also available, the smaller and more compact M100 and the larger and more capacious M250, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. All three come with a charging dock and built-in light.
Will the Duracell M150 be on sale on Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
The M150 is on sale right now and we expect it to remain on sale all week. While the M150 typically retails for $159, it is currently active on sale for just $99 as part of a Cyber Monday offer, saving you $60. If you need more capacity, you can also pick up the M250 for $149 or the most compact M100 for $89.
Be sure to check out CNET’s roundup of the the best Cyber Monday deals Still available for more power plants, home appliances and other products.
