The EE Power Bar can hold 2,600mAh of charge which is sufficient to give most phones a 75-100 percent charge. Offered for free to EE customers via a promotional code obtained via text, owners can pop into any EE store to exchange an empty Power Bar for a full one while on the go.
The idea has proven to be exceptionally popular. Engadget reports EE received 1 million requests for the pocket-sized charger in just four days.
EE now has no Power Bars left to give out. Writing on the company’s community forums, a team member explains that people who already have a code for a Power Bar will be able to pick it up from a store this week, but no new units will be coming in for a couple of months.
A note on the forum highlights how popular the offer has been, saying “We had five times more requests in the first 24 hours of the promotion than even the most popular smartphone launch in the UK and visits to store were up as much as 300% over the weekend.”
Stock of remaining units is being moved around the country to fill the largest stores to ensure that people who already have their code will be able to collect the charger.
The Power Bar will be generally available again from the end of June. Customers will be able to text in to get their code from June 24th once the company has completed stock replenishment in a “power pause.”
The in-store swap scheme is still running despite the shortage of chargers. If you run out of power while texting around town, head to a local EE store to pick up a full 2,600mAh.
The Power Bar is a rare example of a mobile operator giving something genuinely useful for free to customers. Despite smartphone batteries getting larger and larger, having more power available is always a good thing.
