AviiqPortableChargingStation
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Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: accessories
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! We're well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties surrounding the seasonal shopping experience, so we're here to help you sort out this year's tech treasures. Below is today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. As any technophile will tell you, accessories make the getup when it comes to complementing your favorite gadgets. Whether you're decking out a smartphone, computer, tablet, gaming system or just looking for some good old-fashioned holiday kicks, we're here to help you pick from our favorite accessories of 2011. Jump past the break to find out which ones made the "Nice" list.
Engadget's back to school guide 2011: accessories
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we've got a slew of accessories -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here! Fall's slowly, but surely creeping back in, and we bet you've already started to gather up the necessary gear for your return to the residence hall. Sure, you've got the basics covered, with a computer, smartphone, MP3 player and even a tablet at the ready. But wouldn't it be nice to start the school year off in style with some handy accoutrements to trick out those digital crutches? Let's face it, you're going to need a lapdesk buffer zone between you and your laptop's scorching heat for those countless hours spent churning out term papers. Or, an external hard drive, so you can store those full seasons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and bring the late night funny to your stressed-out friends. However you manage to make it through the year and snag that 4.0 GPA, we've got a selection of accessorized aids to match your collegiate budget. Oh, and don't forget, we're giving away $3,000 worth of essential back to school gear to 15 readers, and you can be among the chosen few simply by dropping a comment below! Click on past the break to start browsing.
AViiQ Portable Charging Station keeps your devices organized, charged (Updated)
Whenever I travel for business or pleasure, I usually dread packing my chargers and cables because I have so many of them. I've actually considered packing a separate suitcase with nothing but recharging and sync cables, AC adapters, USB hubs, and extension cords. Fortunately, accessory manufacturer AViiQ has just come out with a way for me to keep everything organized and charged up -- the AViiQ Portable Charging Station (US$79.99). Design Let's say you're going on a trip and need to keep two iPads and two iPhones fully charged and ready to go. In the past, you'd grab your four AC adapters and four cables, then try to stash them in computer bag. The cables invariably get tangled up, and if you don't use the correct AC adapter with the iPads, they won't get charged. Enter the AViiQ Portable Charging Station. It's one compact zippered bag with an AC power pack and USB 2.0 hub. Unfold the US power plug on the power adapter and plug it into an AC outlet, and you can send enough power through a thin, wind-up DC cord to four USB 2.0 ports to charge those two iPads and two iPhones. If you decide that you need to do a little bit of syncing to a Mac or PC, there's also a retractable USB cord and one of the USB ports is set up for USB pass-through. Functionality How did the AViiQ Portable Charging Station work in reality? Very nicely. As you can see in the gallery below, the pack had no problems charging up two iPads, an iPhone (in a Mophie Juice Pack Air battery case), and a set of IPEVO Bluetooth speakers all at the same time. When charging was finished, I rolled up the power cable, put the AC adapter back into the little black bag, and tucked the assorted USB cables into the spots that AViiQ thoughtfully provided for them. There's room for even more cables in the case, as well as a handy hint card for any questions you might have about the Charging Station. Updated: Somehow I left the power info out of the initial post. The product information notes that the Charging Station delivers 15 W maximum power. (5 Volts DC at a maximum of 3 Amps current). If an iPad is turned on and being charged, it can draw 1.5 Amps of current, so you would theoretically be able to use two and charge iPads simultaneously -- but nothing else. I was able to charge both iPads, the iPhone, and speakers, which makes me wonder if the devices were all being charged at a slower pace. %Gallery-129790% The hub also worked as advertised. I plugged the included USB cord into my MacBook Air and a USB - Dock Connector cable between the Data Port and my iPad, and life was good. Not that I plan on syncing my iPad to anything while I'm on vacation, but business travelers definitely have a need for that capability. Conclusion If you do any traveling or just happen to be a person who likes to be organized, grab an AViiQ Portable Charging Station now. Just by keeping all of your charging cables and a powerful AC adapter in one place, it can keep you from going into a cable and AC adapter frenzy while packing. It's another well-designed product from AViiQ. For views of the Portable Charging Station in action, be sure to check out the video below.
Aviiq Portable Charging Station does kitsch-free USB juicing in small black bag
We've seen some rather inventive USB chargers in our time, but surprisingly few have managed to make charging while traveling a painless process. Aviiq's new Portable Charging Station, on the other hand, has threatened to make the outside world a more welcoming place when it comes to juicing up. Acting as a sort of USB hub in a bag, this little black travel sleeve lets you pack and power three USB devices -- even an iPad -- with one outlet. What's more, the station allows for easy syncing by way of a retractable USB port. So $80 ain't cheap, and it won't cook up pork and beans while you sing Camptown Races, but if you're willing to shell out a little extra scratch for a practical USB travel charger, you can get your hands on one at the source link below. Full PR after the break.
