UsbCharging
Latest
Satechi introduces Portable Energy Station to add some power to your travels
Peripherals maker Satechi has introduced the Portable Energy Station, a 10,000 mAh battery that'll solve some of your power woes on the go. The 1 Amp USB port will recharge nearly all of your smartphones and PMPs, while a second 2 Amp port will maintain pace with your iPad or other hefty tablet. Despite that capacious battery, it's a slender 7.4 ounces and should tuck neatly into your bag -- once you've picked it up for $50, that is.
PowerPad 16 USB station charges your iPad and 15 others
So you've found the perfect solution for staying juiced up during your month-long African safari, but how are you possibly going to keep all 16 iPads powered until just before it's time to go? Why the Datamation Systems PowerPad 16 ES-IP-PP16 USB Charging Hub, of course! Sure, there's no practical household application for the PP16, even in the most gadget-obsessed of families, but it'd be more than welcome in an enterprise environment or even an airport (especially an airport). The PowerPad's maker claims that it was "designed for charging Apple devices," though there's no reason you wouldn't be able to put 16 2.1-amp USB ports to use with other battery-powered devices. And we do need to address the elephant in the room -- that rather beastly fan-sporting housing -- but as Datamation points out, the thing can always live under a counter and out of view. Hit up the source link for a closer look.
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.
Vitamin Water bus-stop ad lets devices juice-up before the commute
Battery running low during the rush-hour commute? Glacéau's Vitamin Water Energy Bus Shelter by Crispin Porter & Bogusky wants to help you get charged while you're waiting to board. The new billboards feature a bottle of the vitamin / caffeine-packing drink, sporting a triple-USB port, which you can plug your devices into for some extra juice. Apparently, you'll be seeing these if your daily public-transit hustle takes you through the fine cities of Boston, New York, Chicago or Los Angeles -- we'd imagine owners of HTC's Thunderbolt will find them very useful.
XtremeMac InCharge Auto & Home BT chargers stream music, phone calls over bluetooth
There are many ways to get your phone's tunes to your system's speakers, and now thanks to XtremeMac, you have two more. At $80, the InCharge Home BT is just $20 cheaper than an Apple TV, and it only lets you stream audio over bluetooth (vs. video, and WiFi for the Apple TV). Its on-the-go counterpart, however -- the InCharge Auto BT (also $80) -- is a much easier sell, beaming music and phone calls to a car stereo without a need to tether your handset to your receiver. Despite the company name and ubiquitous "Made for iPhone" branding, XtremeMac has confirmed that both devices offer identical functionality with non-Apple handsets as well, along with iPods, iPads, and other bluetooth-enabled gadgets. Available now, both devices support A2DP, connect to your speakers using a bundled 3.5mm cable, and include a 10-watt USB port for charging your devices -- assuming you don't mind cording up, on occasion.
Xtrememac's dual USB wall charger gets it right, car charger and battery pack ain't bad either
CES is most definitely in full swing, which means the wave of accessories is coming hot and heavy. Xtrememac has just revealed a trifecta of USB chargers, all of which seem to boast subtle changes from the norm that piqued our interest. First off, the universal dual USB wall charger has not one, but two USB charging ports, delivering a full ten watts of power (read: enough for the iPad) to a pair of your favorite gizmos. Moving on, there's the universal USB car charger, which sadly doesn't sport two USB ports. The universal USB battery pack and wall charger looks mighty similar to the PowerPak XT, doubling as a USB wall charger as well as a portable battery pack when it's unplugged. As for pricing? Try $14.99, $24.99 and $59.99 in order of mention, with the whole lot being available now directly from the company.
HyperMac external battery packs refreshed with iPad charging support
We're pretty big fans of the HyperMac external batteries here at Engadget, as they've saved us on numerous occasions from becoming mindlessly bored on coast-to-coast flights by keeping our laptops humming for a few more hours. Unfortunately, the integrated USB port -- while handy -- isn't up for handling Apple's new iPad, which requires a 10 watt USB adapter to even charge. We tested our lab iPad on our existing 222Wh HyperMac, and sure enough, the screen you're peering at above is what we saw (read: "Not Charging") -- though it does seem to power the device as to not drain what's left of the battery while connected. In order to remedy said quandary, the folks at Sanho have announced a new line of HyperMac batteries that support iPad charging, but unfortunately for you existing users, every available upgrade path involves shelling out more cash for a new pack. The revamped devices will be available in four different capacities: 60Wh ($169), 100Wh ($269), 150Wh ($369) and 222Wh ($469), able to extend the iPad 25Wh rated internal battery by 2 to 9 times, giving a total run-time of between 34 to 99 hours. Sanho claims these will be rechargeable up to 1,000 times and will include a one-year warranty, so if you're interested, you can place your pre-order now and await a shipment notification in around a fortnight.
ZAGGsparq portable USB charger gets reviewed, adored
Imagine a HyperMac, but one that's highly portable and engineered specifically to rejuvenate your USB-connecting gizmos. That, our friends, is the ZAGGsparq. Our good pals over at Gadling had a chance to sit down with the portable charger recently, and as expected, they came away duly impressed. At its core, this is little more than a portable 6000mAh battery with a pair of USB inputs; you simply plug whatever USB gizmo you've got into it (a smartphone, portable media player, e-reader, GPS system or anything else that can be charged over USB) and watch as it provides life where there was none. It also supports international power sockets (which you'll have to provide separately), and it packs enough juice when fully charged to bring five dead iPhones back to full capacity. At just under a Benjamin, it's hard to not recommend for the avid traveler, but feel free to give the source link a glance if you need more proof.
Brando Tiny USB Rechargeable RC Helicopter prettifies your desk, might fly
Hey there, has your previously high-powered stock trading job been downsized out of existence? Are you one of the unlucky ones who've had to diversify their job portfolio? We understand, so here's a way to satisfy those latent urges to own a helicopter on the cheap -- Brando is offering to exchange $39.90 of your blood money for a machine so simple that its protracted model name describes it almost in full. To complete the picture, you get a 3-channel IR controller, integrated gyroscope for balancing and a set of blinking LED lights on the sides for, you guessed it, nighttime flying. You should be warned though, the first functionality listed for this product is "decoration," so temper your expectations accordingly.[Thanks, Louie]
DLO's TransDock Deluxe FM transmitter: now with RF remote
At this year's CES, DLO gave its TransDock device a much-needed refresh, and now that the year's nearly halfway over, it's getting yet another makeover. The TransDock Deluxe maintains the same (admittedly poor) FM transmission, AV output from your iPod to your vehicle's in-car displays, and built-in USB outlet for peripheral charging that we've seen in prior iterations, but the Deluxe setup adds an RF steering wheel remote (detailed after the jump) to handle the tunes without removing your hand. The remote purportedly "controls all TransDock functions such as changing your pre-set frequencies," the the unit itself provides a "choice of three LCD colors," comes with a six-foot AV cable, and sports the obligatory auxiliary input for times when your Pod isn't riding shotgun. Of course, for $129.99, we'd have to look into some other way besides finicky FM to get your iPod jams into your car stereo.
