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Native Union Eclipse 3 port charger review

I’m pretty good about charging my phone throughout the day, and with wireless charging now included on more phones it’s easier than ever to stay charged. Inevitably though, I’m actively using my phone or other non-wireless-charging device when I really need a charge. My solution has been to strategically place cables around the house. It gets the job done, but the result is a visual mess (cables never getting put away), or the cables get into a fight with the Roomba. This has resulted in countless hours browsing for a functional and aesthetically pleasing solution. The latest candidate is the Eclipse Charger from Native Union which I’ve been using for a couple weeks now.

What is it?

The Eclipse is a smart USB charger that has more in common with home decor than the typical wall adapter. It sits on a table top and can provide 7.8 Amps of power for up to three devices at the same time. Native Union clearly has a vision for the Eclipse, and for a device that’s meant to blend in visually, they’ve made sure that it still stands out.

What’s in the box

Eclipse Charger
Wall Mount
Quickstart Guide and Cable Offer

Design and features

The Eclipse is available with different top surfaces. I’ve chosen to review the textile version (shown here) that looks right at home next to our fabric covered sofa. It’s also available with wood or marble top surfaces for a premium. It has a good heft keeping it in place during operation with smooth sides and fabric covered power cord giving it a clean look. The 90º plug keeps the cord close to the wall with a letter wrap to handle any extra length.

Cable management is a central function of this product and Native Union has a pretty novel solution that involves providing your own cables. The Eclipse uses a gesture based system where two taps on the top results in a cable reel magically emerging out of the center of the product. A single tap activates a nightlight “halo” feature that helps you find and connect your cables in the dark.

You should only need to access the ports during initial setup. A slight counterclockwise turn and then a lift of the reel, reveals 3 USB ports, one of which lets you choose between USB-A and USB-C.

Connect your 3 favorite cables (up to 6’ long) to each of the USB ports. I’ve used a pair of Anker 6’ Powerline Lightning cables and Micro-USB that came with a Mophie battery case.

The reel has 3 channels equidistant around the perimeter and it’s important to note how they work as you put it back into place with a clockwise twist.

Your first cable needs to route up to the top channel through the slot that breaks through all three tiers. From there you’ll wind it clockwise until your cable end tucks away. Repeat this process with the second and third channels. When finished a double-tap hides it all.

What I like

It looks great and is very functional. In designing the Eclipse, they purposefully left a gap between the center reel and the outer wall which lets you close the mechanism with cables in use. You can unwind as much (or as little) cable as you need before closing it back up.

What needs to be improved

There are a couple of things that I feel could use some refinement. It’s supposed to work with most cables, but cables come in a lot of sizes and shapes. The micro/USB cable I used has an oversized end that barely fits. Winding it loosely allowed me to shift the end to an area with more allowance. It’s not a deal-killer as you likely have a few varieties as I do.

The gesture thing is cool at first, but seems to misfire frequently, either ignoring my taps or reading it as a single tap turning on the nightlight that glows from the bottom of the device. Adding a slight delay between taps helps remedy this but I find myself wishing for a physical button that just works every time.

Final thoughts

Overall I like the Eclipse as it has solved a rat’s nest cable problem for me. Something about the design and the manual nature of winding has me wanting to put them away when not in use. A quick tip is to put your most frequently used cable into the bottom channel. If you connect your top cable and go to use cable 2, you’ll end up having to thread it under the first cable every revolution.
The only other thing you should know is that the Eclipse is significantly bigger than you might think. Here it is next to a soda can for reference. That said, the diameter makes sense for limiting the number of times you need to wrap cables and if you have a big enough table, it’s not a major issue. The Eclipse has found a place on my side table.

Price: $80 / $100 / $160 for Textile / Wood / Marble
Where to buy: Native Union and Amazon

Source: The sample for this review was purchased with my own funds.

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Native Union Eclipse 3 port charger review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 7, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Elago’s 3-in-1 charging hub charges your Apple Watch, AirPods, and iPhone

This 3-in-1 charging stand from Elago holds and charges all your Apple devices in one compact space.  The stand is made of silicone for durability; it won’t scratch your expensive devices, either.  You’ll use the charging cables supplied with the Apple devices with the charging stand.

The 3-in-1 stand is compatible with all iPhones from the 5 through the new iPhone X and all three series of the Apple Watch.  It holds the watch horizontally, so you can use the Watch’s nightstand mode.  The Elago stand is available in black, classic white, jean indigo (shown), and dark gray for $24.99.  The Elago 3-in-1 Charging Hub can be purchased at Amazon.

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Elago’s 3-in-1 charging hub charges your Apple Watch, AirPods, and iPhone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 1, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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Cell phone battery dead? When all else fails, the USB candle charger is here!

If you are like me, and often find that your cell phone battery charge is low, there are so many USB battery packs in every shape and size to solve that dilemma. But have you ever been in this situation with no way to recharge your phone or battery pack? I have, and I found it to be the most frustrating experience with no alternative but to head out of the house in the freezing New York temperatures, and huddle in my car to get enough charge to keep my power-hungry apps going on my iPhone.

Enter the Candle Charger by Stower! This is an ingeniously designed device that allows you to charge your cell phone when conventional electricity is not an option. It is the first of its kind charger that uses the candle flame from a small fuel canister and water to create an electrical charge. And, if you run out of fuel canisters, a regular candle of similar size can work.

While it is miniature in size, it provides charging power anywhere, whether during a blackout or outdoors on a camping trip and maybe in some extreme places when the cell phone is dead and emergency help is needed. It even has an advantage over solar chargers, since they need sunlight to recharge. It will recharge the standard cell phone twice per one fuel canister.

The Candle Charger by Stower is available at Amazon for $99.99

This BESTEK surge protector has a built-in wireless charger

This BESTEK surge protector packs a lot of power into a small footprint.  Instead of the long-strip form that surge protectors usually take, this 1500joules protector is a vertical column.  Along the sides you’ll find eight power sockets and six USB charging ports.  And the cherry on top is the wireless charger on the top of the column.

The sockets all have safety doors to keep kids safe from inserting something in them.  Each row of sockets has a power switch to turn them off when they aren’t needed.  BESTEK says the USB ports “can intelligently detect your devices to deliver its safest maximum charge speed, up to 2.4A per port and 40W/8A total“.  And on top of the column is a 5V/1A wireless charger that works with all Qi-compatible devices.

The BESTEK 8-Outlet Surge Protector and 40W 6-Port USB Charging Dock Station with wireless charger is $49.99 at Amazon.

Tronsmart U5TF Titan Plus 90W 5 Ports USB Desktop Charger review

If you are like me, you have a multitude of gadgets that need charging.  And inevitably they all need charging at the same time, right?  And most of your gadgets don’t come with power adapters anymore, right?  And even if they did you probably couldn’t plug them up all at the same time in the same room, right?  That’s where the Tronsmart desktop charger comes in.  Charge 5 devices at the same time, all of them at their fastest possible charge rate.  So for a device that costs approximately $27, how does it perform? Let’s find out.

What is it?

It is a 5-port desktop charger that allows you to plug up any USB-charging device and it will provide the maximum amount of charging output that your device allows.

Hardware specs

Model: U5TF
Technology: Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 & VoltiQ & Huawei FCP (Backward compatible with QC 1.0 and 2.0 Technology)
Input: AC 100-240V, 50-60HZ, 2.4A (Max)
Output: Max 5-6.5V/3A, 6.5-9V/2A, 9-12V/1.5A; 5V/2.4A
Total Power: 90W
Size:  Approx. 6.25 in x 3 in x 1 in
Weight: 10.5 oz
Certifications: CE, FCC, RoHS

What’s in the box with the Tronsmart?

1 x Desktop charger
1 x AC power cable
1 x User manual
1 x VoltiQ card
1 x Warranty Card Design and features

Design and function

The Tronsmart desktop charger is a little larger than some of the other desktop charging hubs than I currently own.  But it is the only one that I own that truly provides the maximum charging speed for every device.  It does indeed deliver on that promise.  It has a switch on the back to turn it on. I know this because when I first took it out of the box and plugged it up to try it, I plugged in one of my devices and walked away to do something around the house and came back later to realize that I never turned it on with the switch on the back.  It would be nice if it automatically started charging when you plugged something up, but that’s not a deal breaker for me now that I know to look for the little indicator light on the top of the charger that indicates it is turned on.  Smart.

What I like

  • Great price
  • Very light
  • It does indeed provide the maximum charging speed for every device

What needs to be improved

  • A little larger than other desktop chargers
  • You have to remember to switch it on

Final thoughts

For the price and performance, I really can’t find anything to complain about with the Tronsmart 5-port desktop charger.  It does exactly what it purports to do and it has a simple, clean design.  This is a much cleaner and smarter way to charge multiple devices at your desk than using one of those ugly power strips or trying to decide which devices to plug up to those valuable outlets in the wall.  I highly recommend this device.

Price: $29.74
Where to buy:  Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Tronsmart