Batteries and Chargers – Page 28

Nomad’s Wireless Charging Hub: One charger to rule them all?

Ever since Apple introduced wireless charging with their new iPhones it seems we’ve been inundated with a lot of new wireless chargers. Most manufacturers chose to make them as small, light, and flat as possible. Nomad, however, decided to go in the complete opposite direction with their new Wireless Charging Hub. But for good reason. The first thing you notice is that it’s quite a bit larger than its competitors. But in this case, larger may indeed be better. Hidden discreetly underneath the 7.5W charging pad are 4 additional USB charging ports. 2 USB 1A outputs, for your Airpods, Apple Watch, bike lights, or other USB charging devices. A 2.1A output, for fast charging another phone or iPad, and a fast-charge supported USB-C 3.0A port. That’s 30W of total power so you can wirelessly charge your iPhone 8, 8 plus, X or Android phone and an additional 4 devices at the same time.

Hidden on the backside of the Hub is a cable management system which minimizes the cable clutter on your desk or bedside. For extra stability, Nomad added molded steel bars and a rubber base around the bottom.

Another nice feature is the LED charging indicator lights. They glow orange when your device is charging, and white once fully charged. But the best thing is the ambient light sensor that dims the light in a dark room. Because annoying lights while sleeping are the worst.

The Nomad Wireless Charging Hub is a little pricey coming in at $79.95. But it might be well worth it if you’re looking for a clean and efficient way to charge all your devices. The Hub comes in black and is available on Nomad’s website.

Warm your hands with this phone charger

Most powerbanks just sit in your bag, waiting until you need them to recharge your mobile device. The Pisen Rechargeable Hand Warmer Power Bank 2-in-1 will be useful in more ways than one this cold winter. The 7500mAh battery has enough power to recharge a phone up to 2.8 times (iPhone 6S). But when you don’t need to recharge your phone, some of that power reserve can be used to keep your hands warm.

The Pisen is a double-sided hand warmer that uses NTC technology to heat to 122 degrees in 30 seconds and maintain that constant temperature for 3-5 hours. It has multiple protections built in to prevent over-charging, over-heating, over-discharging, over-power, over-voltage, and short-circuit protection. It’s sized to fit easily in a pocket or in the palm of an adult’s hand. The Pisen Rechargeable Hand Warmer Power Bank 2-in-1 is available in gold, pink, or silver for $25.99 at Amazon.

You’ll feel like it’s the future when you use a Venus Qi charger

It figures that now that the iPhone finally has Qi charging, that Qi charging docks are becoming not only popular but cool. For example, check out the Venus Qi charger from Bourge Design. With its metal and glass design, it looks like something right out of Star Trek. It features a unique wedge shape and two additional ports to charge your other gear. There’s a USB 3.0 port on the front and a USB Type-C port.

But what’s even more unusual is that you can connect two Venus chargers together back to back to create a hub. Bourge Design created the Venus chargers to be modular from the beginning, so it’s likely that other accessories may be available in the future.

The Venus wireless charger is priced at $89.99 for one and $159.99 if you want to order two. They will be available in Q2 and can be pre-ordered now from bourgedesign.com

Charge your Apple Watch with an iMac G3

Okay, it’s not an actual iMac G3, but this cute charging stand from Elago is styled to look like one of those 1998 iMac G3s in the juicy colors. As you can see, the Elago W4 stand holds the Watch horizontally, so it supports Nightstand Mode.

The stand is made of silicone, so you don’t have to worry about it scratching your watch. And the silicone will prevent the stand from sliding around or scratching your night table. You feed your own charging puck into the stand for power. Get the Elago W4 stand in blue ($12.99) or in pink ($14.99) at Amazon.

Finally, a charging stand that doesn’t cost almost as much as the Apple Watch itself

There are all manner of charging stands for the Apple Watch on the market. Some of them are metal, some leather, some are very utilitarian, and some are almost works of art. The Elago W2 is a simple, attractive stand that gets your watch charged for about $10.00. It’s compatible with all Watch series, and it works with either the metal or plastic charging puck. Your watch is held horizontally, which allows Nightstand Mode. The stand is made of silicone, which means it won’t slide around on your night table, and it won’t scratch your watch. The Elago W2 Stand is available in black for $8.99 and in jean indigo, red, white, or dark gray for $9.99 at Amazon.

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