Elago’s back with another Apple Watch stand that pulls at our retro heart strings

Elago, the company that has given us Apple Watch stands with a retro twist like W3 and W4 stands, is back at it again. The W6 stand for Apple Watch is designed to turn your Apple Watch into an iPod classic, complete with the iconic click wheel.

Like its predecessors, the W6 is made of scratch-free silicone which protects the Apple Watch when it’s sitting inside the stand. And prevents it from moving around when resting on a surface. It works with all Apple Watch models and is compatible with Nightstand Mode.

It’s easy to use, simply place the Apple Watch charging puck into the cutout. Then simply slide the Watch into the opening at the top of the stand. The watches display lines up perfectly, making it look as though it’s the display of the classic music player.

The Elago W6 Stand comes in classic white or black. Right now you can pick up the white version from Amazon for $12.99. If you want it in black, it’ll cost you a couple of dollars more. Still, not a bad price to pay for a little bit of nostalgia.

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Elago’s back with another Apple Watch stand that pulls at our retro heart strings originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 5, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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Fonesalesman QiStone 2 wireless charging power bank review

REVIEW – There are a lot of portable and easy to carry external batteries you can use to charge your phone or other devices like a laptop or tablet.  However, there are not that many that advertise themselves as wireless.  I love the idea of not having to carry an extra cable around to keep my phone charged up if I don’t have access to an outlet.  Let’s see how the new QiStone 2 Wireless Charging Power Bank works out.

What is it?

The QiStone 2 is a portable charging power bank that will let you charge Qi-enabled devices wirelessly.  It also has ports that will let you charge devices via a USB cable or a USB Type C cable.

What’s in the box?

  • 1 x Wireless Charging Power Bank
  • 1 x Micro USB Cable
  • 1 x User’s Manual

Hardware specs

  • 8000mAh Polymer Li-ion battery
  • USB Input: DC 5V/2A
  • Wireless Charging Output: DC4V/1A
  • USB Output: DC5V/2.1A Max
  • Dimensions: 105 x 72 x 20mm
  • Net Weight: 135g

Setup

Setup for this device was pretty simple.  It actually came showing two of the four power level LED indicators on.   To see the amount of battery left, you simply press the single button on the bottom of the device and look for the blue LEDs to light up.  There are a total of four, showing power levels from 25% up to 100%.  To play it safe, I did plug in the micro USB cable into the device and plugged the USB end of the cable into an available USB outlet that I have in my kitchen overnight.

The above picture shows you the ports available on the device.  The type C port on the left can work as input or output.  If you use it as output to your phone it will rapid charge.  The same goes for the USB 3.0 port on the far right.   You can charge up the power bank by using the type C and the micro USB port in the middle.  The included cable works with the port in the middle.

Performance

After leaving the device plugged in overnight, I now have all four LED lights lit up at the bottom of the device.  The LED at the top of the device is red to indicate that it is not currently charging any device.  In order to charge a device, you must first press the button on the bottom of the QiStone 2.  Just placing your phone on the power bank will not activate charging.

I placed my husband’s iPhone X Plus on the charger sideways so you could see the top LED turn green to indicate that it is charging.  It is just a standard charge when you wirelessly charge either Android or Apple devices.  You will not get rapid charge times when charging wirelessly.   When I used the USB C port on my Galaxy S9 or the USB 3 port on my S9 or the iPhone, I did get rapid charging indicators.

This last picture shows the iPhone charging vertically.  You do have to be careful about placement on the power bank.  Make sure you see that your phone is actively charging.  In the case of the iPhone above, you have to look closely at the battery indicator on the phone itself because it covers the entire power bank.  I do want to mention that you can charge multiple devices at once.  I had my S9 charging via the USB 3.0 port and a Note 9 wirelessly charging at the same time.

What I like

I love that I do not need to bring along an extra cable to keep my device charged.  I simply place my phone on it, wait for the green LED and know that it is charging.  I also like that it does support rapid wired charging if I wish.  That comes in handy if I need to charge it while it is in a bag or where the bank and device could not sit on top of each other.  The large 8000mAh battery is also a huge plus for the device in my mind.  My S9 is a 3000mAh battery and could be charged up almost 3 times from zero percent with this charger.  It allows me to share it with others if need be.   I also love that I can wirelessly charge one device and charge another via the USB port.

What I’d change

It was a bit disconcerting to have the charger simply stop charging my device before it was completely charged a couple of times.   I am not exactly sure why it did that and I have not been able to repeat the situation since then.   It may have been that my phone moved ever so slightly and lost the proper Qi connection on the device.  The other thing that would be very helpful is if this device supported quick wireless charging.  Placing your depleted phone on this device means waiting easily over an hour to get a full charge again if you are anywhere below 75% charge.

Final thoughts

There are a ton of power banks out there to choose from.  If you are looking for one that does wireless charging, then I would not hesitate to recommend this device.  Please note that the link below on Amazon is the proper link to order the device.  The pictures on Amazon, however, do not match what my device has.  I believe they are still showing pictures of the original QiStone in the QiStone 2 product listing.

Price: $79.99
Where to buyAmazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Fonesalesman.

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Fonesalesman QiStone 2 wireless charging power bank review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 3, 2019 at 11:07 am.

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The Powerbiner won’t help you climb Mt. Everest, but it will charge your phone

NEWS – The Re-Fuel Powerbiner is a backup battery and carabiner combo that you didn’t know you needed until now. Most backup batteries are designed for one purpose – to charge your gadgets. The Powerbiner does that, but you can also clip it to your backpack, belt loop, etc., so it will always be within reach.

The Powerbiner features micro USB in and USB out and a rechargeable 3000 mAh battery which might not sound like a lot, but it’s enough to re-juice your phone to provide several hours of usage. That’s important when you’re out and about and just realized that your phone is dead. So the Powerbiner provides power and is powerful enough (see what I did there), to hold up to 132lbs of gear from its sturdy clip.

For more info visit Re-Fuel.com and you can buy the Powerbiner in green or pink for $39.99 from The Grommet.

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The Powerbiner won’t help you climb Mt. Everest, but it will charge your phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 2, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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Tech Care DS01 9000mAh power bank review

REVIEW – I have too many of those USB-chargable “power banks”. I can’t seem to find one I like. I usually find the biggest one I can find and pack a bunch of cables in a bag, then never use it because I can’t be bothered to fiddle with cables when on a campout in a dark tent. The Tech Care DS01 9000mAh power bank is slim and comes with cables attached. But is it powerful enough?

What is it?

The Tech Care DS01 is a small rechargeable battery pack with a built-in numerical display that shows remaining capacity with built-in Lightning and MicroUSB cables.

What’s in the box?

The packaging is pretty spartan. A thin manual, short microUSB cable, and USB-C adapter are all you get with the battery.

Hardware specs

  • Input: 5V, 2A
  • Output: 5V, 2.1A
  • Size: 4.1 x 2.6 x 0.4 inches
  • Weight: 6.01 ounces

Design and features

This particular battery pack can fill up via microUSB or Type-C inputs.

There are three outputs: Your standard USB-A connector, plus one Lighting and one microUSB connector.

Here’s a shot from the top side. (L-R): MicroUSB, Type-C input, and USB-A output. (The percent display looks odd because of the camera’s shutter speed.)

The Lightning and microUSB cables are permanently attached to the sides with flat, flexible cables. They’re quite bendy! No more forgetting to pack a cable.

 

Setup

Simply charge the battery to full via microUSB or Type-C until the display reads 100%. There are no physical buttons on the battery, so I’m not quite sure how the display knows when to turn on. A little shake is all it takes to wake the display.

Performance

Nearly everything I travel with can be recharged via Lightning (iPhone) or microUSB. Here’s the battery plugged into an iPhone…

…and my digital camera.

Once again, the percent remaining display is hard to photograph!

What I like

  • Small
  • Built-in cables you can’t lose
  • Percent remaining display
  • No physical buttons

What needs to be improved

  • 9000 mAh may not be enough for some.

Final thoughts

After two camping trips with the Tech Care DS01 9000mAh power bank, I left my bigger, bulkier batteries at home. It charged up my iPhone XS just fine over a three-day campout with charge to spare. I love the digital readout and never losing a charging cable again.

Price: $29.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by YPLANG/Tech Care.

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Tech Care DS01 9000mAh power bank review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 19, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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NOVOO Portable Charger USB C Power Bank review


REVIEW – These days, you can find hundreds of portable power bank choices both on the internet and in the stores. The more that these types of devices become a part of our EDC bag, the more the demand for more power capacity in a smaller package. And, we also want as many built-in I/O options that we can get. Enter the NOVOO Portable Charger USB C Power Bank.

What is it?

The NOVOO power bank is a 10000mAh small and light with a large capacity. It measures just 2.3 x 3 x 1.1 inches and can deliver power via a conventional USB-A port as well as via its USB-C port.

What’s in the box


1 x Novoo Portable Charger/Power bank
1 x USB-A to USB-C Cable
1 x User Manual

Design and features

Specification
Capacity: 10000mAh @ 3.7V (37Wh)
USB-C Input (PD): DC 5V 2.1A/9V 1.4A/12V 1A
USB-C Output (PD): DC 5V 3A/9V 2A/12V 1.5A (18W Max)
USB-A Output: DC 5V 2.1A/9V 2A/12V 1.5A (18W)
Total Output: 18W
Size: 2.99”x 2.32”x 1.06”
Weight: 180 g

On the top surface, there is a power button and the LED battery charge level indicator that shows 4 LEDs. Each LED represents 25% of the charge.
On one side of the Power Bank, there is a USB-A port for conventional USB charging.

On the opposite side of the Power Bank, there is an in/out USC-C port. This port is used for charging the internal battery of the Power bank and is also capable of Power Delivery for charging devices.

Performance

The Power bank arrived with approximately 50% charge as shown by the 2 lit LEDs in the picture below. If you short press the power button it shows the level of charge. Once you fully charge the Power Bank, it is ready to go.

The picture below shows my iPhone 10X max being charged with a USB-A to Lightning cable. I was able to charge my phone from 31% to 100% in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

For the second test, I purchased a USB-C to lightning “Apple Certified” cable to charge my iPhone via the USB-C port.

It took 1 hour and 22 minutes to charge my phone from 54% to 100% which is about the same compared to charging my phone via the USB-A port.

The 2 tests were performed within 5 days, and after the tests, there was a 50% charge left on the Novoo.

What I like

  • The compact size
  • The build quality
  • The internal battery capacity
  • The Quick Charge capability

What can be improved

  • A USB-C cable to Android/IOS should be included (Possibly one with an adapter for the other)

Final thoughts

This portable USB Power Bank works quite well and is compact enough that you can just throw it in your bag and carry it with you at all times. The battery size is good enough to make it very useful, and the USB-C port is a nice feature especially since these days, USB-C is becoming a standard port on everything. The build quality for this device is good and the charging time is also good. For the price, I give it two thumbs up.

Price: $25.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Sample: The sample for this review was provided by Novoo

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NOVOO Portable Charger USB C Power Bank review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 12, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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