Harness the power of the sun to charge your gear while you drive, fly, or just sit around at home

The Port Solar Charger from XD Design is designed to stick to a window and use the sun’s rays to power your gadgets.

This solar charger has a built-in battery that can be charged with a USB cable which will take about 2 hours or by sunlight which can take up to 20 hours. Yeah, you can’t be in a hurry 🙂

The Port Solar Charger’s built-in battery has a capacity of 1000mAh, so it won’t fully charge your phone. But it’s better than nothing and it’s free power.

I am not sure how well a solar charger like this works, as it depends on how much sunlight is hitting the window it’s attached to. But it would be a cool way to power your devices for free if you frequently travel by train, plane, or automobile, or if you have a nice big window that gets a lot of sunlight.

The price of the Port Solar Charger, on the other hand, isn’t free. It is priced at $49.99. For more info head over to www.xd-design.com and you can buy one from Amazon.

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Harness the power of the sun to charge your gear while you drive, fly, or just sit around at home originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 21, 2017 at 6:00 pm.

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Chargerito is a minúsculo charger for your phone

The Chargerito is a tiny micro USB or lightning charger that puts an AC adapter and cable into a form factor that’s about the same size as your car fob.

Attach the Chargerito to your keychain and you’ll always have a way to charge your iPhone or micro USB phones and gadgets without having to deal with tangled cables.

Chargerito features prongs that fold flat for storage but fold out when you need to charge your device.

When the Chargerito is plugged into a wall outlet, it is strong enough to hold the device while it charges. It can even hold an iPad.

The micro USB version of the Chargerito is priced at $24.99 and the lightning version is $29.99. You can find more info at chargerito.com

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Chargerito is a minúsculo charger for your phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 19, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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Get the RAVPower Luster Mini 3350mAh portable battery today for only $7

If you’ve been looking for a great portable battery pack that fits in your pocket and helps give you that emergency charge you need in a pinch (fully charges an iPhone 7), now’s the time to purchase one. The RAVPower Luster Mini 3350mAh portable battery is available today for only $7! It’s only four inches long, weighs only 2.6 oz., has a metal shell, and has maximum charging speed of only 1A, but hey, it’s only $7, right? It has a 4.4-star rating (4255 reviews) on Amazon. If this interests you, jump over to Amazon to purchase one – just use the promo code KJAPB335 when you check out.

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Get the RAVPower Luster Mini 3350mAh portable battery today for only $7 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 29, 2017 at 1:00 pm.

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New MacBook chargers don’t have wings but PowerPlay can make traveling with your MacBook easier again

For some unknown reason, newer MacBook and MacBook Pro chargers no longer have two fold out wings to wind excess cable around. What’s up with that Apple? Instead of mumbling under your breath every time you need to carry your MacBook and charger with you when you travel, consider PowerPlay. PowerPlay adds cord organization capability to your existing charger so you can thumb your nose at Apple.

The PowerPlay adds a leather cord reel to your existing MacBook and MacBook Pro charger that attached to your power adapter with an elastic band. You don’t have to remove it when you want to use the adapter as it will keep the cables neatly organized and out of the way even when the charger is plugged in.

You can roll out the length of the cable that you need and keep the rest neatly stored on the reel.

You can buy a PowerPlay in various colors for $35. Visit abovethefray.co for more info and Amazon to order some colors for $29.99.

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New MacBook chargers don’t have wings but PowerPlay can make traveling with your MacBook easier again originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 10, 2017 at 11:05 am.

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EasyAcc MegaCharge Doubin 16750mAh USB-C Power Bank review

Getting a low battery warning when you’re no where near a power outlet feels like the end of the world to a gadget nerd. That’s why power banks are a popular product category and why EasyAcc is a company who makes these types of devices for mobile Gadgeteers. Let’s take a quick look at their new EasyAcc MegaCharge Doubin 16750mAh USB-C Power Bank.

What is it?

The EasyAcc MegaCharge Doubin 16750mAh USB-C Power Bank is a portable charger for devices that can charge through a USB cable. Such devices include smartphones, smart watches, fitness trackers, and more.

What’s in the box?

EasyAcc MegaCharge Doubin 16750mAh USB-C Power Bank
micro USB cable
Type-C USB cable
Quick start guide

If this device looks familiar to you, you have a good memory because we’ve recently reviewed another EasyACC power bank that looks incredibly similar. Jason Haas reviewed the EasyAcc Quick Charge 3.0 20000mAh Power Bank back in April. That back up battery is a physically larger version and larger battery capacity version of the EasyAcc MegaCharge Doubin 16750mAh USB-C Power Bank that I’m going to show you today. Why would you want a smaller power bank when there’s a larger version available? Weight, bulk, smaller hands, smaller gadgets? Any number of reasons really.

Hardware specs

Capacity: 16750mAh × 3.63V = 60.8 Wh
Battery Cell Type: 18650 Lithium Battery
Type-C Input: 5V / 3A
Micro USB Input: 5V / 2A
Total Input: 5V / 5A (max)
Green Output (Quick Charge & Latest Smart Charge): DC 5-6V / 3A, 6-9V / 2A, 9-12V / 1.5A
Quick Charge Protocols Supported: QC2.0, QC3.0, FCP
Black Output (Smart Charge): DC 5V / 3A (max)
Size: 135 × 76 × 22.8 mm / 5.3 × 3 × 0.9 in
Weight: 308g / 10.9 oz

Design and features

The MegaCharge is a black and orange plastic sandwich. The top and bottom are black with an orange center.

There are two USB outputs on the end and an LED flashlight which is a handy feature.

The Green output has Quick Charge 2.0 and 3.0 capabilities, and the other output is considered a smart charge port that makes sure the device you’re charging gets the most power it can safely accept.

On the side of the MegaCharge are two inputs. There’s a micro USB and a Type-C USB input. These inputs are used to charge the MegaCharge’s 16750mAh battery.

On the opposite side is a button that will let you check the remaining battery capacity of the power bank and will toggle the flashlight on and off with a double click.

Four tiny white LEDs on the top of the power bank show the battery capacity while the unit is charging another device or when you press the button on the side.

The cool thing about the MegaCharge power bank is the Doubin feature which allows you to charge the power bank quickly when you plug BOTH a micro USB and a Type-C cable into the inputs and use compatible AC adapters. Using two cables will allow the power bank to charge in about 3.5 hours which is up to 60% faster than when using just the Type-C cable which takes 5 hours, with 3A input.

FYI: It’s up to you to find an AC adapter to recharge the MegaCharge because one is not included with the power bank. However, a micro USB and a Type-C cable are included.

I could not find any details on the flashlight as far as the number of lumens that it emits, but it’s bright enough to be used as a small flashlight so you won’t need to remember to carry a separate flashlight with you.

I did all of my testing of the EasyAcc MegaCharge Doubin 16750mAh USB-C Power Bank with an iPhone 7 Plus and an iPad Pro 10.5. I tested individually using the green Quick Charge output port.

Day one

12:13pm iPhone 7 Plus battery at 20%. Plugged into a fully charged EasyAcc MegaCharge

12:33pm iPhone 7 Plus battery at 38%.

1:04pm iPhone 7 Plus battery at 64%.

1:40pm iPhone  7 Plus battery at 90%.

1:56pm iPhone 7 Plus battery at 96%. Removed from EasyAcc MegaCharge.  EasyAcc MegaCharge still has all LEDs lit up when doing a battery capacity check.

iPhone 7 Plus battery from 20% to 96% in 1 hour and 43 minutes.

Next day over 24hrs later

2:45pm iPad Pro 10.5 battery at 20%. Plugged into EasyAcc MegaCharge which still had all 4 LEDs lit up.

3:51pm iPad Pro 10.5 battery at 49%, EasyAcc MegaCharge down to 3 LEDs.

4:15pm iPad Pro 10.5 battery at 60%, EasyAcc MegaCharge down to 2 LEDs.

5:30pm iPad Pro 10.5 battery at 91%, EasyAcc MegaChage at 2 LEDs. Removed from charger.

iPad Pro 10.5 battery from 20% to 91% in 2 hour and 45 minutes.

Day three

7:45am iPhone 7 Plus battery at 25%, EasyAcc MegaCharge at 1 LED.

9:00am iPhone 7 Plus battery at 80%, EasyAcc MegaCharge at 1 LED flashing.

9:45am iPhone 7 Plus battery at 96%, EasyAcc MegaCharge completely drained.

iPhone 7 Plus battery from 25% to 96% in 2 hours.

So a fully charged EasyAcc MegaCharge was able to almost completely recharge an iPhone 7 Plus at 20-25% two times and an iPad Pro 10.5 at 20% once.

Recharged the EasyAcc MegaCharge in about 3 hours and 45 minutes using both a micro USB and Type-C cable.

Final thoughts

The MegaCharge Doubin 16750mAh USB-C Power Bank from EasyAcc is an easy to use external battery that can recharge your USB enabled gadgets multiple times when you’re on the go. There are many power banks on the market, and this one from EasyAcc offers some extra features like the built in flashlight and Doubin battery recharge feature that make it worthy of a 2nd look.

It’s a great accessory for travelers, campers, and anyone else who finds themselves away from regular power outlets.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by EasyAcc. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $37.99
Manufacturer: EasyAcc
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • Easy to use
  • Charges devices quickly
  • Device itself can recharge quickly when using two cables
  • Built in flashlight
Cons:
  • None

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EasyAcc MegaCharge Doubin 16750mAh USB-C Power Bank review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 6, 2017 at 2:15 pm.

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