Tag Archives: charger

Juiceboxx Protects Your Mac Charger At CES



juiceboxxThere’s no shortage of cases and sleeves available to protect your phone, tablet, or computer, but what about your Mac charger? Charger cables are fragile, and it’s not hard to break one — or more — without proper protection. Luckily, there’s now a durable, stylish way to protect your Mac charger without breaking the bank.

Scott got to talk to Scott Scherpenberg about the Juiceboxx, a protective case for your Mac charger. The Juiceboxx’s unique trumpted design sturdily protects your charger from fraying and breaking, and with 6 different colors available, your charger can be just as stylish as the rest of your gadgets.

The Juiceboxx is available for purchase now for $19.99.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.

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Keep Your Devices Charged and Ready with myCharge at CES



myCharge logoBattery-charging solutions were a busy vertical at CES 2015. One of the many companies hoping to solve the never-ending problem of discharged devices is myCharge. Jamie stopped by the myCharge booth to take a look at the myCharge Ultra Hub.

myCharge products come with integrated cables that can connect to either Micro USB or Lightning-powered devices. myCharge is itself a battery-pack style solution; load up the myCharge with a full battery and then take it with you to charge up your devices when you can’t gain access to standard power points.

Video hosted by Jamie Davis of Health Tech Weekly for the TechPodcast Network.

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Zolt Charger Plus Is Ready For Your Power-Hungry Devices at CES



Zolt logoRemember a time when all you needed to worry about was keeping the battery in your laptop charged? Now, there’s the laptop battery, smartphone, Bluetooth headset, camera… the list goes on. What to do when you’re on the go and all of these devices start giving the low-battery warning? Plug those power-hungry monsters into the new Charger Plus from Zolt.

Chris had a chance to speak with Steve Gibson from Zolt. Steve explained how Charger Plus can be used to charge a laptop computer, using a special USB cable plugged into the top USB port of the charger, leaving the second port free to charge another device. Charger Plus will ship with adapters that work with most of the popular laptops on the market. (A special adapter for MacBooks will be sold separately.)

Charger Plus is available for preorder now at $79.99. It will have a full retail release early summer at $99.99.

Interview by Chris Davis for the TechPodcast Network.

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ThingCharger Eliminates Cable Clutter



ThingChargerDevice chargers are the bane of modern life with a complete rat’s nest of cables and connectors behind the average desk. Todd chats to Seymour Segnit from ThingCharger about their Indiegogo campaign for a cord-free charger.

The ThingCharger plugs directly into a power socket, with the device’s charging connector on the top of the unit, and pass-thru power outlets meaning that you don’t lose the socket but even more cunningly, you can stack the ThingCharger to charge multiple devices at the same time.

A range of interchangeable charging connectors – Apple 30-pin, Micro-USB, Mini-USB, Apple Lightning – will be available so that different devices can be charged from the same charger and cleverly, the connectors can be stored in the ThingCharger so they’re much harder to lose. It’s brilliant all round, so much so that ThingCharger raised nearly $650,000 against a £25,000 target.

ThingCharger is expected to be available in Q3 of 2014 and you can pre-order now for $29.95.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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Plantronics Voyager Legend Bluetooth Headset Review



I’ve been a user of Plantronics’ Bluetooth headsets for many years, starting with the Explorer 320 and more recently the Voyager Pro. I’ve always liked them because I found them a good fit on my ears but they’re trouble-free and easy-to-use with no problems pairing on a wide range of phones. More recently, I’ve taken receipt of a Voyager Legend and, so far, it’s living up to its name.

On review here is the full Voyager Legend UC package which comes with the headset itself, Bluetooth adaptor, desktop charging stand and charging case. This is the complete outfit for those in the office and on the go, aimed at those who use both mobile phones and IP-based communications, such as Microsoft’s Lync or Skype. This is the Microsoft version with an alternative version supporting Avaya, Cisco and IBM services. The Legend can manage two Bluetooth connections simultaneously so calls coming in from both routes can be answered on the headset and speaking from experience, this is very handy.

Plantronics Legend Box

The Voyager Legend UC comes in a plain box but opening it up reveals a wealth of accessories and adaptors, including UK and continental plug adaptors plus various USB connectors and chargers.

Plantronics Legend Inside Box

Here’s the charging case with the USB Bluetooth adaptor and the Voyager Legend itself. The Bluetooth adaptor is half the size of the previous generation that came with the Voyager Pro.

Plantronics Legend Charging Case

As might be guessed from the name, this is a charging case and the case has a built-in rechargeable battery which charges the Legend when it is in the case. In the photo below, you can see the contacts in the case on the right. It’s a clever idea, especially when on extended travel as you don’t need to lug around chargers – the case itself recharges via a micro-USB connection.

Charging Contacts

Of course, the desktop dock provides a convenient place to keep the Legend and charge it at the same time. There’s a magnetic catch to snap the headset in place.

Plantronics Legend Headset and Dock

Plantronics Legend in Dock

In use I find the Legend very comfortable to wear and I almost use it almost exclusively to answer my calls at my desk, whether the call comes through on my mobile or my desk phone. The headset is stylish enough to wear without feeling self-conscious, though I tend to take it off when I’m away from my desk. The Legend has three earpiece sizes in the box to accommodate different ears and can be worn on either the left or the right ear.

The Legend has some great features, such as auto answer, which detects when the headset is lifted from the dock and answers the call automatically. The Legend accepts voice commands, letting you put the headset into pairing mode, answer or decline calls and check battery level with ease. There are hardware controls on the headset for on/off, volume up/down, accept call and a multi-function button which does a couple of different things.

The talk time is rated at 7 hours and I never had any trouble with the battery running down unexpectedly. The charging case extends this even further with two full recharges from the case taking the total call time to 21 hours. Call quality is excellent, with callers sounding clear and natural, and most people don’t realise that I’m on a Bluetooth headset. The Legend also supports A2DP, which is handy if you want to listen to music or podcasts, albeit with one ear.

Plantronics have an Android smartphone app which, amongst other things, can help you track down where you last used the headset via GPS. It’s a neat idea but I found the app didn’t always play nicely with other GPS-using apps as the Plantronics app would turn off the GPS after getting a lock. The other app would than flail around looking for a signal lock. I submitted a bug report to Plantronics so hopefully they’ll get that fixed soon as it’s very irritating when playing Ingress.

There’s no two ways about it, the Plantronics Voyager Legend UC is a brilliant headset which I’m sure will do me for years – it has both the features and the construction to last. It’s definitely a premium product and it doesn’t come cheap: the RRP is over £150 but you can find it online for less than £100 including the carry case. However, it’s worth it if you want to to use a hands-free headset on an extended basis both at the desk and on the go.

The Voyager Legend UC was provided by Plantronics for review.


BlueFlame Named CES Award Honoree



BlueFlame logoBlueFlame has been chosen as an International CES Innovation 2014 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree. It is for their product called The Conductor that was recently launched. It offers you a new way to charge your smartphone.

The Conductor can power up your iPhone 5 very quickly via its magnetic charging case and sleek wall plate. Put the wall plate into a closet outlet and stick your iPhone to its magnetic charger. That’s all you need to do! You can also move The Conductor from one room to another, or take it with you as while traveling.

One obvious advantage of The Conductor is that it is cordless. It avoids the problem people face when they travel and have to untangle a cord before they can charge their phone. Vice President of Product Development at BlueFlame, Craig Small, had this to say:

“We spent a lot of time looking at what was missing from cell phone chargers and created The Conductor as a smart and simple alternative charging solution for the busy mobile device user. The Conductor represents the next level of hands-free, wire-free device charging. It is an honor to see our design receive this recognition from the CES Innovations committee.”

You can check out The Conductor from BlueFlame at the 2014 International CES. It will be on display in The Venetian. The Conductor will also be displayed at CES Unveiled: The Official Media Event of the International CES on Sunday, January 5, 2014, in the South Seas Ballroom C at Mandalay Bay.


Mugenizer N11 Pairs Qi Charger with Battery Pack



Mugen Power Batteries LogoMugen Power are no strangers to innovation but their latest product is genius. The Mugenizer N11 equips a USB battery pack with Qi wireless charger to provide charging on the go. As a user of both types of device on a regular basis, I think this is an excellent idea. It’s also going to be a big win for people who hotdesk and can’t be bothered with plugging and unplugging chargers each day.

image

As you’ll see from the picture, the unit looks much like any standard USB battery pack, albeit a fairly good looking one, with a charging port and power level indicator. The battery has a capacity of 4800 mAh which will fully recharge the average smartphone about twice. The Qi charging plate is on the top and should work with any Qi-enabled smartphone like the Nexus 4. According to the spec, you should be able to charge from both the Qi plate and the USB port at the same time.

The N11 is priced just under US$60 which includes a $10 early adopter discount and free world-wide shipping. It’s pricey enough and you probably could buy a battery and a charger separately for less, but the sheer convenience of a single unit makes it worthwhile. The N11 will be available in early November and I’ll try to get one for review. More information then.