chargers

PowerV Duo juices two Wiimotes, other gadgets

Charging Wiimotes wrapped in their thick rubber jackets has always been a hassle for most Nintendo Wii owners. You could either strip off the overlay each time you recharge the batteries or go with Konnet's PowerV Duo, which utilizes induction technology to juice up the power cells.

Users just have to drop the remote, with or without the jacket, onto either of the two docks to get started. As a bonus, there are two overhead USB ports for other gadgets like your mobile phone, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 controllers.

As a side note, the $35 PowerV Duo at … Read more

Belkin invests in smart charger for electric cars

Will home energy management become the domain of consumer electronics companies?

Belkin, which makes PC peripherals and accessories, said on Thursday it has invested in Juice Technologies, a start-up which makes equipment for charging electric vehicles and home energy monitors marketed under the Plug Smart brand.

Last month, Belkin purchased Zensi, a technology company which makes sensors to give people detailed information on electricity usage. Apple is rumored to have been a suitor for Zensi as well.

The acquisition and investment in Columbus, Ohio-based Juice Technologies--both for undisclosed sums--are part of Belkin's strategy to offer energy management products to … Read more

Crave giveaway: Novothink Solar Surge for iPhone

With summer just around the corner, we thought we'd give away something sun-related this week, an Apple-certified solar charger for the iPhone from Novothink that's being marketed for outdoor enthusiasts.

As anybody who has tried to charge an electronic device using a solar charger knows, it doesn't juice up the device nearly as quickly as your typical power adapter would--and the Surge is no exception. The charging case can provide up to 30 minutes of talk time on a 3G network, or 60 minutes on 2G, from 2 hours of direct sunlight. Novothink also includes a USB … Read more

FastCharge: Power your electric car in 2.5 hours

Electric car charging is set to get a whole lot quicker--at least if Infracharge gets its way. The company, which supplies roadside charging station to London boroughs, will shortly be rolling out a new set of roadside and home charging stations that it says can recharge electric cars in as little as 2.5 hours.

The first of its products is the Chargemaster FastCharge, which is designed for use in public places. This bad boy chucks out a whopping 32A (7kW) current, more than twice the amount offered by today's charging posts. The extra power reduces the time it … Read more

Are cell phone chargers juicing you?

Recently, AT&T announced an eco-friendly cell phone charger called the AT&T Zero Charger.

The allure of this device is it automatically shuts down when not in use, offering what AT&T claims is "zero vampire draw" from the wall outlet. Vampire draw is a term for the power that devices draw out of outlets they are plugged into while they are turned off. AT&T's charger will be USB-compatible, making it practical for many of the phones on the market today.

Sure, a zero-draw charger sounds helpful. With that said, we … Read more

Most exciting laptop charger ever

Like most people, I hate buying things that are boring necessities such as a replacement power supply for my laptop. Sure, my laptop would be an expensive paperweight without it, but it doesn't make me any happier to spend the money. The Targus Premium Laptop Charger, however, is a purchase worth making even if you don't need a replacement because it's more than just a one-product charger.

Though the headline is meant to be facetious, the Targus charger's usefulness does make it more interesting than your average power supply. For starters, it's designed for easy … Read more

Get an iPhone desktop dock-charger for $3.99

I come from a PalmPilot background. In the old days, our devices didn't connect to our computers via a stray cable that's always getting in the way. Our devices didn't lay prostrate on our desks while charging or syncing. They sat upright, faced forward, and gave us something to look at. In other words, they docked.

You can dock an iPhone, but Apple charges a whopping $49 for the privilege. Thanks, but no thanks.

Instead, I'm going the generic route: Meritline has an iPhone desktop dock-charger for $3.99 shipped. That's right: shipped. From China. … Read more

AT&T to sell eco-friendly phone charger

Are you thinking of new ways to go green this spring? Try getting a new AT&T Zero Charger for your cell phone, which will stop drawing an electrical charge if your charger is plugged into the wall, but the phone isn't attached.

Conventional chargers continue to draw power when devices are plugged into a wall, even when the battery has finished charging or when no device is attached to the charger. AT&T said Wednesday that it will soon be selling this replacement cell phone charger starting in May for $29.99.

The AT&T Zero Charger automatically senses when a mobile phone is not plugged up to the charger and it cuts the power supply from the wall socket. Other devices, including TVs, computers, and all kinds of home appliances, also draw power from the power grid when they are plugged in even if they aren't turned on. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that standby power makes up as much as 20 percent of home energy use in the U.S.

The amount of power that is consumed by individual phone chargers plugged into the wall is small. But when you add it up over a long period of time, it can be significant. For example, AT&T estimates that if 80 percent of the wireless subscribers left their cell phone chargers plugged into a wall for a year, their phones would draw enough electricity to power 24,000 homes for a year, or brew 3 to 4 million cups of coffee each day.

The wireless operator wouldn't specify which of its phone will use the Zero charger. But spokeswoman Jeannie Hornung said it will be available for AT&T's "most popular devices." Judging from the picture AT&T provided, it will work with at least some BlackBerry phones. And the USB interface could mean that it will be compatible with the Apple iPhone. Details about the phones that can use the charger will be available closer to the launch of the product, Hornung said.

The new Zero Charger can also help environmentally-conscious wireless users stay green by reducing the number of cell phone chargers that eventually get thrown away.… Read more

Novothink's iPhone Solar Surge charging case finally shipping

Back in November of last year we wrote about an upcoming Apple-certified iPhone and iPod Touch solar charger from a company called Novothink. Well, four months later, the Solar Surge charging case, which Novothink is marketing toward "outdoor enthusiasts," is now available for purchase.

As anybody who's tried to charge an electronic device using a solar charger knows, it doesn't juice up the device nearly as quickly as your typical power adapter would and the Surge is no exception. The charging case can provide up to 30 minutes of talk time on a 3G network or … Read more