Better price than Apple's
statement ring PowerGen Charger Samsung Motorola included
I travel a lot and I've got a variety of devices that I need to charge, including phones, kindles and an iPad, particularly when my wife travel with me. I've found that the USB ports on most laptops don't charge very fast - they have their power constrained to protect the laptop. I hate carrying lots of adapters, cables, etc. This put me on a quest: find a good dual port USB wall charger....
Initially I didn't understand the power that the iPad REQUIRES to get charged. So I bought a generic 2-USB wall charger. It was cheap and I thought I was done - until I noticed that the iPad said it wouldn't charge with it. In researching these adapters (I should have done this first, but who know USB isn't USB for some devices!), I found that the generic wall charger could provide only 300 ma (milliamps), which is far too small to support an iPad, let alone an iPad and a phone. I looked at a variety of single USB wall chargers in my house and I found that all except for the one that came with the iPad, provided no more than 500ma of power. It appears that you need at least 1 amp of power or more to charge one iPad. So I went back to looking for a 2-USB wall adapter....
I then saw an Energizer 2-USB port wall adapter and it said it supported iPads. They didn't show how much power it could provide to devices, but it was a trusted brand. Great! I ordered it on Amazon. I plugged it in and the iPad refused to charge again! Argh....
In digging some more, I found lots of complaints about this device and the ad on amazon suddenly no longer said that it supported iPad's. I contacted Energizer and they took it back and returned all of my money, including shipping - good customer service but I still had nothing. Search restarted....
Finally, I came across the PowerGen Dual USB 3.1a travel wall adapter. The specs sounded great, it mentioned the iPad, and amazon had it so I got free shipping. I ordered it and crossed my fingers.
First reaction was that this is a heavy duty adapter! It was a little heavy, but it had a nice solid feel to it. All of the other adapters suddenly felt cheap.
I've been using this charger for over a month and I LOVE it! The power blades collapse to get out of the way when I'm not using and it slides easily into my bag. It charges EVERYTHING. I've put the iPad and my kindle on at the same time and it charged them both right away. One of the USB ports is build for apple so it appears to do a rapid charge on the iPad. Excellent. Both port charge apple devices fast. Excellent!
I recommend this charger to everyone!
PS - Road Warriors: My new strategy is to avoid buying any travel chords and devices that are black. They disappear into my bag or on the floor of the plane and you lose them. The powergen is bright white that you'll never accidently leave it in a hotel room or on a plane just because it's color doesn't make it jump out! Very nice!
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I love this charger so much I bought two!!!
I love this charger so much I bought two!!!
I love this charger so much I bought two!!!
I have no idea what others are complaining about. I tested this guy out yesterday when it arrived. I charged my Ipad3 and iPhone5 at the same time, no problem. They charged at the same speed as they would if I used the original OEM charger that came with both devices. Just make sure to get the ports correct (as described in the item description). I also tested it by charging my iPhone5 and iPhone4S at the same time. Again no problems, charged just as it would in the OEM charger that came with the phones.
Only thing I will comment on is it is true there is a blue light around the ports when its plugged in and charging. I haven't tested it in a dark bedroom while trying to sleep, but I can't imagine it being any more bright than say a bedside alarm clock. Plus I haven't seen a lot of houses or apartments with power outlets at eye level with a bed; so I just can't see it being a problem....although I guess I shouldn't knock college students who just have a mattress on the floor (I was one of those guys)....
I'm am however planning on using this for travel so I'll update it after I use one of the power outlets at a hotel that are located on the bedside lamp (those usually are around eye level or a bit above). If the light bugs me from sleeping, I'll let y'all know. Overall, I'd say grab one of these guys if you're like me and have multiple devices you use daily.
I travel a lot and I've got a variety of devices that I need to charge, including phones, kindles and an iPad, particularly when my wife travel with me. I've found that the USB ports on most laptops don't charge very fast - they have their power constrained to protect the laptop. I hate carrying lots of adapters, cables, etc. This put me on a quest: find a good dual port USB wall charger....
Initially I didn't understand the power that the iPad REQUIRES to get charged. So I bought a generic 2-USB wall charger. It was cheap and I thought I was done - until I noticed that the iPad said it wouldn't charge with it. In researching these adapters (I should have done this first, but who know USB isn't USB for some devices!), I found that the generic wall charger could provide only 300 ma (milliamps), which is far too small to support an iPad, let alone an iPad and a phone. I looked at a variety of single USB wall chargers in my house and I found that all except for the one that came with the iPad, provided no more than 500ma of power. It appears that you need at least 1 amp of power or more to charge one iPad. So I went back to looking for a 2-USB wall adapter....
I then saw an Energizer 2-USB port wall adapter and it said it supported iPads. They didn't show how much power it could provide to devices, but it was a trusted brand. Great! I ordered it on Amazon. I plugged it in and the iPad refused to charge again! Argh....
In digging some more, I found lots of complaints about this device and the ad on amazon suddenly no longer said that it supported iPad's. I contacted Energizer and they took it back and returned all of my money, including shipping - good customer service but I still had nothing. Search restarted....
Finally, I came across the PowerGen Dual USB 3.1a travel wall adapter. The specs sounded great, it mentioned the iPad, and amazon had it so I got free shipping. I ordered it and crossed my fingers.
First reaction was that this is a heavy duty adapter! It was a little heavy, but it had a nice solid feel to it. All of the other adapters suddenly felt cheap.
I've been using this charger for over a month and I LOVE it! The power blades collapse to get out of the way when I'm not using and it slides easily into my bag. It charges EVERYTHING. I've put the iPad and my kindle on at the same time and it charged them both right away. One of the USB ports is build for apple so it appears to do a rapid charge on the iPad. Excellent. Both port charge apple devices fast. Excellent!
I recommend this charger to everyone!
PS - Road Warriors: My new strategy is to avoid buying any travel chords and devices that are black. They disappear into my bag or on the floor of the plane and you lose them. The powergen is bright white that you'll never accidently leave it in a hotel room or on a plane just because it's color doesn't make it jump out! Very nice!
Could not understand why my old charger would not work with my new iPad Mini. Went on on to Amazon (as usual) and found this solution. Not enough power in my old plug-in. This one works great and has a nice blue light so you can tell when it is fully plugged in. Charges my iPad mini and iPhone very quickly.
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The Powergen Dual Port AC Charger seems to be nicely constructed. It is glossy white and has a contrasting color surrounding the the non-polarized, folding plug. The plug detaches from the unit, most likely to accommodate different plugs in other countries. Otherwise having the plug be detachable serves no other purpose that I can think of.
The two USB ports allow you to charge two devices simultaneously with the 3.1A split between the two ports. Either port can provide up to 3.1A if used individually. The upper port is optimized for charging Apple devices using the protocol appropriate for Apple devices. The other USB port is for charging most other devices capable of being supported by this charger. While it is true that you can use either port to charge an Apple device, optimum charging will occur when you use the Apple specific port. And likewise, you may charge a non-Apple device on the Apple designated port but the charging rate may be slower.
As soon as the charger is plugged into AC, a glowing light surrounding the ports lights up. The light has nothing to do with whether the device you are charging has reached full charge.
I use this charger all the time to charge various devices we have around the house. It's also travel friendly being a convenient size for easy packing.
I've used other Powergen products in the past and have been quite happy with the products and with their customer support and service.
Specifications:
Input: AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 1A Max
Output: 4.7-5.3 V - 3.1A, 15W
Efficiency >80%
Powergen provided me with a sample for review.
This charger works great for larger tablets like the iPad. That's why I bought it, in fact. It's much less expensive than a replacement from Apple. One of the ports (the top one), is wired for Apple devices so it charges faster. The second port will work with any product, including Apple products, but Apple products will charge slower when plugged into the second port instead of the first port. If you charge two products at once, they may both charge slower. It all is reasonable for the price charged. The packaging is nice and professional and the folding prongs make it easy to store or pack on a trip.
This little guy does not disappoint. It works beautifully with iPads, iPhones, Android phones, etc. The 3.1A model charges very quickly, and the blue light is helpful for locating it when you're using it in unfamiliar surroundings. It might be helpful to make that an optional setting, so when it's being used in a hotel room, etc., it doesn't interfere with sleep. It's also about 1.5x the height of the standard iPad charger; since the plug is on one half of one of the shorter faces, it's hard to put it in upside down without it falling out, making busy outlets difficult to use without negotiation! Otherwise, no complaints. I also bought the car charger (3.1A model), and am similarly impressed. Shipped quickly, to boot.