- PowerGen Dual Port 15W / 3.1A USB Wall Charger charges your iPad, iPhone, iPod, HTC, Blackberry, MP3 Players, Digital Cameras, PDAs, Mobile Phones.
- Use your existing USB charging cables to charge most USB powered devices / Easy-to-see LED confirms whether USB charger is properly connected
- Dual Port Design, one Apple Devices and one port for Non-Apple Mobile phones or other devices. With Dimming Blue LED indicator, not obnoxious at night.
- Input: AC 100-250V 150mA; Output:DC 5V 3.1A or 15W (Shared by two ports)
- Sophisticated circuit design with over-heated, over-current, over-charging protection. Charging will be automatically stop when battery is full.
I received PowerGen wall charger for testing from the manufacturer to write an honest and unbiased review and you will find both pluses and minuses of my experience in this review.
Note that some early versions of this plug had quality control issues. My plugs did not have any issues, but some of the early testers reported problems. PowerGen notified all testers and made the plugs unavailable until the problem has been resolved. I received a notification that the problem has been resolved, and the new stock does not have the issue. Symptoms of the problem: Due to a poor connection inside the plug, the status light goes on when the plug is plugged in, but then goes out a few seconds later.
I am attaching two collages with 8 photos (each collage has 4) labelled with numbers 1-1 through 1-4 and 2-1 through 2-4 under customer photos that I will be referencing in this review.
The first thing I noticed that the charger has re-tractable prongs which is very handy for travel. Photo #1-1 shows the black plug with prongs retracted, and the white plug with progs extended.
Photos #1-3 and #1-4 show this plug on a power strip. This is where the only negative thing I have to say about this plug comes in. The position of the prongs is such that this plug takes up two slots and a bit of third slot. As you see not only does each plug cover two outlets, I also could put two of these plugs next to each even on the short side. The prongs are not polarized as you can see on photo #1-1. The plug itself is very slim, if the prongs could have been oriented differently, the plug would only take 1 slot.
The plug has two ports labelled "A" and "NA" which stands for Apple and Non-Apple devices (see photo 1-2). I own all Android devices but I tested both ports to see their behavior with my devices. The charger comes without a USB cord, so tested it with the USB cords that came with my devices.
I used Battery App by Elvison to determine how each device recognized the charging source. 'AC' status means the charging is at full charging rate. 'USB' status indicates charging at a lower charging rate. 'Discharging' status means that the charging rate is below the power that the device is consuming so it slows down the discharge rate but does not re-charge.
The key findings:
(1) Excellent results on both ports for Nexus Phone and Nexus 7 Tablet
(2) Samsung Galaxy 7.7 can be charged on NA port
The table below summarizes my findings:
Nexus 7 Tablet (photo #2-2, note the port is labeled "A" is closer to the edge of the plug and the port labeled "NA" is the one that is further away from the edge of the plug)
(Shown in Photo 2-2)
--------------
A port -AC
NA port -AC
Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
(Shown in Photo 2-1)
--------------------------
A port -AC
NA port -AC
Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7
(Shown in Photos 2-3 and 2-4)
--------------------------
A port -discharging when screen is on, charged slowly with screen off
NA port -AC
SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player
------------------------------
A port -charged at AC rate
NA port -charged at AC rate
Charging times for Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7
-------------------------------------------------
NA: from 90% to 100% ---> 33 minutes
A: from 90% to 100% -> 1h 37 min charged when screen was off despite saying discharging (powering the screen was enough to turn from slow charge to discharge)
Samsung plug that came with the 7.7 Tablet: from 90% to 100% ---> 1 hour
Charging times for Nexus Tablet
-------------------------------------------------
NA: from 94% to 99% ---> 17 minutes
A: from 94% to99% ---> 19 minutes
The behavior of both Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus plugged in at the same time was the same as when they were plugged in individually. This means if you can charge them both together at the same time. If you need to charge Samsung Galaxy tablet and one of the Nexus devices you would need to put the Galaxy tab on the NA port.
The MP3 player worked in both ports. I was able to charge and listen to the MP3 player at the same time.
To summarize:
I liked:
---------
1. Excellent behavior on both ports even when you have two Android devices
2. Samsung tablet 7.7 charged twice as fast as with the plug that it came with
2. Solution for MP3 player with built-in battery
3. Can charge two Android devices at once at AC rate
I did not like:
--------------
1. Position of the prongs that makes the plug take 2+ slots on the strip
I compared this plug to PowerGen Dual Port USB 2.1A 10W AC. And before I upgraded my Nexus devices to JellyBean 4.21 this plug gave a better performance on A port. However, when I recently retested 10W plug with Android's Jelly Bean 4.21 the difference became less significant. Nexus 7 shows the same behavior on both plug (both ports charge at AC rate), Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone still does better with this plug on A port (AC rate vs USB rate).
Here is a link to my review of 10W plug if you are interested in seeing the details http://www.amazon.com/review/R1WWWT839MIV8E/ref=cm_srch_res_rtr_alt_8
Overall, This plug has given me the best performance of any dual plug I have tried. I recommend it.
Ali Julia reviewI received two of these chargers from the company to test and review. Of them one worked perfectly, but the other unit was finicky and had to be jiggled to maintain power, which was a little disconcerting.
The charger that worked did a great job charging an iPhone 4, an iPhone 4S, an iPhone 5, and a Sony CyberShot TX10 digital camera. One of the two USB ports, one is supposed to be tailored to Apple devices and offer a faster charge time, but I didn't notice a difference. While charging the unit emits a slight humming noise.
The charger is decently constructed and finished in a rubberized texture. The power prongs fold up into the charger for portability, and seem well made. There is a blue LED power indicator light on the front of the unit.
All in all...if you get one that works well, you'll be very pleased.
01/03/2013 Update: I let my co-worker charge her Blackberry Torch on this charger from time to time and she says it takes longer than the Blackberry charger, and the battery seems to drain more quickly as well.I was tired of having multiple USB wall charges for my many mobile devices. I want one charger that can charge them all and so far this items is doing just that. It works on my new Google Nexus 10 tablet, my old Samsung Alas 2 phone, and Plantronics Voyager BT Headset.
I love the hard rubbery feels of this black version as it feels very sturdy and rugged compared to the white one where it's smooth and glossy.
I will updated this review later on if I encounter any other problems.
*****Update 11/20/2012*****
I noticed something odd in the design of this charger. The metal prongs that plug into the wall outlet is a separate piece that can be disconnect from the body. I'm assuming it's designed like this is because they also sell international plugs for this charger. It takes very little effort to disconnect the plug from the body as all you do is push upward and it slides right out. With the way it's designed one would plug it into a wall outlet in the upward position however, that would force it's own weight downward along with gravity so there might be a chance for the plug to separate from the body. I have yet to have it separate on me while using it, but I just find it rather oddly designed.
*****Update 12/02/2012*****
The Apple product USB slot can charge my Samsung Alias 2 phone and also my Voyager headset, but it does charge at a slower rated compared to the non Apple product slot. I have yet to try my other non Apple products on the Apple USB slot. This is really nice as I can possibly charge multiple things at once even though its slower.
*****Update 02/02/2013*****
Well I accident broke my charger when I accidentally stepped on it when I dropped it. Oops! I found the weakest link on the charger and it's the detachable wall outlet plug as the entire casing cracked cleanly off the plug itself. The whole thing was just hanging on to each other by the two power wires, but luckily since it was a very clean crack of the casing I was able to use some super glue to put it back together without much scaring to the casings finished look. It still works after 2 days when I glued it back together.With all of the various family portable electronic devices (2 Kindle Fires, 2 iPhones, 2 iTouch, Crackberrys, iPods, iPad 4, etc) I needed to have a charger that could handle all the power requirements. This charger did it! ALL the devices are charged from this charger including the iPad 4s. Then when I bought a battery pack EasyAcc 4 x USB Output Port 12000mAh External battery pack (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008YRG5JQ/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) it charged it perfectly. Best price and best charger to replace all those OEM chargers at a fraction of the price and more power so they charger faster. Without a doubt this is the one of the top five accessories I have purchased for electronics. You cannot go wrong! I now have 3 of them. All work as promised.
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.It's a lot like Apple's iPad charger, but more versatile. Each port is optimized for Apple or non-Apple devices. It will charge your tablets and smartphones at full speed (like the ones that came with your devices). (See Note 1.)
However, it is 62% more bulk than iPad's charger.
If you want a charger that's a little smaller and never blocks other outlets, consider PowerGen's 2.1 Amp dual port wall charger.
PROs:
* Designed for Apple and non-Apple devices
Full speed charging for a wide variety of devices
3.1 Amps available. Charge 2 devices at once
Fit and finish are good. Feels like quality.
LED power-on indicator
Nice price when $10 or less
OKs:
Bulkier than some chargers (2.6" x 2.0" x 1.1")
1 year warranty
CONs:
Blocks other outlets in some situations (see Note 2)
Some nit picks (see Note 3)
Alternatives -
PowerGen's 2.1 Amp dual port wall charger
The white version is glossy (this black version has a rubbery coating).
Leave a comment if you know of other good alternatives
Disclosure -
The manufacturer gave me this product for review. I believe my review is impartial. I usually list competing products in my reviews, but right now I don't see any great alternatives.
Notes -
Note 1: Sometimes you need to charge in a hurry. Even if a charger "works with your device" it may be painfully slow. Get one that will charge your devices at full speed (like the one that came with your device). This is not so simple. Product info is often unclear. Reviewers are often unclear.
For starters, the "Amps" need to be high enough. That's usually 1 Amp for smartphones, about 2 Amps for tablets. (A higher amp charger is always OK.)
The messy part is, Apple devices use their own rules to decide charging speed. A designed-for-Apple charger may be slow to charge non-Apple devices, and vice versa, even if its Amp rating is high enough. This PowerGen model has one port of each type.
Note 2: Blocking other outlets. Seems like small thing, but it can be a hassle. Unplugging lamps, alarm clocks, etc. when traveling. This one may annoy once in a while...if the end outlets of a power strip are not available, for example. The non-polarized plugs do provide some flexibility.
Note 3: Nit Picks: If you're spoiled by Apple-perfect design, you might notice... 1. The port labels are a little hard to read. 2. The ports are "upside down" (When the charger is "right side up" you insert your USB plug logo-side down. A lot of devices work this way...not a big deal.)
~~~ Comments & questions welcome ~~~
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