You don’t have to ask frequent travelers and road warriors if they have a need for a robust multi-device USB charger – they’ll probably throw their money at the first one they see. But of the products that are actually out in the market, there are only a few that are actually worth their mettle, and we take a look at one of the new possible contenders – Skiva Technologies’ SmartQuad 4-port USB charger.
The product is, at its very basic, a universal charger for USB devices such as your Android tablets, phablets, and smartphones, you iOS devices, your USB power banks and portable media players – and all the manner of stuff that requires charging from a USB port. But Skiva is leveraging the SmartQuad as an intelligent USB charger, able to charge any USB device to its optimum charging speed because of the charger’s device detection features.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WmHYk7Q_64
Any modern individual (that is, one who has not lived under a rock for the past two or three decades) would normally carry one or two devices most. A techie person, or a person who works on the field most of the time, or a frequent traveler, would probably have around 3 to 4 devices on him or her — a smartphone, a tablet, and any other auxiliary USB device like an ebook reader or a portable media player. When charging time comes, the usual dearth of AC ports in a hotel room or a café will present a problem. Naturally, the SmartQuad presents a handy solution, as it is able to charge 4 devices at one time – giving as much as 2.4 amps per port for fast charging.
Another problem with universal chargers is compatibility. Travelers usually notice that different devices would have different charging times when using just one charger. The traditional but highly tacky solution is to bring all your chargers. SmartQuad’s intelligent device detection allows the charger to recognize your gadget and give it the optimum amount of charging power for faster charging with any device, Android or otherwise. Skiva has put up the product for crowdsource funds via Kickstarter, and they have reached their minimum funding goal as of the moment. You can check the product out – as well as support them – via the source link.
SOURCE: Kickstarter
$50 for a 4 port charger?
I’ve bought loads in the past, including so called ‘smart chargers’. When they don’t do what the manufacturer claims, I end up returning them.
I bought the last one online with 2x2A + 2x1A ports that work great for my nexus 10 and note 3, with a 1A ports used for my Kobo glo. It was about $12
@AS It is just $25 with free shipping in US.
I see an early bird offer of $20, but the official retail price is marked as being $50(+$25 shipping outside the US)