Kensington 48W 4-Port USB Charger - k38212eu product reviews

One of today's biggest concerns for connected people is 'where can I plug in my device to recharge?' For some, nothing is quite as scary as the thought of a flat phone battery or dead tablet. There's usually a power plug to be found at the nearest fast food chain store, but what if you're in a group, or someone else is plugged in already? That's where this little black box gets to show off. Sporting four USB ports, each able to pump out up to 2.4 amps of turbo charging electrons, there's no reason to queue for the juice. In fact, if the person using the power plug is using a standard wall charger adaptor, it's a fair bet they are reloading at a mere 1 amp, and you can offer them the chance of a speed boost if they wouldn't mind you jumping in there for a moment to plug in this beast.

"But... my device won't tolerate such a 'hot' charge... what good is 2.4 amps to me?" No worries! This unit has "PowerWhiz Technology" built in - a smart sensor inside it will check your device and ensure that it gets the maximum charge it can tolerate... and no more. No risk of frying your phone or turning your tablet into toast, it even checks to make sure what the tolerances are of the cables you use! (So, make ysure you have either the factory-issued cable, or a top quality third-party cable. Avoid the cheap and nasty cables you find at those tech kiosks in malls as they are often nasty knock-offs.) The best bit is, of course, that the charger checks each port individually, so you can have your iPad in one port and it's as safe as the kid's El Cheapo phone plugged into the next port.

My only gripe with this unit is the noise. As much as I could hope it would run silent, I know that nothing ever really does, but this baby has a high pitched cry to it that meant that after only 3 nights, I had to move it out of the bedroom and into another room. I miss not having my phone charging overnight on the bedside table - I need it as my wake-up alarm and in case I get an urgent call - so it's now in the office and my phone charges during the day, and trickles along overnight. To that end, I also keep a portable power pack on charge with it in case the phone is running low and I need to dive away for a longish drive. Still, it isn't loud per se, it's just that it is at a pitch that I can hear on the edge of my range and it can get to me, like a mosquito in the room.

Overall, this is a great device, and as long as you can either tolerate the sound or can work around it, then you should really consider one. It's a good thing for the family home so that everyone can charge when they need to without fear of waiting in line. The ability to free up 3 power plugs for other uses should be more than enough incentive. This would also be great to have in the office or lunch room for employees to keep their devices topped up. It would really add serious kudos to the 'happy staff' rating of your workplace!