It’s always fun when a new company comes on the mobile technology scene. Austere is just such a company. The recently launched brand describes itself as delivering “more than what’s expected, from design to performance.” Their products are pricey, but they look great.
Seems like Apple is being a bit more open to other companies making better quality yet more affordable products than they can, as evidenced by Scosche releasing their new MFi-certified USB-C accessories.
iOttie is a name I’ve trusted for years. I’ve used a number of their mobile phone car mounts in all of my cars as well as my wife’s car, so I was excited to hear about their latest car mount, the iTap 2 Wireless. It features wireless Qi charging with the convenience of a magnetic mount and retails for $54.95.
In my review of the awesome Vari ProPlus 30 Electric sit-stand converter, I noted the company includes one of their Power Hubs with the purchase. (Read my review.) It gives you three AC outlets and two USB ports. I also noted that the Vari Power Hub, which is also available as a standalone product for $50, deserves its own review. Here’s why.
Anker, known for their power banks, chargers, and more, has released two new exciting power banks. The PowerCore Fusion 5000 is a 5,000 mAh power bank that is USB and USB-C compatible and doubles as a wall charger. The Powerhouse 200 is a 200Wh/57,600 mAh portable generator that boasts a 110V AC outlet, USB-C, USB, and a 12V car outlet.
iOttie, creators of best-selling smartphone mounts and a brand I’ve trusted for years, just announced their new iTap 2 Wireless Series of wireless charging mounts. The new iOttie iTap 2 Wireless Series uses strong magnets to keep your phone secure while built-in Qi charging keeps your phone’s battery juiced.
A few weeks ago, Tejas wrote about the Stealth Labs Speaker Backpack that’s currently on Indiegogo. At the time, I thought a backpack with a built-in speaker could be an interesting idea, but only if it were executed properly. After being sent a pre-release model to try out, I’ve decided that this backpack, for what it is, is nearly perfect.
Bad news for the six people still holding out hope: AirPower is dead. Apple announced today that the iPhone/Watch/AirPod charging mat could not be made into a viable product. Also, they needed the manpower to get Apple Card up and running-those chamfered titanium edges don’t design themselves. If you were holding out and now need a wireless charging dock, Gear Diary has reviewed devices from Scosche, Satechi, TwelveSouth, Nomad, and many others. It may sting to know that you won’t be able to charge your headphones, watch AND phone all in a perfect, Apple-designed row, but at least there are…
If you have an Android phone, you’ll generally know when fast charging is occurring because an on-screen message lets you know. On the iPhone, the only way to tell that fast wireless charging is occurring is to observe how quickly your phone charges during a time period (no, really). Apple fast wireless charging happens at 7.5W and Samsung’s happens at 10W; the Just Mobile AluBase Wireless can handle both.
You can change your mindset and your workflow in numerous ways to improve productivity. Sometimes, though, having the right gear makes the biggest difference. A wireless charger is an excellent example; they’re also called “Qi chargers” because Qi is the current wireless standard.
![[FUSE]chicken Universal All-In-One Travel Charger Is Everything You Need on the Go](https://geardiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/624211AB-93B9-43C0-9CC7-115A74849E6C-260x146.jpeg "[FUSE]chicken Universal All-In-One Travel Charger Is Everything You Need on the Go 15")
I have two gear pouches, a small one for every day and a large one for travel. Each carries an external battery and a wall adapter for charging. Thanks to the [FUSE]chicken Universal All-In-One Travel Charger, I can swap the two gadgets for a single one, as this is a wall adapter and a Qi charging battery.
One thing we can always count on is creative charging accessories from Oneadaptr that make keeping our devices powered-up a cinch. Their latest travel chargers, the Oneadaptr OneWorld PD and OneWorld Duo are made work in over 150 countries. With multiple fully grounded charging solutions built-in, they are the perfect gift for any frequent traveler.
If you’re going to be away from a charger for a time, and you need your iPhone to keep up and not leave you stranded, using the new mophie juice pack access is a great way to accomplish just that.
Grovemade is known for their innovative take on accessorizing your tech products, with everything from monitor stands for your MacBook down to speakers and even chargers for your iPhone. But one thing we’ve been waiting on the brand to make accessories for is the Apple Watch. And now Grovemade’s new Apple Watch dock adds a fresh take on making sure your smartwatch has power.
Remember the days when ribbon cable was popular? Okay, maybe you’re too young to remember its popularity, but if you’ve cracked open a computer, you’ve likely seen flat ribbons connecting drives to the motherboard. While flat cables are still used to connect components inside certain devices, they’re no longer used externally. Cable styles have shifted along with technology, leaning toward the thin side.
Wirelessly charging your devices may seem pointless to some skeptics, especially if you have a habit of checking your phone while charging, but if you’re looking for a great way to get full battery life without wires laying around everywhere, Choetech’s PowerDual 5-Coil Dual Fast Wireless Charger may be the way to go.
There are so many wireless chargers on the market, it may be pretty hard to figure out which one to go with, but with the V2 Wireless Charger, Satechi thinks they have the best solution to getting juice to your phone.
If you don’t mind using a portable battery pack without built-in charging cables, you’ll have plenty of options. If, however, you want a battery pack with built-in charging cables, your choices will be much more limited along which particular devices that work with that particular charger. Unless you get the intelliARMOR Scout Wireless Charger; it works with everything.
The Coolest Cooler started out as a Kickstarter project that received over $13 million in funding, and now it’s available for purchase starting at $249.99. With neat features like a built-in blender, LED light, USB charger, weather-resistant Bluetooth speaker, and more, the Coolest Cooler lives up to its name. Read on to learn more from our hands-on review.
Pitaka makes some of my favorite iPhone accessories and cases; of course, most of the accessories can be used by many other smartphones that have wireless charging. Let’s take a look at some of the new products Pitaka was showcasing at CES.
When I arrived at my first CES, I quickly discovered that the long days and congested cellular networks caused my phone’s battery to lose its charge in no time. We raced around looking for external batteries. From a design perspective, the Coal Portable Charger is a throwback to the external batteries of that time. But that’s only part of the story.