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Review of Anker 3.6A dual port wall charger w/pics!!!

This is a review of Anker 3.6A dual usb port wall charger: http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-18W-3-6A-Wall-Charger/dp/B00B8L36A6/
Just like cases, wall chargers market starting to get saturated with too many choices any time you search for one. But to find a good quality one that will live up to its current rating, have a reliable design that will not burn out, and with a relatively small footprint and dual output - that's not easy to find. I looked into testing of new Anker 3.6A wall charger to see how it will meet all these requirements.
First of all, the charger itself is very compact and lightweight. Under 80g with a dimensions of approximately 70mm x 55mm x 25mm it will be very comfortable to take with you while traveling. It's slim design is not obstructive if you either plug it into wall outlet (leaving enough room for another plug if its a dual outlet) or power strip where it could be used along side with other cables. For such a slim design it has a very impressive spec of 3.6A of shared output current between two ports. Obviously having a dual usb port is a huge bonus, but being able to supply 3.6A into both of them (combined and shared between two ports) or into each (if only one port used at a time) - this is very impressive! Yes, they have it labeled as one port being Android and the other one Apple, but while testing it with Galaxy Note 2 and Nexus 7 I found both ports work reliably to charge android devices. I guess this just means that you can also use it to charge Apple device with their proprietary charging circuit. I have another dual wall charger from about a year ago where I can't charger Android devices from "apple" port. This Anker charger, which I verified with their car charger as well, has no issues powering up Android devices I tested from their "apple" port. I also verified with my Note 2 that charging current was at max 2A, so the phone will be charged up at maximum speed. Furthermore, I had both Note 2 and Nexus 7 plugged in together, both charging as AC in battery setting, and I have verified Note 2 sinking 2A. Also while charging, I didn't feel any overheating, it stayed cool.
Definitely a highly recommended wall charger and a great value for under $12 for 3.6A dual port slim design which is covered by Anker's 18-month warranty.
Here are some pics:
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I got this little guy ahead of your review, and can't agree more. Charger does the job very well on either port.

Thanks just ordered one. Been needing one for some time now what with three tablets and four phones. This will come in handy and with Amazon Prime's free shipping is a nice little deal.

One thing I have to mention is that when charging Note 2 and another Android non-Samsung device, I would recommend to keep Note 2 on "apple" port while other device on "android" port. I had two Nexus 7 tablets charging on both ports, starting at the same low battery level, and found the one connected to "android" port was charging at a faster rate. Bottom line, Samsung phones charge at fast rate from both ports, while other Android devices like Nexus 7 charge faster from android port versus apple one.

vectron said:
Bottom line, Samsung phones charge at fast rate from both ports, while other Android devices like Nexus 7 charge faster from android port versus apple one.
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That explains some of the debate going on in the 2 amp car charger thread.
Some people were saying that "apple" 2.1a ports won't charge the note 2 quickly when others were saying it charged their note 2s fine. Maybe you should go report your findings in that thread too?

+1.5A Dual Android wall charger?

I recently picked up an Anker dual car charger (link). It has two ports labeled Apple, the other Android. Both ports can supply 2.4A, for a total of 4.8A.
When I charge my phone from the Android side I get very close to 1A, but when I use the Apple side that goes down to around 500mA. To note, I used the same cable and only one port was used while testing. I used Battery Monitor Widget to track the charge rates.
Either side is strong enough to charge our phones, but it would be great if they both charges at full charge rates. So now I am looking for a wall charger and ideally I would like a dual port charger that can charge two Android devices at over 1.5A. I know we can't use 1.5A but it will future proof the chargers for a while, or will work with tablets.

SykesAT said:
I recently picked up an Anker dual car charger (link). It has two ports labeled Apple, the other Android. Both ports can supply 2.4A, for a total of 4.8A.
When I charge my phone from the Android side I get very close to 1A, but when I use the Apple side that goes down to around 500mA. To note, I used the same cable and only one port was used while testing. I used Battery Monitor Widget to track the charge rates.
Either side is strong enough to charge our phones, but it would be great if they both charges at full charge rates. So now I am looking for a wall charger and ideally I would like a dual port charger that can charge two Android devices at over 1.5A. I know we can't use 1.5A but it will future proof the chargers for a while, or will work with tablets.
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Click to collapse
Maybe look at getting a powered USB hub? I know the 2 I have at home can supply more than the 500mA USB2 spec as they've back powered my raspberry pi with a hdd attached before.

from my limited research, apple and android phones use different methods for signaling AC charging.
Android phones like to have the data pins in the USB cable shorted to each other to signal the phone for AC fast charging.
Not sure what Apple does, but it's not the same. That's why there are two different ports on the charger. Android ports have the data pins shorted together.
On a side note, you can also buy "charging only" cables on amazon that do the data pin shorting inside the cable. this may let you use your android phone with the apple labeled USB ports.

ez12a said:
from my limited research, apple and android phones use different methods for signaling AC charging.
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Click to collapse
This is correct. Apple devices want to see some combination of 2V and 2.8V on the data +/- lines to signal wall adapter charging. They do it this way because it allows the charger to tell the device what amperage it's capable of delivering (500mA, 1A or 2A) which is pretty cool.

It's been my impression that even using an charging only cable/adapter an Apple charging port will only give you 500 mA.
For what it's worth I recently emailed Anker about this and they said as much. I don't have an appropriate cable or charger to test it on. But Anker also told me they will be releasing new chargers in December that feature their smart charging port which detects what type of device you've attached (Apple, Samsung or generic Android) and then behaves accordingly. I just ordered one of their external battery packs (Astro3) which has one of these ports for 2.1A plus 2 x 1.5A Android ports. A similar AC charger would be nice if you can wait.

tmagritte said:
It's been my impression that even using an charging only cable/adapter an Apple charging port will only give you 500 mA.
For what it's worth I recently emailed Anker about this and they said as much. I don't have an appropriate cable or charger to test it on. But Anker also told me they will be releasing new chargers in December that feature their smart charging port which detects what type of device you've attached (Apple, Samsung or generic Android) and then behaves accordingly. I just ordered one of their external battery packs (Astro3) which has one of these ports for 2.1A plus 2 x 1.5A Android ports. A similar AC charger would be nice if you can wait.
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That is great to know. I can live with what I have until they release that charger. thanks.

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http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=111292550874
Pretty good deal, imo. Just arriwed, will share my experiences.
Nexus5 X Tapatalk Pro

Portable Chargers Comparison

For some of you coming from phones with removable batteries, you may have some anxiety about running out of battery life and not being able to swap a spare in. I was the same way a year ago, but I didn’t let that fear keep me from buying a newer phone without a removable battery. So I decided to just grab a few portable chargers to use and I’m glad I did.
Below is a comparison of the portable chargers I have. To try and compare them as fair as possible, the process was simple. Reboot the phone, fire up the stopwatch, set to 15 minutes, shut off the screen, plug in the charger, and leave it alone. The readings were taken from Battery Monitor Widget which was set to update the history every 60 seconds. I used a charging cable from my HTC EVO 4G LTE. I didn’t have my N5 charging cable with me and we know sometimes the cable can play a big role. So take that in to consideration if you think my numbers are off.
The portable chargers from left to right.
1.New Trent iCarrier 12000mAh Portable Dual USB Port - $39.95 (Amazon)
*The one I have is an older model which doesn’t included the “Recharge by USB” option. Mine can only be recharged via AC Wall Adapter. The new model has both options but doesn’t included the wall chargers.
2. Anker® Astro 5600mAh Portable Power Bank - $29.99 (Amazon)
3. Anker Astro Mini 3000mAh Ultra-Compact Portable Charger Lipstick-Sized - $19.99 (Amazon)
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Test Results:
Review for Each:
New Trent:
I originally bought this to be used with my Nexus 7 (2012) since it was REALLY picky about what could charge it. You can tell this is a lot bulkier than the other two and isn’t something you’ll throw in your pocket. I keep this in my backpack and only use it when I don’t plan on moving around. Or if there are two people/devices that need to be charged. The plastic housing feels a little cheap, but I understand the idea was to keep the weight down on an already ‘heavier’ portable charger. It has held up well.
I’ve used this thing 3-4 times on my phones without it dying which is nice. This one re-charges using a AC Wall Charger (No longer included) or via USB (5v 2A…no charger included). NOTE: I have the older model which does not have the “Charge via USB” option. Only the AC wall charger option which it did come with. I can’t imagine how long it would take to charge via USB. It already takes a long time using the AC Wall Adapter.
Anker Astro:
This has been my Go-To portable charger for over a year. And it still charges my phone at least twice. When it comes to size vs. capability it is the clear winner. It also includes a LED Flashlight built in. There is a 4 light meter that tells you the status of the battery when charging a device or when being charged itself. Or you can just hit the button to see how full it is.
It can easily fit in your pocket or purse. I have a few very short micro-usb cables laying around so I’ll bring that with me too so I don’t have a 3ft cable in my pocket.
Anker Astro Mini:
I just bought this on sale and was surprised at it’s weight when it arrived. It has a metal casing so that probably adds to the weight. The fit/finish is very nice looking. When holding this in one hand and the Anker Astro in the other, you don’t feel much of a difference. Yes the Mini is round/smaller, but it isn’t a huge difference for me. The mini fits in your pocket nice.
If you are looking for something very portable, a little cheaper than the other options, and a charger that will charge you up once (maybe 1.5 times), then this is a good option. But if you may think you’ll need the portable charger for more than 1 charge while out, go with the Anker Astro (5600 mAh).

I have the Anker astro, but it takes AGES to charge my n5, almost as if it was being detected as a pc usb port rather than a charger.. any ideas? Stock rooted...

crazyguns said:
I have the Anker astro, but it takes AGES to charge my n5, almost as if it was being detected as a pc usb port rather than a charger.. any ideas? Stock rooted...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What cable are you using with it?
Get the battery monitor widget app and see what it says when plugged in.

Nice quick review.
Strange that New Trent 2A output is less powerful then regular usb..
And the average charging mA for Astro mini seems bit lower than it should be. Both Astros have the same output rating, arent they?

kmckmc said:
Nice quick review.
Strange that New Trent 2A output is less powerful then regular usb..
And the average charging mA for Astro mini seems bit lower than it should be. Both Astros have the same output rating, arent they?
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Click to collapse
Yes, Both Astro devices have the same output rating.

This seems a very interesting device

Review of MPow 4.2A dual usb car charger w/lots of pics!!!

This is a review of MPow 4.2A dual usb port car charger. http://www.amazon.com/Mpow®-4-2Amps-Charger-Android-Devices/dp/B00HLHHBHA/
Car charger is probably one of the most common smartphone accessories. We all like to take trips, stream our favorite music stations, keep our eyes on the traffic with Google maps, make some phone calls, and maybe even have wifi hotspot running for other passengers in the car. All this is going to drain your phone battery in no time. That's why we need to keep our phone on a charger while driving. And not just any charger, we need something that's going to source enough current to charge your phone at max speed. Let's take a closer look at what I found.
Both of the MPow car changer units, black and white, arrived in a nicely packaged box with a front display showing the actual charger. Taking it out of the box revealed a very compact dual car charger, about 3.5" in length and almost 1" across usb port side. When I say compact, I mean it was a size of a regular single port charger, while they were actually able to squeeze two in there. Another good point about compact size is that it won't take too much room in cigarette outlet and won't interfere with anything next to it. Once plugged into the outlet, it has a nice soft blue light to indicate the power is on and also to guide the connection in the dark. I do have to note that usb connection itself is a bit on a tight side which is actually good to hold the cable without falling out. But at the same time pulling on the cable will actually remove the charger itself unless you hold it down with your hand.
The most important test is if it can actually deliver 2 amps per port. A lot of the chargers claim they do, but it only works when one port is plugged in. In this case, I was able to confirm charging my Note 2 at max speed (the same reading I get from my original 2A Samsung wall charger), and I was able to do that while also charging Nexus 7 (HD, 2013 edition) which charges at 1.5A. Although I don't have two Note 2 to verify full 4.2A dual charging capacity, I have a feeling that won't be a problem.
Overall, I found this dual usb car charger to have great performance, solid build, and delivering it's advertised charging capacity without a problem. Covered by 18-months warranty and currently on Amazon for $6.99 (down from original $9.99, need to use code MPOW01CA at checkout) - this is one fantastic value!
Here are the pictures.
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Good review. My car has a USB port built into the head unit, and it really isn't meant for charging. My Galaxy S III would just barely stream music via Slacker and hold the same battery percentage. If yoou're getting the same kind of charging capabilities out of this as you do with you wall charger, that's mighty impressive. I think I'll have to put this on my list of general accessories to get.

Hello Vectron, I just checked the amazon link, it's $7.99 now.

Pickson said:
Hello Vectron, I just checked the amazon link, it's $7.99 now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for pointing it out. I noticed they (MPow) constantly run specials on their products (car chargers, speakers, batteries) which gets noted in special offers section with a coupon code.

Perfect review. Might pick this on up.

vectron said:
Thanks for pointing it out. I noticed they (MPow) constantly run specials on their products (car chargers, speakers, batteries) which gets noted in special offers section with a coupon code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know the lowest price of a car charger? I found many car chargers which range from $7.99 to $14.99.

Review of Bolse 60W/12A 7-port usb wall charger w/lots of pics!!!

This is a review of Bolse 60W (12A) 7-port usb wall charger. http://mybolse.com/product/detail_B00L2SBZ80.html , available on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Desktop-Technology-Bluetooth-Speakers-Detachable/dp/B00L2SBZ80/
How many smartphones and tablets do you have in your family? A lot, right? How about wireless headphones or speakers, or maybe smartwatch, or activity bracelet, and so on. What does it all mean? You have all these devices requiring a usb charging port. If you are relying on the original single port wall charger that came bundled with your gadget, you will not have enough wall power outlets to cover each device. There is a number of multi-port charging solutions, but so far I haven't found anything in compact footprint and higher than 40W. Apparently Bolse realized that if you factor in all the latest devices that benefit from 2A fast charging and latest iDevices that require 2.4A, you will need more current to keep everybody charging happily at the same time. So they come up with a 7-port compact wall charger that's able to supply 12A of a combined current!!! Here is what I found.
Arrived in environmentally friendly packaging, it had plenty of details about the product as you flip the box around. The most notable details were compact size (approximately 4.3" x 2.6" x 1.2"), 12A of a combined current, and 7 ports featuring new SmartIC technology. This new SmartIC technology is based on a controller chip which detects and optimizes amount of current based on a device you are using. Each of the 7 ports of this charger have this SmartIC technology so you don't have to guess which port to use for your phone or your tablet or even your iPad. In addition to current detection to maximize the charging speed, each port also has over-heating, over-current, and short circuit protection. As a matter of fact, the top of this charger has perforated surface to allow a better cooling of the device. The wall charger itself connects to a power outlet through a provided 5ft cable, and there is also led indicating when charger is powered up.
During my testing I had no issues connecting multiple devices to this charger, and was able to monitor and to confirm all of them charging at their max speed where the only limitation was the usb cable. You should be aware that not every usb cable will be able to provide a maximum amount of current due to a thickness of the wires which play a limiting factor in charging speed. Also, the max combined current can't exceed 12A, so for example, you can't have 7x iPad w/Retina charging simultaneous at the max speed, or 7x Galaxy phones/tablets charging at 2A each at the same time. But still, a combination of 7 USB ports and 12A of shared current is more than enough for any household.
Overall, I was very impressed with a spec of this wall charger and wasn't disappointed with its actual performance. Being able to supply 12A of combined current, providing 7-ports for charging, and equipping each port with SmartIC technology, while being covered under 12-months warranty - definitely a great deal, now offered on Amazon for $35.99.
Here are the pictures.
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Great review, I was a bit cautious about buying one of these from Amazon or eBay as I have been 'stung' before by similar cheap Chinese products that fail quickly or are just plain dangerous. So now I intend to buy one based on your recommendation!
Your comment about the USB cables is interesting, I struggle to find a quality USB cable because there never seems to be a proper specification to them when ordering online. It seems to be common assumption that USB cables are all the same. Can you recommend any quality ones?

Usb cable recommendation is always a tough one because most of them are inconsistent in production quality. I used to love monoprice cables, but now you get one good out of two or three. It doesn't really matter if you spend more money since I've seen better performing $1 cables than some $6. Might as well get a bunch of cables and see which one gives you a faster charging speed. You can use something like I reviewed here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2451375 - doesn't tell you the exact reading but rather a relative reading so you can compare to find the one with a faster charging speed.

That's been very helpful. Thanks very much for the info.
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