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Review: 2A wall/car dual chargers from iSmooth

Yep, it's the same iSmooth known for their screen protectors At first I was very skeptical because they are listed for Apple products, both dual port chargers with 2.1A and 1A - typical for iPad and iPhone/iPod devices. While talking to Paul, the guy behind iSmooth, he mentioned about using it to charge his Note 2 without any issues.
I got both of them, and can report they work perfectly with our Note 2. I can use either 2A or 1A ports to charge GN2 while still have other port used by another device, either android or apple. So functionally it definitely works. Another thing I noticed, 2A port charges the phone pretty fast, and when I connected iPod Touch to 1A port, the charge rate seems to be relative the same which suggests they don't share load where with some other chargers both ports are forced to 1A.
The construction of both is very solid, these are not cheap plastic chargers. Wall charger actually has substantial weight which suggest quality electrical components. Both have white/black theme, works with my UAG Navigator lol!!! Wall charger has a blue light indicator while car charger has a glowing blue ring. I tried capturing everything in picture details below. One thing that makes it unique, wall charger has a release latch to remove the electric plug. Once you do that, you have symmetrical 2-pin universal plug you can find on a ton of your devices around the house, like laptop ac-adapter or printer plugs. I actually used one from my laptop ac-adapter (not included with wall charger, obviously), but still a neat idea for extension cord. if your electrical outlet far away. But in general, wall plug is very slim and should fit without obstruct any other device plugged next to it.
The only drawback, wall charger is sold out on Amazon and I have been told it will take a few months before its back in stock. Oh, also forgot to mention - both wall and car charger come with 10 year free replacement guarantee. That is insane confidence of the product quality.
Ok, so here are the pics:
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Compact/mini charger that actually outputs 1.0a

Hi, i'm a heavy user some days, so I need a compact charger I can put on my keyring. I thought I had the perfect one of eBay for ~$3 (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200720521235?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649)
However, after several tests using "Charger Timer" I figured out that it only chargers at 500ma-thus making it take a very long time to charge. The point in this charger is to provide me with a quick battery boost ad-hoc, but it's pointless as it takes 1hr20 for a full charger(stock at 1000ma takes 40 minutes)
The seller offered me a replacement, but I'm not sure whether to take it incase I wait weeks then find out its the same low-output charger.
This is a popular charger (dx, eBay)-does anyone else own it? Does it work for you at 1.0a?
Can anyone suggest a cheap alternative compact charger?
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So does anyone think I just got a faulty one? I don't know whether to both getting the replacement from the seller...
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

the Anker Astro Slim 3
ycon said:
So does anyone think I just got a faulty one? I don't know whether to both getting the replacement from the seller...
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont know if this would work for you or not, but I just ordered the Anker Astro Slim 3 and it has two ports that will charge at 1 Amp each. It is slim enough that i have been able to charge my Galaxy S3 while using the phone and stacking the charger directly behind it. So far, i am very pleased with it. I am attaching a couple of pictures so that you can see it. I am charging my nexus 10 and my nexus S in the picture. Hope this is helpful

Thanks for that!
But I'm after something much more compact.
I'm really surprised this isn't a common thing-having it on my keyring (even if 0.5a) has been incredibly handy.
Any other suggestions?
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Has anyone got a suggestion for me yet?
I've finally received the one I ordered, and no surprise, despite being advertised as 1a, it charges slooowly at 0.5a.
Size of it was prefect- fit nicely on my keyring and wasn't even bulky
And then after a week, it broke...

I like Anker stuff as well since I reviewed a lot of their products (in my signature link). The problem is that it sound like you are not from US, Australia from your ebay link? That is always an issue because a lot of US companies deal only with a few international amazon. You mentioned DX.com - love their products as well, reviewed a lot of their stuff, always a pleasure to deal with, and they ship to Australia without a problem.
Here is my thought about your 500mA charging. Are you sure its not a cable? Most of today's chargers are 1A-2A (all new Galaxy stuff charges at fast 2A speed) while tablets like Nexus 7 use at least 1A. So it's easy to get 1A charging speed out of most of today's chargers since they all use a common voltage/current regulator chips inside. BUT, you will LIMIT your current with usb cable. A lot of these cheap cables are designed for computers, and a common USB2.0 PC port only outputs 500mA, and cables are made out of thin wire. Thin wire will limit your current, will overheat, and will create other problems. For 2A you need to use USB cable with a thicker wires. So just look around your house for different usb cables to confirm. Usually the OEM cable that comes with your phone will be designed for max charging speed of your phone. I like buying Monoprice cables, but again not sure if they ship overseas.

At DX, look for the HTC One chargers. After lots of frustrating purchases those were the only that I could find that delivered the mentioned current.
I think you may have trouble finding one that fits your country's wall socket.

Have you tried different cables? My S3 draws anything between 0.3 and 1A from my charger depending on the cable I use.

Nylon USB Cables

Hi,
My Samsung and apple usb chargers are absolute crap so I was looking at these new Nylon braided USB cables which are:
- at least 2x in length;
- much more durable;
- boast that they charge and sync at 2.4A which is significantly higher than the stock samsung and apple chargers.
Pretty sure you can buy reversible and micro USB cables also.
Has anyone had experience with these?
Here's an example product I found which seems great in value and holds the above specs:
http://www.amazon.com/Ace-Teah-Universal-Braided-Charger/dp/B013E2KT4M/
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my Samsung and apple usb chargers are absolute crap
I use a samsung 2 Amp charger, which has a usb socket in it – for charging my table and/or mobile phone. What do you mean crap? I haven't had one fail, and works as expected. So is this thread relating to the charger itself? Or relating to usb cables? For my charger, the charger has a usb socket – so you could put whatever kind of cable you want on it.

DO ...NOT ...BUY
I have had several ...
1. The contact is poorly molded. The micro-usb contact will soon pop out of the mold and break off.
2. The sleeve does nothing at all. It just looks cool.. the poor way the cable and contacts is molded it does not make the cable stronger.
3. Even how much the information emphasize that the cable can transfer more amperes this is not the case... All sleeve kind of usb cables I have had stalled at about 450mAh.
The best cables are the one that is not fitted with "bling bling" all around or brag about its quality.
I recommend you to instead buy a classic cable http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=5458&seq=1&format=2
This has:
Ferrite Core. Most people doesn't know what this round brick around the cable does anyway..
28/24AWG ..you can bend it all you want. It won't break. Also allow for more current to pass.
Gold plated. Does nothing but looks good..it will scratch off after a month from inserting and removing.
Note: The cables from monoprice isn't something special. They are only a retailer. The cables are manufactured in china.

It is a very nice usb cable. I had it for days and still works great.

Compatible Micro USB Cables for the Swift

Hi everyone.
As you have probably realised, the USB port on the swift is slightly deeper than the standard.
I thought it would be useful to start this thread with cables that I have tried and whether they worked.
Asus Nexus 7 2012 Micro USB cable, works perfectly, this port is also a little recessed.
Anker Braided, fits fine but doesn't have the same hold on the port as the original or the N7. But better than most.
Aukey Micro USB, these are cheap and fit like the original WileyFox cable. I hadn't heard of them before, image below to help interested parties find them.
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OnePlus Micro USB cable, I figured it was the same as the WileyFox cable as visually similar design, I had one from my old OnePlus One, it is not the same reach though.
In short, I think any 8mm cable will do the trick, share any others that you have found below.

I use RAVpower 5 pack. It fits perfectly and I have 5 different lengths.

teamcoy said:
Hi everyone.
As you have probably realised, the USB port on the swift is slightly deeper than the standard.
I thought it would be useful to start this thread with cables that I have tried and whether they worked.
Asus Nexus 7 2012 Micro USB cable, works perfectly, this port is also a little recessed.
Anker Braided, fits fine but doesn't have the same hold on the port as the original or the N7. But better than most.
Aukey Micro USB, these are cheap and fit like the original WileyFox cable. I hadn't heard of them before, image below to help interested parties find them.
View attachment 3674808
OnePlus Micro USB cable, I figured it was the same as the WileyFox cable as visually similar design, I had one from my old OnePlus One, it is not the same reach though.
In short, I think any 8mm cable will do the trick, share any others that you have found below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey
When my swift cable broke I switched to a Lumia 520 USB cable. That cable has a nice hold to the swift.

The cable provided with my girlfriend's RavPower external battery is a perfect fit.
 @silasnicholls , could you post a link for the 5 pack?

Pak0St said:
The cable provided with my girlfriend's RavPower external battery is a perfect fit.
 @silasnicholls , could you post a link for the 5 pack?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Upgraded-V...id=1461266942&sr=8-1&keywords=ravpower+5+pack
This is UK and very cheap.

Thank you, @silasnicholls !

my Sony USB from my last phone (Experia Miro) works fine, the one for mt Sony RX-100 is touch and go as it's a little shorter.
I've not had any issues with USB's for phones so far
from a mech eng point of view I'm not a fan of the Wiley USB as a longer male terminal means it's more likely to damage the internals if it gets a whack as it has more leverage, hence I only use the WileyWhite at home. The Miro USB gets used most, plugged into my works PC

Just an update to this; these from Amazon UK are spot on and fit perfectly; https://www.amazon.co.uk/iTALKonlin...4738&sr=8-3&keywords=usb+cable+wileyfox+swift

Anker Cables seem to fit nicely. I got mine bundled with the PowerCore 10000.

Any rubber cables I have such as the one I had for my S2 I just cut off a bit of the end and now the cable fits fine. Although my Oneplus X cable works without any modifications

[review] RavPower ultra-compact 45W PD GaN charger

RavPower reached out to me to see if I'd be interested in reviewing their new 45W gallium nitride (GaN) charger. If you haven't heard of GaN yet you'll likely be seeing it more and more as it's a newer tech that allows chargers to be smaller and more powerful. The only other on on the market right now is from Aukey, which is about the size of the OEM iPhone brick but can deliver 29W via PD. RavPower's offering is a bit larger and takes a different design approach, but ups the power to 45W making it suitable for charging devices like laptops as well as our phones. I'd read about it and seen pictures, but I didn't appreciate just how small it is until I actually got the unit.
Instead of a square brick RavPower's charger is more of a card design, with a folding plug that makes it very pocketable. At about 15mm thin the charger is insanely slim, and since the Type C Port sits at the bottom of the charger when plugged in this thing can fit behind some ridiculously tight spaces. This orientation may not always be ideal as it takes up a larger footprint along the wall, but in general I prefer it to a brick that sticks out far from the wall. The overall footprint is slightly smaller than a standard credit card. Like I said, I'd seen pictures of this before but was still blown away at just how small this charger was.
The charger uses power delivery to deliver up to 45W, and can output at 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, and 20V/2.25A. Obviously the Pixels can only handle up to 18W but I also have a first gen Samsung Chromebook Plus and a Switch that can utilize the higher charging speeds. Using my USB C voltage tester I was able to confirm that the RavPower charged the Pixel 3 just as fast as the OEM Google brick (about 9V/1A) and it charged my Chromebook at 15V/2.25A.
This will be my new travel charger. It is so slim that it fits into any bag just fine and delivers enough power to charge both my laptop and phone at full speed. In fact, I just returned from vacation where it acted as my primary charger for two Chromebooks, two Pixels and a Switch. I'd love to see a dual port option so I could charge a few devices at once since this has enough power to charge two phones at full speed simultaneously. Still, as a first gen product this is quite impressive. I've used several RavPower chargers and battery banks throughout the years and never been disappointed; they have all been well designed and performed as expected. Even with high expectations, this charger has wowed me.
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I hope this technology comes to battery packs soon. Those are getting way too big!