We all have gadgets and we all forget to charge their batteries, it’s happened to all of us many times,be it a cellphone, iPod or whatever we’ve all done it more than once. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a small portable gadget that could help us out when we ‘forget’ to charge our batteries?
Now there is and it’s more than just a gadget to charge your devices when you forget to, it’s actually it’s own charger as well. This little gadget can charge two or four ‘AAA’ batteries via USB and use those to charge your devices. There are numerous adapters for many brands of cellphones available as well for it. It works with a normal USB connection, but also comes with a special power connection to be used in conjunction with the adapters. The USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch from USBFever also includes a little LED light making it even more useful. Not only can you charge and use rechargeable batteries with this device but you can use standard batteries as well if need be to give your gadgets an extra boost of power.
Review: USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch from USBFever
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Sponsor: USBFever
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch
Product Code#:AL020-A638
Price: US$13.9
Highlights:
The unique features for this charger is not only it has a Torch, it is a charger to all USB Powered device as well as a charger to the 4 AAA batteries which in return, could be used to charge other USB powered devices after charging up.
Features:
– It is a Torch.
– It is a charger to iPod, Cellphones, PDAs, and even PSP (Connector Tips are sold seperately)
– It is a charger to AAA Batteries (maximum 4 pieces at a time).
– Powered either by 4 ordinary AAA batteries or 4 rechargeable AAA batteries
– Ergonomic
– Lightweight & Pocketable
– LED indicator (when you are charging the 4 AAA batteries)
– Temperature sensors
– Reverse Polarity Protection
– Over Current Protection
– Short Circuit Protection
Options: (see notes)
– Package 01: Retractable USB to 3.5mm cable + Motorola connector Tips (+ US$3)
– Package 02: Retractable USB to 3.5mm cable + Nokia connector Tips (+ US$3)
– Package 03: Retractable USB to 3.5mm cable + SonyEricsson connector Tips (+ US$3)
– Package 04: Retractable USB to 3.5mm cable + Samsung connector Tips (+ US$3)
– Package 05: Retractable USB to 3.5mm cable + Sony PSP connector Tips (+ US$3)
– Package 06: Retractable USB to 3.5mm cable + Siemens connector Tips (+ US$3)
– Package 07: Retractable USB to 3.5mm cable + LG connector Tips (+ US$3)
– Package 08: Retractable USB to Dock for iPod (+ US$4)
Compatible with:
– iPod Video
– iPod Nano II
– iPod Shuffle I
Options: Color
– Swan White
Package Contents:
– USB Charger with Torch x 1
– USB cable x 1
– Battery Cell for 4 AAA batteries x 1
Note:
– No any AAA batteries are to be included in the package
– Retractable USB to 3.5mm cable is Not shown in the pictures above, it is a cable similar(not exactly) to this one.
– Retractable USB to Dock for iPod is as this one, just the color is either Black or White randomly, if you would like to ship in dedicated color, please put a not one the "message to seller" on Paypal before sending money to us or send another email to us after checkout. Thanks!
– Note that sometimes due to the design of the device, voltage requirements or other special requirements, some devices may not be chargeable under some circumstances, for details, you may check with your device manual or the manufacturer.
A Better Look at Things
:
The USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch from USBFever itself comes packaged in a plastic clamshell package. Included in the package with the Charger is a USB cable and a plastic battery carrying case.
Included with it on the side is a retractable USB power cable. Special tips can be purchased separately for the brand of cellphone you own. In the following pictures are the tips for Nokia, LG and Motorola brand cellphones.
The device itself is fairly plain looking, with a small three-position switch located on the top near the bottom that is labeled Charge – USE – OFF . The Charge position is for charging the batteries inside of the device, the Use position is for using the LED flashlight and using the device to power or charge your gadget, and of course the Off position is power off. Directly below the switch on the bottom side is the USB connection, which lights up red and blue to indicate charging and full charge.
The entire lid slides open to access the battery compartment, you can use two or four Ni-MH ‘AAA’ (800 or 750mAh) rechargeable batteries with it, or you can just use standard ‘AAA’ alkaline batteries as well.
On the front if where the white LED is located, and the bottom corner is a slide switch to operate it.
The USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch is very well made, it feels very sturdy. It’s lightweight making it very portable.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
Luckily I had a couple rechargeable ‘AAA’ batteries floating around that I could use with the USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch from USBFever. If I hadn’t had them handy I would have had to go out and purchase them at additional cost. This gadget does not come with any batteries, but as I mentioned already you don’t have to use them to make it work.
When charging batteries the USB port will light up red, and when they are charged it will turn to blue to let you know it’s finished. Very easy to do, no problems there… It also mentioned in the instructions that the light will flash if you have defective batteries, so this is also a good way to check your old rechargeables.
Originally I intended to use this gadgets with my LG C3100 cellphone, but the tips they sent me for LG brand phones did not fit mine. For whatever reason LG and all the other cellphone makers like to not have any standard for charging their phones from model to model…
I use my LG phone as a ‘beater’ phone when I’m doing something where I don’t want my smartphone to be broken or just have no need of it. Luckily though my smartphone has essentially a standard charging jack and the Nokia style adapter tips work fine with it.
My phone is a VOQ Windows Mobile Samrtphone, on the screen there is an indicator that lets you know it’s charging/connected to external power and an LED on the side that lights up red to also let you know it’s charging, it will turn green when completed.
Here’s some assorted pictures of my phone hooked up to the USB Charger:
{amazon id=’B0002Z9AIQ’ align=’RIGHT’}
I also used this gadget with my mp3 player as well, it uses standard USB connection to charge it and I could just plug it directly into the charger to charge it.
The included LED light does come in quite handy, and it’s very bright as well. The switch is actually a dual switch where you can slide it lightly for momentary on and slide all the way to lock into the on position.
This is one of those gadgets that truly is handy and useful, we all forget to charge our devices from time to time and this little gadget can really be a life saver. It works and works well, it does exactly what it is supposed to do.
According to the specs the USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch from USBFever features numerous sensors, including: temperature, over current, short circuit, automatic charging cut-off and reverse polarity protection, so it really is a feature packed device in a small portable package.
Charging times and battery life vary of course on the type, style and brand or battery you are using with this gadget so I can’t tell you exactly how it performed, except that it worked great for me with my cellphone and mp3 player using both standard alkaline and rechargeable batteries.
One flaw I found is that the instructions are a bit lacking in that it doesn’t explain to you where you need to put the batteries when you are only charging two of them, through trial and error I figured it out though. It would have been nice had this been listed in the manual or marked on the device itself.
Summary:
Overall the USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch from USBFever is a very handy little gadget with many, many uses. You can use it to charge your batteries for other devices, you can use it as an emergency power source or to charge a devices’ battery and it even includes a handy LED light.
It’s a great little gadget that I know keep in my glove compartment in case of emergencies…
DragonSteelMods gives the USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch a 4.5 out of 5 score and our Recommended Award as well.
Pros:
-Inexpensive
-Well made
-Portable
-Very handy with many uses
-Dual powered
Cons:
-Doesn’t come with batteries
-Not compatible with all phones
-Instruction are lacking
I would like to thank USBFever for the chance to review the USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch and for their continued support of DSM.
review# 328