Tag: USB car charger

Belkin offers a USB-C car charger that ticks the boxes for that standard

Article

Belkin USB-C Car Charger press picture courtesy of Belkin

Belkin USB-C car charger – works tightly to USB expectations to make sure your gadgets work properly

Belkin’s new USB-C car charger will intelligently charge your phones and tablets | Android Central

From the horse’s mouth

Belkin

Product Page

Press Release

My Comments

Belkin have launched a USB-C car charger that can charge up one of the newer smartphones, tablets or ultraportable laptops that are powered through the USB Type-C connector, which is becoming the trend for today’s portable computing equipment. This also comes in handy if a passenger wants to use that tablet or 2-in-1 during that car journey without compromising the device’s battery runtime.  Think of activities like being on the Internet or even viewing online video material to while away the journey would be considered risky for your 2-in-1’s battery.

One may think that the Belkin USB-C car charger that plugs in to the cigar-lighter socket in the car and sells for US$50 is too expensive for this class of device but there is more to it to assure that the device it is connected to is properly and safely powered so it lasts a long time.

This car charger implements advanced universal-supply circuitry to stabilise its output current, which prevents the power surges associated with starting up the engine from getting to the equipment it supplies. As well, this circuitry matches the power supply to the equipment’s needs to prevent any risk of damage the that equipment.

It is also compliant to USB-PD to assure proper power supply to one of the new smartphones, tablets or ultraportable computers and can supply a load of up to 27 watts. The requirement for power supplies and cables to be compliant to this standard has come about because of the market’s awareness of substandard USB cables and power supplies placing the expensive personal-computing and communications devices we have at risk of damage. Here, Amazon have tightened their rules regarding the purchasing of USB accessories where they won’t procure these accessories for sale through their channels unless they are certified compliant by USB-IF.

The supplied cable which has a USB Type-C connector on each end has a length of 4 feet or 1.2 metres which would reach from the dashboard to the back seat of most cars or the first row of seats in a vehicle with multiple rows of seats. Of course, you could use it with existing smartphones and tablets when you use a USB Type-C adaptor cable – a USB-C to Micro USB cable for most Android and Windows devices or a USB-C to female USB-A cable along with an Apple Lightning cable or an Apple USB-C to Lightning cable for your iOS devices.

This USB-C car adaptor could earn its keep with powering or charging the newly-released portable computing equipment on a long journey so you have enough power to use it at the destination.

USB Type-C appears as a car charger and external battery pack

Nomad RoadTrip

Article

The First USB-C Car Charger Also Throws In A Backup Battery | Gizmodo

From the horse’s mouth

Nomad

RoadTrip Car Charger (Product Page)

MOS ReachGo Battery Bank

Article

The First USB-C Battery That Can Charge A Laptop At Full Speed | Gizmodo

From the horse’s mouth

MOS

Reach Go (Product Page)

My Comments

Two companies have put forward power supply accessories which implement the new USB Type-C connector along with the USB Type-A connector.This is to capitalise on the newer phones, tablets and laptops that will be equipped with this new USB connector and provide a future-proof setup

The MOS ReachGo which is the first external battery pack to implement USB Type-C connectivity is similar to most USB battery packs although it is a slimline device. It has two USB Type-C and 2 USB Type-A connections with the ability for it to work as a USB 3.0 hub. It capitalises on the USB Type-C standard by being able to charge up a MacBook Air at full speed courtesy of its 15000mAh battery.

The Nomad RoadTrip is the first USB car charger of the kind that plugs in to your vehicle’s 12-volt accessory socket or cigar-lighter socket to implement USB Type-C connectivity. This unit provides 2.1A each to both the USB Type-C and USB Type-A sockets and has an integrated 3000mAh battery pack so it doubles as an external battery pack for your thirsty smartphone. It would most likely be able to work well with most mobile devices but may not provide the power to charge up a laptop like the MacBook Air.

It is worth knowing that you can use the Type-C connectivity on these chargers with your existing USB device if you use a USB Type-C adaptor cable. Out of the two, I would find that the MOS ReachGo battery pack as being one that shows promise for the Type-C capabilities.