Hasta La Gadget!

Apple is going to let people trade in their third party iPhone chargers for an official Apple USB Power Adapter for 10 bucks. So if you want to save $9 off the retail price and/or get rid of possibly faulty chargers, head to an Apple Store starting August 16th with a third party charger and an iPhone, iPad or iPod. [Apple via 9to5Mac]

Read more…

It’s been awhile since we last heard about Griffin‘s PowerDock 5 charging station — back in January at CES, in fact. However, the company finally launched the new product today and is touting it as a central place to charge all of your mobile devices, including tablets, complete with five charging bays with their own USB port.

What’s quite unique about the PowerDock 5 is that it includes clear plastic dividers that separate each of the charging bays, but they also act as a support for leaning your mobile devices against, and they’re strong enough to support a full-size iPad. Griffin is marketing the PowerDock 5 for iOS device, but we reckon it can be used with just about any other device as well.

As for specifics, each USB port is rated at 10 watts (5 volts DC @ 2.1 amps). 2.1 amps is enough to adequately charge a tablet and the extra amperage can charge a smartphone faster than the traditional 1 amp would, but if there’s anything you should know about battery health, it’s that battery life can degrade over time if you overuse amps when charging a phone, so that’s something to keep in mind for the future.

We took a gander of the charging station at CES and were surprised by how light it was. It’s essentially made entirely of plastic with a rubber base on the bottom to prevent it from sliding around on tabletops. As mentioned, the plastic dividers seemed strong enough to support even the heaviest of mobile devices.

The PowerDock 5 is priced at $99.99 and is available on Belkin’s website. We should also be seeing it pop up on retailer website as well in the next few weeks as the device becomes more ubiquitous. $100 is certainly a pretty price to pay for five USB ports, but if you’re looking for a neat solution during parties where your friends can charge up, the PowerDock 5 could make the shortlist.

Griffin PowerDock 5 arrives as five-port charging station is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sony continues to roll-out high-quality products utilising its wireless NFC bluetooth technology. Smartphones, regular mobile phones etc. can be paired with these wireless headphones to deliver great sound and great mobility.
Multiple devices (up to can be wirelessly paired with the headphones, and listening to the music on your device can be toggled between your headphones and the portable bluetooth SRS-BTX300 and SRS-BTX500 speakers we wrote about on January 18th.
The headphones feature …

It’s time to get ready for the inevitable zombie apocalypse now that we’ve passed by the Mayan end of the universe – what better way to do it than with your own self-chargeable AM/FM/NOAA weather ALERT radio, USB smart phone charger, and LED flashlight. This machine goes by the name Eton FRX3 and comes in two fashionably powerful shades: black/gray/yellow and red/gray. Up top you’ve got a solar charging panel, on the side you’ve got a hand-crank turbine, and on the inside you’ve got both a place for batteries of your own and the single rechargeable Ni-MH pack you’ll be pumping up with the crank.

This machine is made to be rugged, prepared to stick with you be it in your own home for an emergency or out along with you camping. You’ve got connectivity with radio along AM and FM as well as all seven NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather band stations – and an “Alert” system to boot! This “Alert” function, when activated, automatically has your unit broadcasting emergency weather alerts from your area.

The turbine is quoted as giving between 10 and 15 minutes of radio and flashlight use per one minute cranked – and we’ve generally found that to be entirely accurate. If you’re in an area where you’ve got your own supply of AAA batteries, you can feel free to use those too – and if you’ve got a wall socket, this machine takes in DC power via mini-USB. This machine also has the ability to “dump charge” your smartphone with its own USB port – plug your own microUSB cord in and let it pump up!

You’ve got the ability to play the radio stations as a standard radio would or you can choose to play tunes through the machine’s AUX-input. This means that if you’ve got your smartphone and an audio cord, you can plug in and blast the tunes out through the FRX3 like a pro! There’s also a 3-LED flashlight that can shine straight-up white or blink red, and all of the buttons around the entire device are illuminated. The area around the solar power panel is also glow-in-the-dark.

You’ve got a small display in the center of all this that shows you what you’ve got turned on or off, which radio station you’ve got on, and if you’ve got an alarm set up – yes indeed you can set this machine up to be your alarm clock, too. The display is back-lit so you can see it in the dark, and the whole device measures in at 7.875 H x 7 W x 3.5-inch D. You can pick this machine up at fine electronics stores near you for right around $60 USD, and it’s worth every penny.

Eton FRX3 hand turbine Radio and USB Charger Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.