When I heard of this product, I thought there are three USB ports, but actually there are only two USB ports and one attached Micro USB cable. The description actually meant you can charge three devices at one go because it is able to output a maximum of 5A.
When I received an email from Bolse asking me to feature their products, I was pretty skeptical because I have never heard of Bolse before. So I went to do a search on them and realised that their products received pretty good ratings on Amazon and the prices are pretty reasonable. They are the direct competitors to brand like Anker.
The Anker 5-Port Wall Charger is retailing for US$19.99 (S$24.72) on Amazon. My friend, Benjamin, ordered for us and I shared the shipping with him, after everything I paid S$33.
This Anker 5-Port Wall Charger weighs 166g and measures 98mm (Length) x 60mm (Height) x 27mm (Thickness).
Ignore the long product name, it is basically a 9-port USB 3.0 powered hub with an additional USB charging port. Technically you can use all the 9 ports for charging as well but they might not be enough current because each of the 9 port can output a maximum of 900mA. From the USB 3.0 specifications, 900mA is the maximum amount of current that can be output from a USB 3.0 port.
Twelve South PlugBug World was announced beginning this year and I have no idea why is it not selling in Singapore yet, not even the Apple Online Store in Singapore.
When Li Xiang went to Hong Kong last week, she bought it for me from the Apple Store in IFC Mall, Hong Kong. It is retailing for HK$348 (S$60). Li Xiang also mentioned that the Twelve South PlugBug World is not displayed on the shelves and you might need to request the store assistant to get it from their storeroom.
I have been eying on the Griffin PowerDock 5 since it was announced back in January 2013. But unfortunately it wasn’t released till last month (July 2013).
The Griffin PowerDock 5 is retailing for US$99 (S$126) directly from Griffin’s website. I doubt it will come to Singapore anytime soon. Griffin offers free shipping within the US and they do ship to Singapore directly and for the PowerDock 5, the cheapest shipping is about US$12 (S$15.30) without tracking. But I did not choose that option, instead I shipped it to HopShopGo, which is a freight forwarder and paid US$20.08 (S$25.50) for DHL Express shipping to Singapore.
It has an output of 4A, but unfortunately it is shared with the 6 USB ports, I wish it says what is the maximum output per USB port. But nevertheless, I still think it is a pretty useful charger to have if you have plenty of USB devices to charge.
Bought the Innergie USB Charger – 10W Dual USB Auto Adapter from VivoCity’s Challenger for S$29 (member’s price S$26.10). It is a 2 port USB charger for cars that produces 2.1A/10W which is enough to charge the iPad. This is essentially the 2 port version of the Griffin PowerJolt Micro and it looks nicer as well.
Li Xiang and I have been taking turns to charge our iPhones in the car after being outside for the whole day travelling from places to places, with this charger, both of us can charge our iPhones at the same time!