Product Survey: uCharger

[jayohaitchenn]

To be honest I can't really see the point of the product, and therefore I am out

If you look at the benefits (that I can see) the only one is that it charges faster than the A/C adapter - the question is, is that a real benefit to anyone ?

Most people will have a way of charging their phone/iPod/iPad etc... at home, and some people will at work.

The times when you need to be able to charge your gadgets outside this area are when you are nowhere near a power source - and this does nothing to help that scenario....

What EVERYONE in the world needs is one of these .....

www.powerfreakz.com

If everyone had one of these, flat batteries on gadgets would be a thing of the past....

Now I must admit to having a slightly vested interest in this as I own a third of the company - but I still think everyone needs one

That is pretty cool. Little bit pricey for what it is though. What sort of lifespan do these devices have?

[sheepshagger]

Ha Ha - of course !!  Anyone who genuinely orders one and PM's me - I will give a fiver back to - so that's 12.5% discount from the £39.99 purchase price.

I am honestly interested, why do you think it's a little pricey at £39.99 ?  What's that based on ?  Ours comes with the unit, a world wide A/C adapter with interchangeable ends, a retractable USB cable, 7 different "tips" to use on different phones etc.. and a zip up carry case to put everything in.  The internal battery is 3000mAh so will give a good couple of charges to most smartphones - and of course has the advantage of using Solar to charge the internal battery back up (as well as AC Mains or USB)

Our "rivals" are the PowerMonkey Explorer - RRP £64.99 which is a lot more expensive and not as high specification.

Really interested in your feedback on the pricing ?

[sonicyouth]

To be honest I can't really see the point of the product, and therefore I am out

If you look at the benefits (that I can see) the only one is that it charges faster than the A/C adapter - the question is, is that a real benefit to anyone ?

Most people will have a way of charging their phone/iPod/iPad etc... at home, and some people will at work.

The times when you need to be able to charge your gadgets outside this area are when you are nowhere near a power source - and this does nothing to help that scenario....

What EVERYONE in the world needs is one of these .....

www.powerfreakz.com

If everyone had one of these, flat batteries on gadgets would be a thing of the past....

Now I must admit to having a slightly vested interest in this as I own a third of the company - but I still think everyone needs one

The solar one is great. May have to invest in one of these as last time I went to the cabin my battery and camera died within half a day...

[sheepshagger]

Thanks Sonic - we think it's great too !!

It also charges iPads as well as smaller gadgets....

[pericarp]

To be honest I can't really see the point of the product, and therefore I am out

If you look at the benefits (that I can see) the only one is that it charges faster than the A/C adapter - the question is, is that a real benefit to anyone ?

Most people will have a way of charging their phone/iPod/iPad etc... at home, and some people will at work.

The times when you need to be able to charge your gadgets outside this area are when you are nowhere near a power source - and this does nothing to help that scenario....
orld needs is one of these .....

I think you understood it wrong. It doesn't charge faster than A/C, but at the same speed.

It charges faster than your USB cable normally would. Which would be good when you're going on travel or at work, where you don't want to carry your huge AC cable. You won't really need the AC cable ever.

[Bewster]

Ha Ha - of course !!  Anyone who genuinely orders one and PM's me - I will give a fiver back to - so that's 12.5% discount from the £39.99 purchase price.

Really interested in your feedback on the pricing ?

I think its a fair price - been looking on Amazon - but you always have to haggle.

[pericarp]

Ha Ha - of course !!  Anyone who genuinely orders one and PM's me - I will give a fiver back to - so that's 12.5% discount from the £39.99 purchase price.

The site says 49.99 for the solar power, and 29.99 for the 2500 one?

The problem is that it says it charges an 'average' phone up to 4 times. If you look at the power capacity though, it just about manages to charge an iPhone twice and my S2 just less than 2x. I guess S2 and Apple are higher end phones, but it's also the mode.

Also, is the 'solar' just part of the name, or does it actually charge like a solar panel, like its design suggests? The selling point doesn't seem to the 'solar' aspect of it for some reason. How long would it take to charge it fully with UK sunlight?

[sheepshagger]

Sorry Pericarp - that makes it worse for me

If the only benefit is that under USB conditions it charges as fast as an A/C Adapter then I really can't see the point to be honest - I'm not too sure how you would go to market with it when most people would probably say it's not something they have ever deemed to be a "problem"

If in people's eyes it is not a problem that needs solving, then usually that makes it 10 times harder to convince someone they need it.

I'm genuinely not trying to put you off - but I know how hard it is getting any charging device into retail/etail etc... and I can't see how someone like Maplins would ever want it unless it was a £1.99 product of which they were paying around £0.50p

You would only not need your A/C cable if you are somewhere with a computer (and therefore a USB port), and let's be fair the A/C cable for a phone is pretty small anyway - it's not like the block that comes with laptops etc...

The price of the Evo3000 is £39.99 - we have noticed there is an issue on 1 part of the site and are having it amended - however if you click to purchase it is £39.99

Obviously it depends which phone you have and the battery capacity as to how much charge it will give.  An iPhone 4s will charge from empty to full around 2.2 times. 

Obviously the point of having a solar panel is that it captures the light and charges the internal battery from it.  How long that takes from UK sunlight really depends on how strong the light is - it's a bit like asking how long is a piece of string...

For example I leave one on the windowsill inside and it sits there charging away nicely, but can take a couple of days from empty to full if the sun is weak.

The other side to it is I have also been out in the garden with my iPad and it trickles enough power through to the iPad to keep it running all day - while still taking a charge from the sun into the battery

I guess what I am saying is that it is totally dependant on the conditions - wouldn't charge too well today from the sun

[pericarp]

I guess what I am saying is that it is totally dependant on the conditions - wouldn't charge too well today from the sun

Ah I see, it's just that no where on the specs I read did it specify that the solar panel actually worked 
Apart from the name (and the design) there was nothing to suggest that it actually did the business. I'm probably being special and not being able to find it. I just thought there would be some vague stats on how long it takes to charge via solar etc.

With regards to my product.. I thought it was good initially, but having read some reviews here, maybe not. I just thought it would be neat to have a little USB which you plug your USB cable into. I had heard that iPads don't charge well via USB and this problem solves the issue. It also works in a car via USB, when it otherwise wouldn't.

[jonny72]

It charges faster than your USB cable normally would. Which would be good when you're going on travel or at work, where you don't want to carry your huge AC cable. You won't really need the AC cable ever.

You haven't seen the latest Apple iDevice usb wall power adaptors have you? The whole thing (wall plug and cable) takes up about the same space as a golf ball, a fraction of the size they were and small enough to go in a coat pocket or handbag.

[pericarp]

You haven't seen the latest Apple iDevice usb wall power adaptors have you? The whole thing (wall plug and cable) takes up about the same space as a golf ball, a fraction of the size they were and small enough to go in a coat pocket or handbag.

I got a bit confused with what mobile phone AC's are like these days 

The point is. You will no longer need a wall plug if you have a laptop 
I like to have my phone charging via USB, but I never do (unless it's for transferring files etc) because it's just so much slower than via the wall. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way.

[sheepshagger]

I think you may have answered your own question 

[pericarp]

I think you may have answered your own question 

Not really 

[Simon Pieman]

What happens when the laptop runs out of charge?

[pericarp]

What happens when the laptop runs out of charge?

The laptop with an AC charger