If there’s any single pain that is shared by all true gadget fiends, it’s the fact that there are never, ever enough outlets to accommodate all of the power adapters and chargers for one’s gadgets. Aluratek’s Mini Surge Dual USB Charging Station attempts to solve that problem by turning a single grounded power outlet into three grounded outlets plus two USB charging ports, all of which are also provided with power surge protection. The web site mentions that it works with iPhones, iPods, Blackberrys, and Android devices, but doesn’t specifically mention iPads, so it’s not clear whether or not the USB ports can provide the 1 Amp that iPads require for charging.
The Aluratek Mini Surge Dual USB Charging Station is available now for $19.99 through the Aluratek web site.
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Companies really need to start getting on the ball with this. If you release a device that offers USB charging, publish the output current!
i agree – we need specs on output current. i have an acer a500 android tablet and its charger has a 3 foot cable – too short to have your charger under the desk! having a 1 amp usb port would be fantastic – and with more devices requiring this you’d think it would be more prevalent.
Here’s some additional info from the folks at Aluratek:
” I work with Aluratek and wanted to address the question you posed in the story about the iPad. The charging station does indeed charge an iPad – it can handle 5 volts/1 amp.”
the iPad requires 2.1 amps for charging at full speed.
the iPhone requires 1 amp.
Thanks for the clarification, Kevin. I should have been more clear, when I said that the iPad requires 1 amp, I was talking about the bare minimum it needs to charge when not in use.