Keeping all your various portable gadgets charged on the go can be quite the challenge, especially when you can’t be tethered to a wall for hours at a time. So, the Quirky community has come up with a product called the Ray and this solar powered charger looks to be pretty useful.

The Ray Solar Charger certainly isn’t the first solar charger on the market, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less useful. If you have a window, you can stick the Ray to it using hte silicone suction cup. Sitting at a desk? Use the tilting kickstand and charge up that way. All you need is some sun.

Power comes out through the USB port and the internal battery can store enough energy for a full phone charge. I can’t seem to find the mAh rating, so take that how you will. The original idea for Ray came by way of Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania’s Brandon Craven. It was then tweaked by 988 “influencers” on Quirky.

In any case, you can hit up the presale now for $39.99. As I write this, they’ve hit 524 of the 2000 required commitments.

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We’ve become a highly gadgetized society, but this means that we’re constantly on the lookout for ways to charge up our various portable devices. Seeing a car charger adapter that converts that 12V outlet into a powered USB port is nothing new, but the Brackerton Dual USB Charger comes with a couple of extra tricks.

Naturally, as the name implies, you get a pair of powered USB ports when you plug this into the cigarette jack in your car, but the key difference is the amount of power that the ports can output. The top jack does one amp, while the bottom one offers 2.1 amps. Considering that there are lots of adapters out there that only do 0.5A, this can prove to be quite useful.

Yes, your smartphone can charge ever so slowly along a 0.5A USB port, but your iPad and other tablet devices probably won’t. That’s where this extra juice comes in handy. And yes, there’s an LED light on there to let you know when it’s working. The low-profile design helps to keep it out of the way. Check it out for $24.95.

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Even if your local power provider uses a greener technology like hydro power, it’s still not completely green. I’m not saying that the Solar Vox is completely green either, but it could help you be a little nicer to mother earth.

This solar USB charger comes by way of Eric Strebel and Jim Nogarian. The industrial designer and his partner are launched a “Kickstarter” campaign for the Solar Vox and they’re looking for funding to bring this concept from being just an idea to a viable commercial product. It may look like an Etch-a-Sketch with a slot, but it’s a little more than that.

The idea is that there is a big solar panel on top and this can channel electricity toward a pair of AA batteries or directly to a portable device via USB. The housing is designed in such a way that you can tilt and angle the solar panel to face the sun, offering optimal charging for your iPhone, BlackBerry, or whatever else. That slot underneath provides a handy storage spot for your mobile device too.

The Solar Vox is an interesting, but not completely original idea. If you want to throw your support behind Strebel and Nogarian, go ahead and pre-order the device by January 28.

[Core 77 via KickStarter]

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Arctic C2 Portable USB Charger - Photo: Fabrizio Pilato

The Arctic C2 is a portable USB power charger that will go with you to just about any country and keep your batteries in tip top condition. It’s a small unit, easy to pack in to any of your travel bags, about two-thirds the size of your Apple power block, and can power up to four individual USB devices simultaneously.

The Swiss company who makes it is Arctic Cooling, they are better known for their CPU cooling and power supply accessories. The Arctic C2 comes with four interchangeable plugs supporting most countries in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia (over 150 countries supported), with the full range of 100V to 240V of power output depending on your location.

Instead of using four seperate power adapters you can plug most USB power devices directly into the Arctic C2, freeing up ports on the wall and slimming your gear bag down a few vital ounces. You can even use it to get USB-powered devices off your notebooks draw that normally sit around sucking you dry. I tested it with my notebook cooler and it worked like a charm. Safety was also considered in its design, short circuit protection, over current protection and over power protection are all integrated within the Arctic C2, giving you confidence in charging your prized gadgets in even the seediest motels.

Bottom Line
Priced at $23.90 USD directly from Arctic Cooling, the small pocket charger is a great addition to bring with you on any adventure where you need to keep your gear fully charged and ready to go almost anywhere.

Arctic C2 Portable USB Charger with multiple country adapters - Photo: Fabrizio Pilato

Arctic C2 Charging Unit Measures 75L x 50W x 29D mm and weighs 78g - Photo: Fabrizio Pilato

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As you can quite plainly see from the image provided, your regular dual wall outlet can gain a pair of extra powered USB ports. This way, you can keep the power going to your LCD monitor or desk lamp, while still having access to the USB ports to charge your MP3 player and smartphone.

That’s pretty sweet. This is a custom wall outlet that will require a little bit of electrician’s work on your part, but the process should be just as straightforward as replacing a regular wall outlet. This is a very good idea!

The best part? The “TruePower UCS Power Outlet with Built-in USB Ports” (what a mouthful) is only ten bucks. They’re working on final UL approval, so they expect to fill your pre-order early next year.

Source: Crunchgear

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If you’re looking for something particularly groundbreaking in this arena, you probably won’t be terribly impressed with what this product has to offer. At the same time, the Mophie Dual USB Wall Charger can become an indispensable accessory for gadget geeks on the go. Just find a wall outlet and you can charge any two USB devices at once.

To keep things as simple as possible, Mophie includes absolutely nothing with the Dual USB Wall Charger. You won’t find any extra iPod cables or instructional booklets, so you’ll need to supply your USB cables on your own. This may be a point of frustration for some users, but it helps to keep the costs as low as possible.

The Mophie Dual USB Wall Charger is designed to be remarkably slim. This makes it easy to slot into just about any backpack, briefcase, or jacket pocket. Frequent travelers will appreciate that much.

Since the two USB ports are placed side-by-side, as shown above, this does create a problem for people who are using surge protectors and other power strips. The Mophie product is wider than a single power outlet, so you will be blocking ports when you are using this product. That’s the price you pay for slim, I suppose.

To keep up with the slim profile and slender design, you’ll notice that the power prongs on the Dual USB Wall Charger are designed to flip into the body when not in use. The rectangular block is easy to stow in your bag, since the prongs don’t get in the way.

From what I understand, the Mophie Dual USB Wall Charger outputs a total of 1.0 amps of power, so bear that in mind when you are thinking about the devices that need charging. Some products require a full amp, whereas others only need half an amp. If you’re charging the former, the second USB port may not be available to you.

For the sake of comparison, here is the Mophie Dual USB Wall Charger next to the Griffin PowerBlock Dual AC Charger. These two products offer basically the same functionality, converting a regular wall outlet into a couple of powered USB ports.

The difference is that the Griffin product is definitely “chunkier” than its Mophie counterpart, but the Griffin product will not block neighboring power outlets on a power bar. It’s up to you whether you value the slimness of the Mophie charger over the “non-blocking” design of the Griffin charger.

The Mophie Dual Port USB Wall Charger is listed at just $19.95, so that’s a pretty small investment for the added convenience that you can have both at home and on the road. It doesn’t floor anybody with groundbreaking innovation, but it’s one of the more useful little gadgets that you can carry in your bag.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

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The BioLogic ReeCharge is a $100 device that connects to your bicycle and, while you pedal your way around town or up the mountain, that energy is then transferred over to your iPod or iPhone over a standard wired connection. Simple, effective, and green.

In essence, a dyno is attached to the wheel on your bike and then the power generated is passed through to a battery-powered USB hub. This USB hub can then be used for your iPod, iPhone, or just about anything else that can charge over a USB connection. In the case of an iPhone, they say that three hours of biking is enough for a full charge.

Going back to the science exhibit, you’ll remember that the light bulb shuts off the moment you stop pedalling. This would be an issue with charging the iPhone, so that’s where there is an intermediary battery. You pedal to charge the battery, the battery powers the hub, and your iPhone gets a steady stream of juice.

Look for the pedal-happy BioLogic ReeCharge to sell for $100 when it ships next March.

Source: DVICE via Dahon

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