iLounge

Aviiq Portable Charging Station

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Category: Adapters and Cables - Indoor Power

Though Aviiq's new Portable Charging Station ($80) isn't strictly an iPod/iPhone charging solution, it may be of some interest to users looking for a convenient combination of power and carrying features at a reasonable price. The idea: you get a zippered carrying case with a wall charger and USB charging hub inside, each designed as a black plastic rectangular box with cabling that unfurls from one side. You have plenty of cable to unwind from the wall charger, which obviously gets connected to an outlet and the USB charging hub; at that point, you can connect up to three USB devices at once for charging. Alternately, you can use the USB hub as a four-port hub with a computer by pulling a retracting full-sized USB plug and cable from its back; all four of its female ports can then be used for powered syncing. Aviiq bills the Portable Charging Station as iPad, iPhone, and iPod-compatible, but the case's size and total output of three Amps suggest that it's really best-suited to recharging an iPod, an iPhone, and an accessory such as a Bluetooth headset with their own self-supplied cables.