Traveling with Technology

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received some of these products for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.  Products with a * before the name were review samples.

I recently went on travel, and took a good bit of my gadgets with me.  Some of it I found useful, some I probably will take with me again.  I decided to pull together a list of what I took with me (from a gadget perspective) and my thoughts on each item.  I don't really plan to list the details of the standard stuff people might bring - laptop, smartphone, tablet or smartwatch ( yes I had all of those with me ).

NOTE : Each item is either linked to my blog review, Amazon review, or just a generic product page.

Battery Packs

*RAVPower 18200 mAh (Model RP-PB26): This is a pretty large battery pack, and I did find it useful on the flight itself but other than that I didn't use it much.  I think it is a great high capacity pack, but I found myself grabbing the smaller one below.  I just didn't use my tablet as much as I thought I would at the airport or on the flight.

*RAVPower 7800 mAh (Model RP-PB31): I used the battery pack pretty much every day, mainly to keep my phone charged while I was using it as a hotspot.  Although it isn't a high capacity like the one above, it did the job for the day to day needs.

If I had to pick one of the two battery packs above, I would go with the larger capacity - basically it ends up being insurance just in case I do need the juice (or a coworker needs to charge their phone too).

Bluetooth Gadgets

*TaoTronics Shower speaker ( Model TT-SK03 ): I actually got this right before I went on travel, so I figured it would be great to test (no worrying about playing loud music in the morning and waking up others).  I don't know if I will take it again, but it is pretty compact so I may bring it along just in case.

Wallet TrackR: Honestly I didn't get any real use out of this - I put it in my luggage, so I was able to look at the screen and see when it was close but normally by the time the phone found the tracker the luggage (when waiting at baggage claim of the airport) it was only a minute or two away from being seen.  Neat gadget, but the way I used it didn't really provide any benefit.

*Ukonnect Bluetooth keyboard: This one is pretty simple - I planned to use my Nexus 7 tablet while on the plane, and basically I didn't do it.  I didn't really run into any other situations where I felt the need to break out a keyboard.

Chargers

*RAVPower Qi charger (Model RP-WCN13): I took this with me for my Nexus 7 tablet, but honestly in the hotel I was normally sitting near a charger or just didn't use the tablet that much so I didn't even use it.  It is pretty small so I might try it again next trip.

*Bestek 5-port 8A USB charger: I used this every day to keep my multiple devices charged, I have reviewed other multiple port chargers but this and the RAVPower 4-port (Model RP-UC07) are probably best for travel since they come with cords instead of plugging directly into the wall.

Other Gadgets

*RAVPower FileHub RP-WD02: This is a pretty unique device since it acts as a portable router and file sharing device.  I didn't really use the file sharing aspect on this trip.  For the wireless router, I was thinking I could hook it up in the room (if the hotel had an Ethernet jack) and use my own secured WiFi instead of the open WiFi of the hotel - unfortunately they didn't have network cables in the room and I was too lazy to go downstairs so I just used my smartphone hotspot instead.

I did find an interesting use while flying out - I was able to use this device to connect multiple devices (via 1 account) to the in-flight Internet.  I honestly just did that to see if it worked, especially since their support people said there was no way to do that.

One other advantage - if you are taking a device that probably can't go to the login page of hotels ( game system, Chromecast etc) this little gadget should help in that sort of situation since your devices connect to your router and that router connects to the hotel wifi (or Ethernet) - so as long as you have 1 device (laptop, smartphone or tablet) that can click on the agreement the other devices can leverage that same connection.  As a side note, there is a newer WD03 model out.

GoGo Inflight Internet: This is isn't really a gadget I took with me, but it was neat to use this service on the flight.  I learned a few interesting things from using GoGo:

1) On my Android devices, some Google apps seem to work even if you haven't paid for a pass (such as email)
2) Chat with their support, they can sometimes hook you up with a discount.

Google Chromecast: I was able to catch up on a few episodes of Blacklist using my Chromecast, and considering how small it is I don't see a reason why I wouldn't carry it along just in case the TV didn't have anything I enjoyed.

*Bestek 2 port 5000 mAh charger: This actually acts as a 2-port charger and a battery pack.  I didn't really use the battery pack function ( since I already had 2 others ) but I used the 2-port charger on the nightstand near me so I could keep my phone and watch nearby.  I don't know if I will take it in the future, the fact it supports 2 functions gives it a few extra points.

Breffo Spiderpodium: This is not exactly an electronic gadget, but it is a very useful smartphone holder.  I think it is great for travel, because you can flatten it out and easily pack it.  I used it to hold my smartphone in my rental ( which I used for navigation ) so I think it is definitely a good item to bring on travel if you are going to have a rental.

Overall, I have a good idea of how I will adjust my gadget packing for my next trip.  Some of the items that seemed like good ideas but didn't get used will likely not make the trip, of course that is probably when I will actually need them.

Bestek 8A 5-port USB charger Review

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received a Bestek 8A 5-port USB charger for a product review.  The charger itself was fairly small, and the package included the A/C cord to plug it into a wall socket.

Charger and power cord

The charger is rated at 8A, unfortunately I wasn't able to fully max it out with the items I had available but here is what I did test:

- Nexus 7 tablet pulling 1.17A
- Moto X pulling 1A
- Two 2A loads

Total current tested 6.17A, which is under the 8A rate maximum but still pretty good.  Unless you are a power user with many tablets, you may never hit the 8A rated maximum.

5 USB ports

Size Comparison : 5 port charger next to two different 2-port chargers

For real world tests, I will be using this on my night stand to charge a smartphone, tablet and smartwatch on a nightly basis.  So far I have not run into any issues.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Design: Considering this is basically replacing a bunch of single port chargers, it only takes up a bit more space than two chargers would take.  The power cord lets you place the charger itself where you want, instead of having to plug it directly into the wall like another unit I recently tested.

Multiple-ports: If you are in a situation where you only have one available wall plug, being able to get 5 USB ports is a great thing.  In many hotels, you only have 1 plug available near you since the other one is typically used by an alarm clock or lamp.

Capacity: Although I only just over 6A of the total rated 8A, this charger should be able to handle multiple devices without a problem.  You don't have to worry about certain ports being rated certain amount, each port can handle a max of 2.4A ( 8A total for the device ).  I have tested other chargers that have ports labeled for just 1A, and others for higher amounts.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a multiple port charger, this is a great option to consider.

Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B00UMYHO2Q

Bestek 5000 mAh 2-port USB charger Review

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received a Bestek 5000 mAh 2-port USB charger for a product review. The charger just comes with an instruction manual, but no carrying case or cables which isn't really an issue.

Bestek charger ( middle ) with regular 2 port USB chargers on each side for size comparison

As far as design goes, the wall plug can flip in/out so it is more compact for travel and you don't have to worry about the plug getting bent when it is packed up.  The unit itself is larger than the average 2 port charge, but that is expected since it is also a battery pack.

Two standard USB ports.  The unit has no power button, you shake it to turn it on

If you have the unit plugged into a wall, it is rated to handle a total of 3.4A ( max of 2.4A on a single port ) but based on reading the instructions if you use the full 3.4A the internal battery will not charge.  If you are using the unit as a battery pack (not plugged in) it can handle a max load of 2.1A.

I used my DROK USB testers and adjustable 1A/2A loads to do some tests to see if the product can handle the rated capacity.  Here are the results of my quick tests:

While plugged in:

- I was able to get over 2.4A out of a single port
- I was able to get over 3.4A out of two ports together
- 4A of load seemed to make it reset ( probably triggering the built-in protections )

While unplugged (acting as a battery):

- I was able to get 2A from a single port
- I was able to get 2A across two ports
- Trying to pull 3A across two ports made the unit shutoff

Overall, the unit seemed to handle within (or above) rated specs and would seem to protect itself if the load was too much.

For real world tests, I have been using it both as an A/C adapter and as a battery pack without any problems.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Compact: Although this is larger than the average 2-port USB charger, it is still fairly compact considering it also has a 5000 mAh capacity.  For the traveling power user, being able to carry one devices to support multiple functions is always beneficial.

Ease of Use: Nothing complicated here, you just plug it in and use it.

Capacity: The output of 3.4A as an A/C adapter and 2.4A should be able to handle multiple devices, but of course two power hungry devices may give you some trouble.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a good capacity battery pack that is compact and great for travel, this is a great option to consider.  Basically you are combining a 2 port USB charger and 5000 mAh battery pack into a single unit.  Less things to haul means less clutter and less chance of forgetting an important piece of your setup.

Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B00UVCA5YS