Ventev Charginghub s500 gets the charging job done.
It seems that I am constantly juggling chargers and cables and plugs. I have a surge protector behind my nightstand that is full of charging bricks and plugs. I have been able to remedy some of the cord/clutter by using USB Hubs. These are devices that charge multiple USB devices via 1 plug into an outlet. These make for amazing travel systems, for amazing cable organization systems. My wife has been a fan of the decluttering as my electronic cables seem to overwhelm her. Whether it is my entertainment stand, with cables for my Xbox one, Amazon Echo, Droid Streaming Box, Cable box, Soundbar, portable 3 TB hard drive and TV or it is my nightstand with chargers for my iPhone 6s Plus, iPad Air 2, Apple Watch Sport, Bluetooth headsets, lamp and Sandman Alarm clock (check them out they are cool too), there needs to be a better way to charge and organize devices.
Am I alone, or do others have night stands that tend to end up as catch all zones? I have layers of charging items stacked upon one another. It is difficult to maintain a clutter free area and to charge all the devices you need. While at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada, I was super excited to be introduced to the Ventev team. They had a very professional booth and I was able to talk with Scott Franklin about the gear from Ventev. One of the devices that I absolutely fell in love with was the desktop charginghub s500. This is a circular 135x135x54mm (5 inch diameter by approximately 2 inch tall) charging center with 2 molded slots for devices. There is a front slot (4inches long by 9/16 inches wide), which is ideal for a smart phone and a back molded slot (4 7/8 inches long by 3/4 inches wide), which is ideal for a tablet. The slots are plastic lined and will fit an iPhone 6s Plus inside of a Catalyst case with room to spare up front and an iPad Air 2 in Otterbox defender with ease. You can place the devices in landscape or vertical orientations. The device is heavy and feels quite robust. This weight and lower center of mass help it feel very sturdy and it will not topple over. There are 3 USB A charging ports for a total of 10A output. The 3 USB A output ports are not equal. The one closest to the power cord is a 2.4A output port and the other 2 are 1A output ports (2 A if only using one of them). It does have 5 feet of AC power cord that can plug into a wall/outlet to provide power.
If the charginghub only provided output for 3 USB devices and slots to get them off my table, both my wife and I would have been pleased. However, this device provides so much more. First, the device provides its own resettable surge protection at 1080J, protecting your charging devices from damage. I have had multiple USB hubs, and this is a feature that I have not had on other devices. I have surge protectors, which I use for many of my electrics. However, this device allows you to plug directly into the wall and you do not need to go buy any other gear. There is a battery like logo on the top that has #2 LED for the prongs. The left LED notes protected on, the right is grounded off. If the protected light is out, you will not get power. You can press the little red button to reset the circuit (like a GFI) or make sure your panel has not had a trip. This device “is ready out of the box.” Second, the hub does not just charge 3 devices. There are 2 power outlet 10A shared AC outlets along the top of the device. This allows for at least 5 devices to be charged at once. It is convenient to have the AC output on the top of the device for easy access.
One of the ideas that I have to make this device even better is to have another layer roughly 1 inch tall or so below the charging layer, to act as a cable management/storage system. The Ventev hub is amazing and is the pride of my nightstand. However, the cables are still a problem and this provides no cable management option. If this hub also had a layer for cable management, there is no reason everyone should not have this beside their bed, in their office etc. I would rate it at >5/5 due to utility alone. By purchasing this one item, you are getting a surge protector, 3x USB charger, 2 AC outlet charger (5 total charging points) and 2 storage slots. This really is an amazing deal. I rate the device as 5/5 as it fulfills its job and does it very well.
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For more information, visit ventev.com/charging-hub-s500.
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