At first glance we became very excited about this 80 port USB board, we thought it was a huge USB hub.  Then we read the details and realized it’s just an 80 port USB power source.  And we say “just” with all the enthusiasm that word can carry.  Wicked awesome from our point of view.

We’ve done the math and have still come up short on the exact NEED for the 80 port USB power board, but never-the-less, it makes you smile.  Kinda like the iPad [even without USB support].

Our calculations seem to bring us back to quality control, that is the only legitimate reason why this board would be of “true” value.

Thanko is offering the USB power board for $165.

I have two questions, please answer on Facebook:  1) do you need this?  2)  what is a legit use for this other than QC testing for some USB gadget? (more…)

At the time of this article, Buy.com has a set of AA battery chargers which re-powers via USB at a 72% savings.  List price went from $24 down to $7 bucks!

Great stocking stuffer for the geeky Dad, brother or in-law.

Save the environment by throwing fewer batteries away! This Ni-MH battery recharges with any USB port and has a built in safety circuit to prevents overcharging. LED indicator light lets you know when your battery is fully charged.

Grab the Get USBDealz now!

iLuv is showing their love to USB with this three port charger.  Not only does it support multiple devices, it looks cool too.

iLuv put in a flip-out AC adapter so if the USB charger needs to be stored or thrown in a desk drawer it’s a bit more compact.  Not much else to report about it other than a $20 price tag and available in Sep 09. (more…)

Today I was doing some research for a good solar powered iPhone charger.  I went the direction of a DIY [Do It Yourself] project then realized this is all a waste of time.  Maybe there are a select few that would jump on a DIY solar powered iPhone charger project, but considering the complexity of the tutorials I found, very very unlikely my average reader would actually do it.

So to save yourself the 30+ minutes of looking for a good tutorial, just spend 3 minutes and buy one that will A) work better, B) look better and C) be cheaper.

The project directions can be found here and you’ll quickly see it’s a complex project that requires some tools you might not have, plus supplies you’ll surely need to buy.  All in all, it’s about a $70 project, (more…)

The world is going Green.  This is your chance to keep those USB gadgets, yet charge them without consuming electricity and leaving your carbon footprint.  The idea behind this USB tutorial is taking the kinetic energy of your bike and turn that into re-powering any USB gadget.

I found this fun little project off the Instructables website.  Apparently the author received some grant funds from Lemelson-MIT program and put together a team of 6 students to create this solution.

The team got their idea from shake-up flashlights which are based off the Faraday Principle - which is a type of electromagnetism reaction to generate energy.

You will need to get a bread-board and create a small circuit to capture the energy produced by the bike and turn it towards your USB gadget.

Next, you’ll need a motor provider that will actually “capture” the energy, feed it through your newly made circuit.  There are many options for this, check (more…)

How would you like to connect wirelessly to your iPhone?  Imagine sharing your photo’s or [soon to be] video with your TV or monitor without a cable?  How about sync your iTunes without the white USB connector, or update contacts, schedules, calendar and more without making a connection.  How about getting real crazy and juicing up your iPhone without a plug?

Well, all of this will be possible with the new Alereon wireless USB technology for the iPhone and those who integrate into their peripheral.

The demonstration consists of a small wireless USB peripheral connected to a typical iPhone or iPod’s edge connector. The adapter enables any iPhone or iPod to both provide extra battery power/charging as well as synchronize wirelessly to iTunes whether on a Windows or MAC OS machine. Future enhancements will enable connectivity to HDTVs for displaying photos or videos.

The ultimate vision of Alereon is to have a peripheral device integrated into (more…)

I’ve seen plenty of cigarette USB chargers, but this one design from Belkin out does them all.

It’s not bulky.  It will sit flush in your car.  It’s got feedback via the blue LED light.  It’s iPhone compatible, meaning it’ll charge anything.  Only $15 USD.  Awesome.

I went to buy it on-line and it’s not yet propagated into the e-commerce sites, but give it a couple weeks.  It’ll be there.

Source:  Belkin.