IDAPT i4 Universal Charging Station Review

Well would you look at that, it's a charging station and we're taking a look at it. This is a station for charging up to 4 devices (three on the top and another via the USB bonus port on the side.) This device is currently available via IDAPT and it'll set you back $59.99. It's got interchangeable tips that plug into the dock creating a system which IDAPT notes provides a charging opportunity for over 4,000 devices. This certainly reduces the number of cords you've got popping out of your outlet – but what if all you've got are Android devices? Let's take a look.

Hardware

This device is 169 x 135 x 32 mm and weighs in at 300 g. It's about the size of a really really big sandwich. You DO have to plug in a single cord, that being 85-240 VAC – 0.2A; 50/60 Hz worldwide compatible powered by a North America compatible power plug that comes with the device. This universal charger has a DC output of up to 13 W and you'll have to have it sitting within 1.6 meters of a wall plug because that's the length of the stock cord.

The four holes in the main station play host to a series of converter points that then are able to connect to basically any device you may have. On top of that, there's a USB port on the right of the device that you can plug in a charging cord the same way you would your computer. Put the points you need in the three ports, plug the correct charging cord (not included) in the side of the device, and you're set!

Real World Use

While it appears that you'll be able to charge every item you own, you've only got one of each point to plug in the ports. AKA out of the six points you get with the system, you get ONE of each of the following:

microUSB,

iPhone/iPad,

Nokia 2,

Sony Ericsson 2,

Samsung 4,

and miniUSB.

Out of all the devices I own, I can use two of these plugs. Therefore, with this system I can charge a total of three items supposing I want to use the USB port on the side. On the other hand, I DO happen to have a miniUSB to microUSB converter piece, so indeed I CAN get four items charging at once.

What I'm saying here is that if you've got 4 Android devices or 4 Apple [iOS] devices and you expect to be charging them all on this device at once, you might be surprised at your inability to do so. If you have a collection of items that match up with this included variety of charging points, go forth!

Wrap-Up

This device does indeed have the ability to charge four items at once – three items at once directly out of the box. You've got the option of purchasing this four-port charger, using a 2 port or 3 port version, or you've got the one port option as well. They're named the i4, i3, i2, and i4. Again the one we're looking at right here in the post is the i4, available for purchase over at IDAPT Web.

You've got color options that range between black, white (seen in this post,) ultra-violet yellow, orange, and back again. I'd go with the white or the black, that being because basically every device under the sun coming out from manufacturers in the USA these days is gray-scale. IS this the perfect charging ecosystem for your gigantic device collection? Not really. It could be smaller and it could have a better solution than having a bunch of connection points that the user might never use. IS this device worth the money you might pay for it? If you get it for the standard $60 IDAPT is charging for it – yes.

Addendum

As our trusty and quite friendly readers (you!) have reminded us (me!), there are two rather important points that I neglected to note. First of all, you have the ability to purchase additional specific additional connection points when you purchase your initial unit. Each of these ports costs an additional $10 apiece and there are more devices than the standard 6 that come with IDAPT i4. Are these ports worth 1/6 of the total price of the standard unit?

Next, that additional USB port on the side of the IDAPT i4 is not just a bonus, it's made for the larger devices you've got that would otherwise pull the dock down. On the other hand, you CAN have a tablet charging in one of the standard ports on top, but you'll need to have it sitting up against the wall.

This is a great example of a time when comments from you the reader have helped us to both enrich and expand our review. As always, we encourage you to continue to help us work with you to bring you exactly the information you need to know about the products you love (or potentially love in the future.)

Thank you!