Skiva PowerFlow Smartphones Universal Compatibility
I've looked at them all (USB travel chargers) and owned many of them. I travel frequently with an iPhone, an iPad, a USB-charged iPhone battery, a portable DAC, portable headphone amp, and other USB gear, and I could not decide on which portable charger to keep in my airplane iPad bag. I ended up getting both this Skiva and the PowerGen 4-port 15W/3.15A.
Though the PowerGen looks and feels better (so sleek!), this Skiva is far more functional. Charging two iDevices, the Skiva charges both quicker. It seems the 3.5-amp/4-watt PowerGen charges, really, really ...S-L-O-W--L---Y ....when more than one device is charging--even when splitting the 3.5 amps between just TWO devices. Bear in mind that the amperage is split between any devices charged. As of the date of this review, at 4 amps and 20 watts, the Skiva has more total amperage than any other portable USB charger on Amazon and seems to charge the fastest.
The PowerGen is sleeker (it has a rubberized texture and the form factor is smooth so that it just slips into your bag compartment or pocket with no resistance. The shape of the Skiva, on the other hand, is lumpy and irregular. However, in actuality the size of the Skiva is about the same, and it may actually be a bit lighter.
BalasHapusUnfortunately, the newer gadgets out today require more power than the average USB charger can give. I've bought chargers from cheap places (not naming stores, but lets say they sell things for five dollars or below.) I had to find out the hard way that different USB chargers output different amounts of power. Sometimes this results in slower charging, other times it just won't charge at all. (Couldn't charge my Droid X at all with one in particular, but charged my mother's flip phone fine).
BalasHapusThe Skiva USB charger offers the higher power. The newer devices need a 2.1 amp charger. This charger gives you the power to rapid charge your iPad or Android device (at least if the device is able to be charged via USB, i.e. not the Motorola Xoom). I have a Google Nexus 7 and the Vizio tablet. I didn't try to charge both at the same time, but both do need higher amperage chargers and this charger did the trick individually.
I am happy with the product and the reasonable price. I am more than likely going to purchase another one. For all your regular charging needs, or for your power hungry devices, I recommend it.
My wife and I travel with multiple devices - we each have a smart phone, an iPod touch, and BlueTooth headsets - LOTS of devices that need charging, and we like to minimize the clutter that goes along with this gadget lifestyle, especially when we travel. When I saw this this new Skiva PowerFlow QuadFire 4-device charger with a 4 amp rating, I HAD to give it a try. WOW! Thank you Skiva! Even when four devices are plugged in for a charge, they charge up significantly faster than my previous 2-amp four-port charger. Now I can pack one charger in the shaving kit for all of our devices - no need to carry multiple chargers to get a speedy charge on all of my devices simultaneously. I like it so much I am considering getting another one for myself and perhaps a couple as gifts for family.
BalasHapusPros:
-Charges up to four USB devices at one time
-Quick charging even with relatively power-hungry smart phones
-Folding plug for more compact packing
-Dedicated/Universal ports for both iOS and Samsung devices
-Very bright blue LED can be used as a nightlight
-Nice form factor - relatively slim against the wall
-Excellent build quality
-Unpolarized plug: charger can be plugged in either pointing up or down, maximizing outlet flexibility
-Two micro-USB cables were included in the box - BONUS!
Cons:
-Port labels could be a little larger (minor nit-pick)
-Very bright blue LED can be a little bright if pointing towards bed (another minor nit-pick)
Overall, I am VERY happy with this charger and would purchase it again.
I've been through a few different dual and quad port chargers - I've found a number that didn't properly handle all the different devices out there, or charged all 4 devices slowly. Finally! I found the charger I've been looking for.
BalasHapusIt has one port listed for iPad, one for Samsung, and two that are standard charging ports (that still charge my HTC Evo at full speed). They work perfectly, charging a 3rd gen iPad, a Samsung Galaxy Tab, an HTC Evo, and a number of different devices, ranging from a Nook Glow to a Nintendo DSI.
I wish I'd bought 3 instead of the one I did, because Amazon is out of stock and nobody else carries it.
We have multiple ipads and iphones in our house and was I hoping to save on outlets. This device will allow me to charge my phone and ipad at the same time. But only the one iport has enough juice to charge the ipad. I have a dock system that will charge 4 iphones simultaneously and really want a similar mechanism to charge the ipads simultaneously, but I can not charge more than 1 ipad at 1 time with this device. This will come in handy when traveling but was not really what i was looking for.
BalasHapusUpdate: after reading the response from Skiva I came to the conclusion that the unit is supposed to charge multiple ipads at once. I played with the cords and noticed I had two different types of apple chargers one with rounded corners on the usb end and one with more square corners on the usb end. I changed the cords from the round charger to the square corners. Doing this allowed me to charge 2 ipads simultaneously. I put another cord in the third universal slot but was not able to charge a third ipad. But I really only needed to charge 2 simultaneously so I am happy to be able to do that. On a side note the rapid charger port charged my ipad in record time so that was great as well. oh and the response time from the company was tremendously fast. I received an email from them within hours of my original post. I did not contact customer support as I was able to correct my initial problem.
We had finally reached a critical mass of "i-devices," and it was time to look at some sort of central charging solution, rather than have wall warts plugged in all over. After perusing the choices available (including some rather improbable and overpriced products), we purchased the Skiva Powerflow QuadFire.
BalasHapusThis item does, rather simply and efficiently, exactly what it claims. It might have helped some folks if they had been more explicit that the QuadFire will only output a maximum of 4,000ma to the 4 ports combined. This is why at least one reviewer has discovered that it will only handle two iPads, since the iPad requires a 2A connection. But it will handle any complement of devices, so long as those devices don't exceed the capacity of the QuadFire. So an iPad, a couple of iPhones, and an IPod are doable.....and for $20.
As for complaints about the blue LED- just tape it over, already.
It might also be noted that, like most such power supplies now, it works on 100/240VAC, 50/60 Hz (not mentioned on the Amazon page), which means it will travel internationally with only the simple plug adapter to change the prong shape.
1 Month followup: The Skiva Powerflow Quad Fire continues to perform flawlessly, used to charge all iDevices daily (iPad, 2 x iPhone 5, iTouch).
Charges my ipad, iphome 4s iphone 5 and galaxy tab. Also lg stetro bkuetooth headset works great. Best i coild find. Compact and travel perfect. Led is super bright so get some tape over it.
BalasHapusJust received the Quadfire 4-port charger and couldn't be happier!
BalasHapusHere is my problem before the Quadfire... I got my galaxy nexus, my ipad 3, my bluetooth headset, and my USB rechargable bicycle light that all needs to be charged on a regular basis. All the individual chargers used to take over my entire surge protector..
Now with Quadfire, all I need is one wall outlet, and 4 USB cables, and I'm all set!
1 Amp current on all the charging ports, it charges my iPad 3 from 0% to full overnight just fine. Every other device, the Quadfire charges in just couple hours!
Build quality is top notch, doesn't feel cheap at all. Really compact, so it's quite easy to take it with me when I'm traveling. It comes with 2 MicroUSB cable in the box.
Highly recommended. And for the price you simply can't find anything else that can beat it in terms of functionality and performance.
OK, this is the best, most powerful, and importantly, MOST FLEXIBLE AC to USB adapter I've yet found, and I've used a couple dozen different models over the years. Bought two, one goes in my computer backpack for work/travel, the other replaced a much larger charging station in the kitchen.
BalasHapusMy critical devices for charging at this moment are my Blackberry Torch2, my wife's and son's DROID 3's, our two Samsung Galaxy Tabs, and my portable battery, the excellent New Trent 5000 mAH dual port. This adapter works for all these, either individually or in any combination, including the super finicky Galaxy Tab (love you, Samsung, but not your proprietary connectors!).
However, because there are at least three manufacturer based USB charging schemes in play right now, not every port and cable combination works for every device, for example, the Galaxy Tab only works in the Samsung port (not surprisingly). Below are the results of different combinations of cables, ports and devices. As you can see, the included Micro USB cable did very well. I also use GoMadic's excellent but a bit obtuse cable system with interchangeable tips, especially for travel, to cut down on the number of cables I need to carry, and I've posted these results in the second table below, indicating which tip worked with each device/port combination.
Net, this is THE charger to get if you have to cover multiple devices simultaneously. Highly recommended.
Note that tables are tough to format in Amazon reviews, so I've tried to make these as clear as possible within Amazon's limitations.
Test 1
Cables: Skiva MicroUSB for all devices except Galaxy Tab, Micro to Mini USB adapter for New Trent Battery
Ports in order tested: Samsung, Apple, U1, U2
Devices, followed by Yes or No for each port in order.
Blackberry Torch2: Y Y Y Y
DROID 3: N Y Y Y
Galaxy Tab + OEM cable: Y N N N
New Trent 5000 mAH battery: Y Y Y Y
Test 2
GoMadic Cable and Tips (tip numbers that worked are listed)
Devices, followed by Tip Numbers that worked, for each port in order tested, same order as above.
Blackberry Torch2: 68/90 68/90 68/90 68/90
DROID 3: 90 68/90 68/90 68/90
Galaxy Tab: A8 No No No
New Trent 5000 mAH battery: 21 21 21 21
Note that the GoMadic tip 68 is a sync and charge tip for BB, while 90 is charge only.
Let the charging begin!
The Quadfire is great, we now have more free outlets. I have a samsung galaxy 3 and two iPad and this is perfect for charging everything at once. This prevents fighting over what gets charged first. We travel a lot and the Quadfire saves on packing several different chargers. Most hotels have limited number of free outlets and this saves time having to cycle through the different chargers. We have brought the cheaper single usb charges and found that this charger is much faster even when we have three devices charging at once. The included micro usb wires was an added bonus; This is a must have item in our household and we are really pleased with the delivery time and the quality of the item. We will definitely be getting more.
BalasHapus