Belkin BZ103050vTVL Mini Surge Protector/Dual USB Charger
by Belkin Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $16.06 You Save: $8.93 (36%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $14.93 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Belkin BZ103050vTVL Mini Surge Protector/Dual USB Charger
Customer Review: Great surge protector that you can take on the go!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this surge protector.
I wanted something that would allow me and my wife to charge both our laptops on the go as well as my iPhone and her iPod Touch. We like going on weekend trips and plugging all our electronics into different outlets scattered throughout the room is annoying. We don't have that problem anymore, now whenever we go on a weekend trip we toss this into our bag. We can both charge our laptops at the same time and i can plug in my iPhone charger as well and my wife uses one of the USB charging ports to charge her iPod.
We have also come to use this thing as a "charging station" in our home. We leave our laptop chargers, my iPhone charger and her iPod USB charging/docking cable plugged into this unit. When we aren't using it we just simply unplug the unit from the wall - we don't have to unplug 4 different calbes from the wall anymore! At night we just plug it back in and connect our electronics up so they charge overnight. My only issue with this unit is that me and wife can't use the USB ports to charge my iPhone and her iPod at the same time, the USB charging ports don't put out enough current. I just get around this by using the AC charger with my iPhone if the iPod is charging at the same time.
I don't know if this unit is portable enough to throw in your laptop bag, but its definately small enough that i can toss it in my backpack or my small suit case and take it with me wherever i want to go. I will definately buy a couple more of these for my house and travels.
Pros:
Portable
3 standard ports
2 USB ports
Swivels and locks in 4 positions
$75,000 "insurance"
Cons:
Doesn't charge 2 iPhone's or iPhone and iPod touch at same time using USB ports
Customer Review: Perfect for travel
Summary: 5 Stars
This surge protector has become one of my must-pack items when I travel. When in groups, it's great to have spare outlets to charge everyone's phones in a tiny hotel, as well as USB slots for your ipod and anything else that you have an adapter to. I personally use this surge protector to charge my laptop, my camera's battery through the regular plugs, and then through the USB I charge my phone and ipod.
As many people know, sometimes you just can't bring yourself to trust the wall plug. With several hundred dollars at stake, and priceless amounts of information stored on each, you'll really want to have the surge protector there to protect you.
My main complaint about this unit is that the plug adapter sticks out way too far from the main body, which makes it liable to sometimes hang out threateningly away from the wall when I have everything plugged in. I usually have to ball up some paper underneath to keep it from drooping at an angle, or pile the bible and some magazines under it so it can sit there.
If you don't mind being a little resourceful when you install it, I think that this is a nice portable unit to carry with you. With the added USB ports to the side, it definitely has an edge over the regular power surge bars, and its small form factor means you can easily throw it into your suit case or carry on and not worry about it until later.
Customer Review: Good little product
Summary: 5 Stars
I use this to plug in my MacBook Pro when I'm at home, although I occasionally take it with me to my local coffee shop. I have no trouble fitting it inside my bag. I hope people realize that to do what it does, this product really couldn't be any smaller. Yes, there are mini power strips that are smaller, but have no surge protection or USB charging. Besides, Amazon does provide the product's dimensions; take a moment to pull out a tape measure to get an idea of what you'll get. Unless you use a really tight fitting sleeve or bag to carry your laptop, I don't see why it would be such a problem to fit this unit inside the average laptop bag. A lot of power supply "bricks" are larger and heavier.
The rotating plug allows you to fit this unit in any position without covering other outlets. I have not tried the USB outlets yet, as I tend to use AC chargers for my portable gadgets, but the idea is great for road warriors that need all their laptop USB ports.
January 2, 2009
I wanted to add that I recently purchased an iPod Touch and it charges without a problem off of this device. It has continued to give me good service and now lives permanently attached to my laptop's power cord. I see that people still can't be bothered to use a tape measure. Really this is not that big for what it does.
Customer Review: Perfect in a crowded airport or wifi spot
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, this mini surge protector/dual usb charger is perfect in a small bathroom, kitchen and hotel room, but I have found it to be even more perfect in a crowded airport where one outlet is surrounded by electronic device users hovering around until a flight takes off, thereby freeing up an outlet or two. With this multiplier, you can enable three users to plug into one outlet and bring joy to two usb charging devices as their power is refreshed. I must admit that I didn't even realize this had a swivel plug until it was pointed out to me after I'd used it in public a few times. I'd purchased this in a combo pack with the Belkin swivel usb hub and didn't even take this out of the packaging until I headed out for an airplane trip a couple months ago. Ironically, I've found this to be more useful than the hub which isn't as sturdy and doesn't swivel very well for me. I now take this with me any time I head out with my laptop because I like the option of plugging in, particularly when I'm having a cup of coffee with dozens of others who also want to plug in and turn on. If anything happens to this one, I'll replace it pronto.Customer Review: Great travel accessory
Summary: 5 Stars
I do business travel regularly and have made a study on how to minimize what I pack. I never check luggage for trips up to a week long. The latest addition to my standard travel kit is the Belkin mini-surge protector and USB charger. It was a bit larger than the picture looked, but realistically the plug size and so forth limit how small it can be. I have used it on several trips, business and pleasure, and it has been great. The swivel plug lets it adapt well to all sorts of socket orientations. The two USB charging slots let me charge my phone, my iTouch, or my GPS without needing to get out my laptop or a different standalone USB charger. The three socket surge protector provides additional protection and two more sockets if I need them. Actually, I bought two of these. One went into my standard travel kit, the other on my home-office desk where I mostly use the USB charger feature.