Christmas is coming, and gift giving can be a challenge for the techies on your list.
This gift guide is centered on gifts that will help keep gadgets charged up.
Virtually everyone has a phone, tablet or laptop, which means they are always looking for better, faster, smarter ways to keep them charged up.
I’ve tested all of these suggestions and I’d be thrilled to get any of these this Christmas season.
Baseus Nomos 8-in-1 Charging Station
The Beseus Nomos 8-in-1 Charging Station ($99.99, baseus.com) is centered around a Qi2 wireless charger to keep your phone charging, while keeping it visible and within easy reach.
The Qi2 charger can provide up to 15 watts of charging power and the magnetic charging pad tilts up to let the user use the phone while its charging.
The charger measures 5 inches by 6 inches and its just 0.5 inches tall and it has a 5-foot power cable.
There are three AC outlets on top to let you plug in other chargers or gadgets.
On the sides, you’ll find three USB-C and one USB-A ports for charging. The USB-C outlets can provide up to 67 watts, so you can keep most laptops powered up.
The AC outlets don’t look like they’d be deep enough to let you fully insert a plug, but they magically rise up as soon as a plug is inserted. The AC outlets can provide up to 1,250 watts and the USB ports can combine to provide up to 240 watts.
EZQuest DuraGuard Coiled USB-C Charge & Sync 100W Cable
A lot of charging cables are too long and sit like spaghetti all over your desk.
The EZQuest DuraGard Coiled USB-C cable ($15.99, ezq.com) keeps itself neatly coiled up.
The cable provides up to 100 watts of power delivery if your charger can provide that much power.
It can also transfer data at speeds up to 480 Megabits per second.
EZQuest says this cable is 1.5 meters long (5 feet), but you’d have to really pull hard to uncoil the cable to get close to that length. Coiled up, its closer to a foot long. I fear stretching it out too long would cause some of the coiling to relax, which would defeat the purpose.
Anker Prime Charger
This desktop charger has earned a permanent spot on my desk at work.
The Anker Prime Charger ($169.99, Anker.com), has six USB ports — two USB-A and four USB-C.
The ports can combine to provide up to 250 watts.
Each port can be set up to provide a specific level of charge. The charger has a small interface with a smart control dial that lets you change settings.
You can also use the Anker app to connect wirelessly to see the charge status of each port and control each port individually.
The USB-C ports can provide up to 140 watts, to charge even the largest laptops.
A 2.26-inch LCD display on the front of the charger will show you how much power each port is providing, as well as a graph of the total output.
It also can display a digital clock if you connect it to Wi-Fi.
Chargeasap 280W Zeus USB-C GaN Charger
This is what I would call a wall charger or a travel charger.
The Chargeasap 280W Zeus USB-C GaN charger ($219.00, chargeasap.com) has a flip-out plug so you plug it straight into a wall plug or plug strip, and you’ll have three USB-C ports and one USB-A port to charger your gear.
There is a very tiny OLED screen that shows the charge status of each port.
The combined output power of the Zeus is 280 watts. Two of the USB-C ports can output 140 watts each. The third USB-C port can output 100 watts and the USB-A port can output 65 watts.
The Zeus comes with four travel adapters for using it in different parts of the world, along with a pouch to keep it all together. The Zeus measures just 3.5 inches by 2.16 inches by 1.73 inches.
This is the perfect charger to keep a MacBook, iPad and iPhone all fast charging at the same time.
ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Travel Wireless Charging Set
This is my go-to charger for travel. If I’m not sleeping at home, this charger is plugged in on my side of the bed for my iPhone, AirPods and my Apple Watch.
The ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Travel Charging Set ($89.99, esrgear.com) that comes with its own case.
It includes the charger, which folds up smaller than the phone, a five-foot USB-C cable, a 30-watt charger and the plug-in charger for the Apple Watch.
The Qi2 wireless charger can provide 15 watts of charging power. The watch charger utilizes second generation Apple watch fast charging.
The biggest advantage of the ESR Travel Wireless Charging Set is its size. This packs up to a very small size and fits easily into any travel bag.
Jim Rossman is a tech columnist for Tribune News Service. He may be reached at jrossmantechadviser@gmail.com.
