In a classic case of first world problems, over the last few months, I’ve found myself increasingly distressed not over the lack of new Windows Phone devices coming out, but by the fact that I now have too many.
My Lumia 1520, which has served me faithfully for two whole years. My Lumia 950, which could be either the best smartphone experience I’ve ever had, or the outright worst depending on what angle the southern California sun shines on me. Two Lumia 640s, both of which I bought as dirt cheap backup phones, and an Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL with Windows 10 that I have purely to review.
In my household, there often comes an impromptu situation where someone needs to borrow a phone for immediate use, so there is a benefit to keeping them all fully charged. Thing is, my computer only has so many ports. I only have so many power strips I can tolerate in my bedroom.
As it turns out, there is a clean solution. Aukey has a 5-port USB charger, which features 4 standard USB ports, and one Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 port, all powered by a clean two-prong plug.
Charging for the orange Quick Charge 3.0 is predictably quick, similar to the charging times discussed in my wave of charging devices. About 40 minutes for an almost full charge. Charging for the other ports, while obviously not as quick as the fast lane, was surprisingly quick even with five devices all plugged in.
It doesn’t just have to be phones either. These are standard USB ports, so you can charge your tablets and accessories as well.
While charging stations are not exactly the hot new thing, I was pleased with the sleek design and build quality featured with the Aukey device. The color-coded ports are particularly pleasing to the eye, although honestly between teal and orange, it’s not immediately transparent which color represents the fast port (even though it should be obvious by the quantity).
My only complaint with the device, and in truth it’s a pretty big one, is the length of the power cord. It’s barely two feet long, which makes finding an optimal location to seed these devices quite a pain.
Ultimately, Aukey has offered an elegant and practical solution to a rather bizarre scenario I’ve found myself in despite the precipitous drop in Windows Phone sales.
You can purchase the Aukey 5-port USB Charging Station on Amazon here.