Review: Zip USB Touch-n-go Multi-Charging Station

Today's households are full of technological gadgets; they let us access the internet on the go, play games, and keep in touch with friends. But they can also create a mess of cables, especially when everyone in the family has their own constellation of portable devices. The Joy Factory is out to sever the Gordian knot of cables with the Zip USB Touch-n-go Multi-Charging Station.

The concept is simple: a single, sleek device that can charge all of your gadgets and only take up one power outlet on your wall or surge protector. But does it work in practice? That all depends on what you're looking for in your gadget charger of choice. Let's take a look at what the Zip USB can do.

Meet the Zip USB
Plug the Touch-n-go into the wall and then attach your various devices to it — you aren't completely eschewing cables. Instead of using your gadget's power cords, you connect a short ziptail cord that latches magnetically to the charger's surface. Once you've attached the ziptail, you only need to set your device near enough to the charger for the magnetic plug to make the connection and start your gadget charging. Want to answer a call or send a text while it's charging? No need to unplug anything; the ziptail will separate from the charging pad when you pick up and settle back in when you finish.

In our experience, it was easy to plug and unplug devices — though because it takes so little effort to pull the ziptail free, if you aren't careful when setting things down, sometimes they can shift and pull free from the charger. (We especially noticed this with larger devices, which we tended to charge resting against the side of the Zip USB rather than lying flat on top of or beside it.) Once plugged in, devices charged just as quickly as they did when plugged into the wall, though.

The Touch-n-go comes with two micro-USB ziptails, one mini-USB ziptail, and one Apple 30-pin ziptail. If that's not enough for your household's gadgets (or you find yourself misplacing them), you can buy additional ziptails; micro- and mini-USB ziptails cost $12.95 each, and Apple 30-pin ziptails cost $14.95 each.

So what's the catch?
There are actually several catches, though whether they matter to you depends entirely on your needs.

The Zip USB has a power output of 2100mA, which means you should be able to charge three devices on it at once (depending on how much juice they need). If you think you'll regularly need to charge more devices simultaneously, the Zip USB won't be up to the task. Further, if you're wanting to charge devices that don't charge by micro-USB, mini-USB, or Apple's 30-pin connectors — though these three options cover a lot of devices — you're out of luck, as these are the only ziptails available.

The ziptails themselves are also on the short side, which cuts down on clutter but can lead to your devices' disconnecting from the charging ports if they're bumped or have something set on top of them.

And at $79.95, we can't really recommend the Zip USB to budget shoppers.

Tecca's take
Whether you'll find this useful depends entirely on what kind of gadgets you have. We wanted to like this charger, but at home, we rarely had more than one device plugged into it. When we took it to Tecca HQ for further testing, though, it was constantly surrounded by cell phones needing a little extra juice. So before you decide to spend, look at your gadget collection: If you've got the right gadgets and you want to get rid of an ugly nest of power cables, the Touch-n-go might be worth the price.

We rate the Zip USB 3 out of 5 stars. Depending on what you need to charge, the Zip USB will either be the perfect addition to your digital life or another gadget destined to collect dust on your shelves.

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