There is a big mess made of random cables and chargers next to my bed. Things have improved lately, as my wife switched from an iPhone to Android device, with the same as mine, USB-C connector. This also means she takes all the good chargers I reviewed before with her to work, and there is an octopus made of cables and chargers attached to an extension lead. Sounds familiar? Right until I got the NTONPOWER Mini Charging station, I dismissed any charging stations as power charging solutions.
NTONPOWER Mini Charging station
It’s hard not to point out similarities to a toaster grill, but jokes aside, this is a very peculiar looking device. Whether you are in favour of the design or not, I will mostly focus on how useful the NTONPOWER Mini Charging station is in the bedroom, as this is where the station going to be kept.
The charging station comes with 5 USB slots rated 2.4A each and promises to deliver the accurate charge to each connected device. To give you an impression of how quickly it charges I put it through the paces against the USB-C charger that came with my Pixel phone. Fortunately, I have the Tasker profile and benchmark reading from my last charger test.
- Pixel connected via USB-C with original charger (benchmark) 1h:52min*
- Pixel connected via USB with the NTONPOWER Mini Charging station 1h:56min*
- Pixel connected via USB (other devices connected too) with the NTONPOWER Mini Charging station 1h:55min*
*Pixel’s charge time measured form 10%, phone in an aeroplane mode
I’m actually very pleased with the NTONPOWER Mini Charging station. It solves the very first world problem, but a problem nonetheless. All phones sit neatly between ribs of the charger. The station is actually smaller than I was expecting. In result, it takes much less space on the nights stand.
NTONPOWER Mini Charging station critique
There is always room for improvement. The charger should be sold with bundled and dedicated USB cables cut to size. I ordered short USB-C leads online, so I wouldn’t recreate the octopus issues from before. Ideally, I’d like to see a bundle of 2 USB cables with metal connectors available with each order. Just pick the connector type, and you are sorted.
Why metal connectors? NTONPOWER Mini Charging station missed the opportunity of adding magnets inside the ribs. This way you could neatly store unused cables. It’s not a deal-breaker, just an idea going forward.
I wish the ribs were covered in rubber to dump the vibration noise. Something I will overcome with Tasker, or simply by adding some foam tape inside. Lastly, we are heading into USB-C era, it’s time to add these port’s as standard.
Conclusion
If you want to organise your nightstand mess, look no further. This dock is almost perfect for this. And if you are a coffee shop* owner, consider the 10 USB port version for your customers. (*in my coffee shop is perfectly safe to leave your phone unattended, your experience may vary)
