Many may agree that handheld devices (read phones) play a vital role in our lives, this instantly compelled us to lay our hands on the Belkin Conserve Valet smart USB charging station which has knocked our doors for a review. The Conserve Valet proposes to charge up to four devices simultaneously and also promises to conserve energy. So read on to know how efficient this charging station could be.
Now don’t be mistaken as this device is not one of those wireless solar powered chargers and it won’t assist you in any way other than providing a common charging point for your handheld devices. And apart from that, it confidently announces to conserve energy. Adorning a clean and simple chassis, this black and white device sports a rather different design. The upper surface of this charging station is drenched in black. Though slanting, this non-slip surface touts to hold on to devices and refrains them from sliding down, but the plasticky surface is not too successful at it. A material like rubber would have done a better job.
Unlike some devices, this pitch black surface has no jarring designs staring at you which makes it eye-pleasing and something that you can look at every day. But it is not resistant to scratches. The surface is embedded with a green colored push button alongside an LED indicator of the same color, probably to highlight that it conserves energy. The lower white part of the device complements the upper section perfectly as it is well contrasted.
In order to facilitate charging devices simultaneously, the Conserve Valet comes with four USB ports. Three of these ports are situated towards the backside of the device while the fourth one is positioned at the right hand side for easy accessibility. Besides USB ports, the Belkin Conserve Valet is armed with the cord management solution to take care of all tangling wires while charging multiple devices. In addition to these ports and cord management hooks, it sports an inlet for the AC power cord.
As not all handheld devices are integrated with a USB connector, the device is accompanied by two cords, a USB to mini-USB cord and a USB to Micro-USB cord. These black colored 0.3mm cords are meant for charging only and cannot be utilized to transfer data. In addition to these cords, our review unit is packaged along with a white colored AC power cable of length 1.3m.
No doubts that the device does help with cable management but the conserving power part doesn’t really go down well with us. It claims to cut down on power consumption as soon as all attached devices are completely charged. Once started, the charging station automatically switches itself off if no device is connected within two minutes of its activation. Though the cable management system manages all cords attached while charging, the clutter persists when we unplug all devices. Also, if your device does not come with ports provided by this charging station, you will have to purchase cords with the desired connector on one end and the USB port on the other.
To wrap it up, the USB charging station is meant for those of you who need a common charging point for all devices. What this device particularly lacks is the portability factor as the bulky charger fails to fit in small bags. The Belkin Conserve Valet smart USB charging station is priced at $39.99 (approx. Rs. 1,960). The device has managed to earn a rating of 7 on 10 from us.
