ChargerLeash is a charging cable that sounds an alarm 5 seconds after you unplug your phone, tablet, mp3 player, or digital camera from the charging cable. So you won’t forget to pack away your charger when you’re at work, in a hotel, in cafe, or at a friend’s house. It’s supposed to reduce instances of forgotten chargers.
Here’s what it looks like, our review unit, that is.
Here’s how it works.
The ChargerLeash comes in four variants, two for Apple devices and two for non-Apple devices (Windows Phone and Android):
– 30 Pin Cable for Apple iPhone 4/4s/3/3G and iPad 1/2/3 ($26.99)
– Lightning Cable for Apple iPhone 5/5s, iPad 4, iPad Mini and iPad Air ($34.99)
– Micro USB 2.0 Cable ($22.99)
– Micro USB 2.0 Cable with Additional 8 Connector Tips ($34.99)
Our review unit is the $34.99 ChargerLeash Charge & Sync Smart Micro USB 2.0 Cable with 8 Additional Connector Tips. We tested it on the LG G Pad 8.3. You essentially swap out your existing USB charging cable with the ChargerLeash. As simple as that. It’s easy and the added connector tips are for when you have devices that don’t fit the majority-used micro USB cable tip.
Additional connector tips:
- MINI: Mini USB adapter for use with devices supporting a mini USB connector from Blackberry, HTC and most MP3/MP4/Camera.
- MOT: Mot adapter for use with devices supporting a mini USB connector from Motorola.
- NOKIA2.0: Nokia 2.0mm barrel plug adaptor for use with devices supporting this connector from Nokia.
- NOKIA3.5: Nokia 3.5mm barrel plug adaptor for use with devices supporting this connector from Nokia.
- SAMM510: Samsung S20 adaptor for use with devices supporting this connector from Samsung.
- SAMT809: Samsung M20 adaptor for use with devices supporting this connector from Samsung.
- SEK750i: Sony Ericson adaptor for use with Sony Ericsson devices.
- LG8500: LG 18-pin adaptor for use with devices supporting this connector from LG
Sound the Alarm
How’s the alarm? Scandalous. Makes you want to pack up the thing immediately. I imagine this is perfect for people who frequently travel and end up charging their phones in public electric sockets, like those in hotels and coffee shops. For some of us, that scandalous alarm may not be apt in the office, libraries, daycare centers, and you’ll get those looks at cafes. But it works – you get alarmed by that alarm.
If you unplug the charger plug from the power source (wall socket, extension cord, portable battery, etc.) instead of disconnecting your device from the charging cable, the alarm sounds off for a good two seconds as long as the other end remains connected to your mobile device, so you are reminded to pack everything away, still. You are effectively hostaged by that deeet! deeet! deeet! sound.
Anti-Theft
And because of that alarm, the ChargerLeash is also an anti-theft device. If someone other than you removes your mobile device from the ChargerLeash, you’ll hear the alarm. Of coure if you have kids at home who keep borrowing your phone to play games, then you might keep hearing that alarm.
Niche Market
Still, for the ChargerLeash to be worth it, you need to be often outdoors and traveling and staying for long periods where there are electric sockets. If you’re flitting between work and home and cafe’s and school and client meetings and daycare center, a powerbank is the more apt answer to low battery woes.
Also, the ChargerLeash’s price can be steep in economies deeply penetrated by mid and low range Android phones whose 5 volt output chargers work, regardless of manufacturer (for the most part), and are cheap. Here in the Philippines, a USB adapter plug with charging cable can go for as low as $3. So losing your Android charger in a cafe during a road trip is not as devastating, compared to, say, if you had an Apple device.
Out of the box: charging cable with alarm, pack of 8 connector tips, an ear-mic for calls, instruction page.
This leads to another point. Since Apple chargers can be expensive compared to Android ones, perhaps the ChargerLeash may be better suited for iOS users who do a lot of traveling and charging at public sockets.
Don’t get me wrong, the ChargerLeash is really clever, and it has a niche. But maybe the problem is not that you might forget your charger but that you might run out of battery power on the road. So just bring a powerbank or an extra charger (if you’re an Android user) both of which are a fraction of the price of the ChargerLeash.
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You may wish to see our review of the LG G Pad 8.3 here.
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