Android Thoughts - Opinions, News, Advice & Reviews on Android Devices

"Most modern smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, and other gadgets rely on USB-based chargers. Some of these come with their own AC wall adapters, while others include nothing more than a USB cable-meaning you have to plug them into your computer to get them charged."

The nice thing about this thing is that you just plug it into the existing outlet, so it's basically a cover. No need to replace the current outlet so you don't have to worry about shocking yourself silly. And it goes for the small sum of $15.00 USD at Lowes (currently out of stock in my area), or you can get it at Amazon.com for $12.47 USD (currently in stock with both white and almond colored versions).

"When you want true power, power to dominate your iDevices, look no further than the Miccus ChargeBlock for iPad. Not only will it charge your iPad (1 or 2) or iPhone but practically any USB devices and does so with a size and dimension not much different than previous generations of iPhones. This is simply a must-have device for power on the road."

At $99.00 USD it isn't cheap, but for the road warrior it might be a handy tool to add to the arsenal if for nothing else it's flexibility. It was specifically designed to fast charge the iPad, both versions, but with the included USB tips and 12V charging port, it can also charge your iPhone, Droid, digital camera, netbook and Playbook among other things. The best thing is that it comes as a complete package, so not only do you get the ChargeBlock and AC adapter, you also get several charge tips for Mini and Micro USB and a handy carry bag. You can find out more about it at the ChargeBlock site, and right now it appears you can get it at our affiliate store for the discounted price of $75.00 USD [affiliate link].

"Ever wanted to be able to access your mass storage on your Nook Color? maybe throw some music and movies on there after you put Honecomb on it? No problem. XDA member samuelhalff‘s app will let you access that storage on a PC via USB connection."

I love all the development, or should I say hacking, being done for the Nook Color! It is an amazingly capable device for an eReader! I mean, Honeycomb!!! Do I need to say more!?!? Now a member of XDA Developers has released an app for your Nook Color that will let you mount it's storage as standard USB Mass Storage on your PC or anything else that supports that. Just tell the app which volumes you want to mount, it can do two at a time I think, and boom, you're set. It seems to support any partition you want but the developer does warn that it's beta. Have a Nook Color? Let us know if you try it out!