RCA PCHSTAB2R USB Charging Dock with Device Cradle

By "it's like the lamp in most hotel rooms these days" I mean it's there to give you somewhere to plug devices into. I actually like the concept. Basically you plug this device into the wall and put the block on your desk and in doing so you turned one outlet at the wall into an outlet on your desk, plus you now have 2 usb charging ports.

First know that this picture, while "nice" is wrong. There is no actual 30 pin Apple device charger on the top as pictured. The only way I can see to make this happen... Drill a hole in the top of this, glue your own connector in place and runt the cord out the bottom then plug it in... Yeah, not build the way it's pictured.

What you DO get is:

1. On the top is a slot, no charging ports, it's just a plastic place to put your device.

2. On the back you get 1 electrical outlet, not grounded it's only 2 prong. This is fine, it' works just fine with my wifes netbook charger. It does NOT however work with my standard size laptop charger as it requires 3 prong outlets.

3. 2 USB ports on the back, one is strong enough for an iPad, or any other USB device, the other is a standard lesser voltage USB that will will charge.

In my application I found that I can put my android phone in upside down in the slot in the top, plug a usb cable into the usb slot on the back and into the phone and let it charge. Is this practical? Nope, because my android then is upside down and while the screen rotates, most apps including the clock app I use don't rotate 180 degrees... I sure wish they made an actual charging port on top. BUT for what I actually use it for it does work. And I like that I have outlets available to me.

I was going to buy one of those outlets you install in your house that converts a 2 wall outlet into a one wall outlet with 2 usb ports, however I decided to go this route as I wanted the usb ports to be easier to get to, and I like the portability of this. I just wish the top of this had a more practical use. For that I give it 3 out of 5 stores. I don't hate it, but I don't love it.

This charging station is a useful addition to either the home office or the office office. I set mine up at my office and it sits beside my computer where I can plug in my phone charger, rest my phone in the cradle and recharge it out of the way of all my other stuff. That makes it useful. There is both a standard plug from the back of the cradle, as well as two usb ports. The fact that it still requires me to lug out and hook up my cell phone charger prompted me to give the product 4 instead of 5 stars. Ideally, I could just place the phone in the cradle and walk away whil it charged. Regardless,this is quite a helpful device.

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While the picture looks like there is a connector built into the device, that is not the case. You need a separate charging cable and basically just put your device upside down and plug it in on top. That was quite a disappointment, to tell the truth, since I got this for someone who wanted to have their own place to plug in their ipod.

Still, we are using it for an ipod, and I have another charger plugged into the 3 prong plug on back, so I can use it to charge my tablet. But it is not what we thought it was. Caveat Emptor.

Read Best Reviews of RCA PCHSTAB2R USB Charging Dock with Device Cradle Here

The video pretty much shows it all, but here is a summary for those of you who don't want to watch the video ;)

PROS:

-large enough for the largest phones

-includes pads to put inside the unit, if you have a smaller phone, and you want a snug fit

-has 2 USB charging ports

-has a 2-prong "convenience" electrical port, for ... an alarm clock or lamp or something, I guess?

CONS:

-Cord is too low to the base of the unit, and arrives bent down, which means if you keep it at the edge of a table, moving it around is a bit of a problem

-the port for the phone is a LITTLE shallow, it could be a bit deeper for larger phones, especially since they include the pads for smaller phones

Overall, it is a nice little docking station though, pretty much what I was looking for in a phone dock.

4 stars.

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This item is pretty useless as it takes up desk space. The "cradle space" on top is pretty useless as you cannot charge your device unless you drill a hole thru the bottom of the unit to put your charging cord through there to reach one of the USB slots as there are no charging pins as provided with the other RCA PCHSTAB1R 30-Pin Charging Dock with Device Cradle which has much more functionality but only 1 USB charging port in the back of that unit, but alas you can charge your iPod or iPhone as it comes w/a removeable cradle to support either application when you put either unit in that cradle with the 30 pin plug in that cradle. If I could have given this one zero stars I would have. I was very dissapointed in this. Even though they give you 4 or 5 foam strips to adjust your Galaxy III smartphone in the cradle it still won't allow for any room to allow for you to run your charging cable that plugs in the "bottom" of the phone to run along "outside" the cradle to plug along in the BACK of this charging dock. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS!

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