Griffin PowerJolt dual USB charger for iPhone - accessory review

By Georgia
last updated

The Griffin PowerJolt dual USB charger solves an age old problem: you and your significant other have both depleted the batteries on your iPhone and yet your car only offers one charging socket. Who gets to use it? Or worse: you're in the middle of that big family summer trip and not only have both parents worn down their iPhones, all the kids in the back are near empty on their iPod touches as well. Do you get your internet or do they get the movies that keep them quiet and you sane for the remainder of the trip?

While I can't claim the Griffin PowerJolt dual USB charger will save relationships and family trips, this simple adapter will at least hold power hungry creatures at bay for twice as long. Read on to find out how!

The Griffin PowerJolt dual USB charger is different from the PowerJolt Plus I looked at last time, which let you pass through a second car adapter. The PowerJolt Dual is much simpler in a way -- an adapter for the power socket in your car capped by two USB plugs. Just plug in the USB to Dock cable that came with your iPhone or iPod touch and you're off and charging.

In my tests with both an iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS there didn't seem to be any appreciable loss of charging power due to the shared connection. Both iPhones got to 80% quickly and then topped off to 100% in about as long as it takes with the single chargers I've used in the past. (And I'm typically listening to music, using Google Maps, powering videos for the little ones in the back seats, or otherwise working while I charge.)

This is just an adapter, so there's no mount, no built in cable, and nothing else fancy in any way. Since it is simply USB in, you can also use it to charge your non-Apple gear as well, including other phones, devices, headsets, etc. That flexibility really comes in handy for family trips.

If you have more devices than you have charging ports definitely take a look at the Griffin PowerJolt dual USB charger, available from the TiPb iPhone Accessory Store.

Pros

  • Compact
  • Largely invisible when not in use
  • Doubles charging ability of power socket

Cons

  • Only the adapter: bring your own cables
  • Doesn't charge iPad

TiPb Rating

Gallery

Griffin PowerJolt dual USB charger for iPhone - accessory review

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Georgia
Georgia

Senior Editor at iMore and a practicing therapist specializing in stress and anxiety. She speaks everywhere from conferences to corporations, co-host of Vector and Isometric podcasts, follow her on Twitter @Georgia_Dow and check out her series at anxiety-videos.com.

21 Comments
  • u remind me of flight attendants lol, seat belt demos.
  • Haha - precisely! I gotta be honest, I just tune in to see Georgia - I typically have heard of/read about these products long before tipb.com (no offense). Still, 5/5 stars. :D
  • Yup. Under $5 shipped for ones that do the same thing.
  • Wow. Finally. A review with no stumbling words. Thank you!!!! It was so nice to watch and listen to this review. Clearly spoken. That's how it is done.
  • Okay... where's the car in the car charger review. Just sayin'
  • Good point.
  • Great accessory. Had one for a while now. Like the smaller size.
  • Thanks! Enjoyed the video Georgia =)
  • A dual-usb charger charges 2 usb devices at once? I had no idea! Herp derp.
  • I like the review, but I do have one question which maybe it size subtly gives away. I'm pretty careful of where I charge my iPhone for fear of irregularities in power. So i wonder if the device has a some form of voltage regulator.
    Also while it would have been nice to see it installed in a vehicle, I think it would be almost pointless, with all the different make's models and trims of cars; it wouldn't give you a better idea of just how small it is than seeing it in a hand.
  • Georgia, will you be coming to my house to plug it in for me? If so, I'll take 845 of them, please...
  • Wow, TiPb really messed up on that product rating by giving it four stars because
    1. it's expensive
    2. it does not charge an iPad
    Here's a link to one for $4.90 (I bought two) that can charge an iPad on one of the ports http://www.bestofferbuy.com/2a-mini-dual-usb-car-charger-for-ipadiphone-...
  • Dude I just read ur link after posting mine and that's the exact same one I bought but in white... I paid $0.01 cents for it on online auction and I was beyond satisfied... Minus the 18 day wait... But like I said b4 for a penny... Im not gonna complain
  • This really could be handy on long car trips with your family. My truck has 2 plugs in the front and 2 in the back seat so its not really for me but its nice to have options. For those of you complaining about the price look at it as a way to keep the lights on and servers running at tipb. I boughtan ipod touch case from them and a couple of different cases for my Droid X from the Android Central store. They were a little more expensive but I like to support the SPE sites that give me alot of great content.
  • hi, this is great
    i bring 2 phones everyday
    an iphone 4 and a blackberry 9700
    can anyone who have this charger try to charge a blackberry with this ?
    im really need this kind of charger but it must be a ble to charge my iphone and BB at the same time.
  • I was so close to buy this 3 days ago but I was looking for one to buy that can charge my iPad 2 and iPhone.... So instead I bought this RIDICULOUSLY SMALL WHITE off brand one... It's from china but I only had to pay (and I kid you not) 0.01 cent for it... Free shipping!!! Down side was It did take about 18 days to arrive due to customs... But for a penny!?!?!I wasn't gonna complain... Just got it 2 days ago and fell in love wilth it cuz it does have a 2.1A USB for the iPad 2 and a 1A USB for the iPhone 4 or any USB charging device.... So sick!!! =]
  • That's amazing! Where did you find it? Model number? Site?
    If you can link it here, please do.
  • Georgia,
    Thanks for the review. I know that the design implies it, but many similar products to this one cannot charge two devices simultaneously why each device is in use.
    For instance, if I'm on a call on iPhone 4 (A) and using GPS on the second iPhone 4 (B), power may be supplied but the phones may not be charged while in use.
    I'm reading reviews on Amazon two of many similar products that can't do this.
    Can you confirm this at all?
  • Holy shallow depth of field, Batman!
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