A USB Charger That Goes Up To 11 10

The good folks at Ntonpower have sent me this utterly ridiculous, and fantastically over-powered USB charger. It has ten frickin' ports each one capable of delivering 2.4 amps. So, what's it like?

Straight up, it looks like a plastic toast rack. It's a chunky beast, but surprisingly lightweight. You won't have trouble lifting it, but it stays firmly in place.

Round the other side are 10 USB ports. Well spaced out, not too cramped.

It might be nice if they lined up with the rack, but that's a minor quibble.

There's a fan inside the unit, although I never got it to switch on.

Good airflow all round. It takes a standard "kettle" lead. I was happy to see a UK plug - complete with earthing - came with the unit.

Wired up competently, and with a 13 amp fuse. OK. Let's test drive this thing!

I thought I'd try and tip the unit over by placing a 10 inch Android tablet at one end. But the unit's centre of gravity is just right. Let's pile on the tech!

MOAR TECH!

The slots are just about wide enough for a MacBook Air to fit in.

EVAN MOOOORE TECHHHH!!!

2.4 amps is sufficient to power a Raspberry Pi. Imagine a Beowulf Cluster of those!

BUCKAROO!

Yup, the Nintendo Switch also fits.

OK, let's press the big button at the back and see if it explodes...

All the devices switched on. Those that support fast charging were able to draw the maximum current from it.

There is a fan inside the unit - to prevent overheating - but I wasn't able to get it to come on, even with all 10 devices charging.

Downsides

There's a lot to love about this mega-charger, but it isn't without flaws.

Firstly, it costs seventy quid. I guess £7 per charger isn't too bad - especially for a high power one. You also only need one plug socket.

USB-C devices are supported, but there's no USB-C specific slots. You won't get the advantage of USB-C fast charging. You can charge your new gadgets - but at slower speeds than with a dedicated charger.

Cable management is a bit horrific with 10 things plugged in. That's inevitable unless all 10 devices have a charging port in exactly the same place.

If I was going to be nit-picky, I'd prefer the USB slots to be spaced out in line with the "toast rack". It might be good to have individual LEDs for each slot.

Conclusion

If you've got 10 devices that you need charged simultaneously... This is probably as good as it gets.

You can buy the Ntonpower 10 port USB charger on Amazon.