Until batteries are capable of keeping our most power-hungry devices running for days on end, it’s a good idea to travel with a charger close at hand. And if your travels are primarily road trips, Scosche’s new AC-DC travel charger looks like a near-perfect option, allowing tablets and laptops to be charged from a vehicle’s power outlet.
It’s almost impossible to buy a new car today that doesn’t include modern upgrades like USB ports or even a wireless charging pad for devices like smartphones. The problem is that these often deliver only a trickle of power, usually around just five watts, which is enough to slowly charge a smartphone, but not larger gadgets. That’s more power than a compact laptop will use while it’s running.
USB ports aside, it’s also almost impossible to buy a new car that doesn’t include the 12V DC outlet that’s been standard in vehicles for decades. (It’s also known as the automobile auxiliary power outlet, but if you’re over 40 you probably know it best as that hole in the dashboard that included a cigarette lighter.) The new Scosche PowerVolt 30W Power Delivery AC-DC Travel Charger features a pair of fold out parallel prongs that can be plugged into a standard 110-volt AC wall outlet, but it also includes a fold out car adaptor that delivers 30 watts of power through a USB-C port for quickly charging a smartphone or charging larger devices like a laptop or the Nintendo Switch while in a vehicle. If you travel with kids, you might want to jump on this one.
Continued pandemic-induced supply chain issues mean many gadgets debuting at CES 2022 don’t have exact release dates just yet, and Scosche’s latest is no exception. The company is planning to launch the $62 PowerVolt 30W Travel Charger sometime before winter.