Nomad 5 device charging hub with Qi

[UPDATE: May 30, 2018 - the device is now EU/UK compliant!]

More and more devices are getting powered by USB cables.  Laptops, 3DS, portable batteries ... heck, I even have a few LED lights that need to be powered up.  So many cables, so many wall warts, so many things to keep track of.

It can be a headache.  Especially if you're like me and want several of them to be charged all at once.  What you want is a charging hub.  I've shown off a multiport wall wart before but it can get messy for a semi-permanent ... the big octopus coming up from the wall.



So, today I wanted to show off Nomad's newer charging hub.  What's nice about the model I've just gotten is that it has Qi on top.  So you can plug your devices in, or if you've got Qi-enabled device, just plop it on.  It makes a great desktop companion.

The way it works is that the disc has an underbelly.  You flip it over like some sort of crab and see that's got places for you to plug your USB cables into.

I had been using a bit of an 'octopus adapter' at my office desk for the longest time, and it takes the USB power and divides it out.

With this, I needed to find it's own wall outlet.  Luckily, under my desk there was an extra plug on a strip I could use.  It meant watching how far away the hub could be; but, to not worry about a paltry 500mA or so from a USB outlet on my laptop to get proper power is worth it!  Yay

So, now you plug in your cables.  With this model, you get 4 plugs on the bottom (and then you have the Qi platform on top for your 5th).

One of these plugs is a USB-C connector providing 3A output.  The other USB-A ports deliver 2A for one, and 1A for the other 2.

It's got a little 'keeper' to help channel the cables in one direction.

I wanted to keep the number of dangling cables to a minimum but didn't have any tie wraps with me so I used some shorter cables.


So, on my desk next to my monitor it sits.  I've rotated it a bit so that the shorter cables for my watch stand and the lightning for my work iPhone are close, then I have a longer cable for USB-C to plug in my phone so that it can then sit on hub when charging (or if I have my G6, I could just rest it on there to charge wirelessly).

It's a nice little addition to my desk without looking unwieldy.  Very handy to ensure that all my devices can charge at the same time.  Now, for $80USD it can be a little pricey, but compared to other hubs; the fact that it includes Qi is the big bonus here.  I think you'll find it worth its price in the end.

Source:  https://www.hellonomad.com/wireless-hub-global