Review: The ZUS Smart Car Charger
Nonda is introducing the ZUS Smart Car Charger, and claims it the best smart device for road trips. Let’s take a look why. This multi-purpose gadget charges up your phones and tablets and finds where you parked your car.
Never Lose Your Car in Your Next Destination
While we may not admit it, we all lose sight of where we parked once in a while. With ZUS, no one needs to know. Open up the app and see where you parked. There’s a handy direction arrow / compass to point you in the right direction. It is based on GPS and work wonders in open air car parks, however in Singapore typical indoor / underground carpark environment, doesn’t work too well. For those instances, you’ll get a prompt from the app that it is unable to locate you and suggest you take a picture to remember where you parked.
It does work without cellular network, so if you are driving overseas, Malaysia, or the United States, it’s a great companion for a road trip. I think the US is a great place for ZUS, with their typically huge car park. I think the last time I couldn’t figure out where I last parked was at one of those massive sprawling outlets.
The location finder is well designed. It automatically detects when you park your car (switch off the engine), and adds a notification to your phone. There’s a built in timer too, so it can notify you 10 minutes before an hour of parking exceeds. Everything’s configurable, from the time of alert to the duration of parking. Perfect for those nasty car parks with exorbitant charges.
Charge Two USB Devices at 2X the Speed
ZUS can charge up to two devices concurrently at 2.4A each. The claims are quite accurate as I tested it on my Samsung S7 Edge. Typically it takes around 2 hours for a full charge. But I do miss the added speed from a Qualcomm Quick Charge compatible type charger.
Optimized for Nighttime Driving
There are other nice touches to the ZUS car charger. Such as the ZUS’ proprietary ElegantShine™ Lighting system which sets off a soft glow to help you locate the ports in the dark. The USB ports each have light emitting from them and the top portion has a small grill where light emits. Stop fumbling around to charge up. What’s even better is that the USB ports are reversible. Confidently plug in your cable without fear of it being upside down.
What’s even better is that the USB ports are reversible
Built for the Heat. Military Grade Quality.
ZUS is made to be highly heat resistant, so that hot climates are never an issue. Singapore weather is getting hotter. The ZUS use the best raw materials such as the Bayer PC material and the titanium coating. No other car charger manufacturers have claimed they can meet rigorous military high temperature standards, but the ZUS boasts of US military mil-std-810g grade. ZUS is made to last much longer than your average car charger. It combines this with a sleek, sophisticated European design that looks classy. By the way, did I mention that the ZUS won both the iF & Red dot design Awards?
Price and Availability
ZUS is already available online at their website http://www.nonda.co/ and on Amazon. It retails for US$29, with a flat US$15 for international shipping. Tip: buy and send to a US forwarding address such as EZBuy, which charge S$3.99 per 500g.
Verdict
The ZUS Smart Car Charger delivers its promise of a reliable car charger and tracking of parking location. I like the parking timer functions and location works but less applicable in Singapore sheltered environment. Charging is accurate, at 2.4A with up to two concurrent devices, but if it had added Qualcomm Quick Charge or Rapid Charge technology, I think it would be really sweet. Another smart feature I see on some smart car chargers would also be an addition of a FM transmitter. Since it already has a Bluetooth connection to the phone, I thought it would be great if it could transmit audio out over FM. Now that would make it THE Smart Car Charger for me.