Fast Car Charger and GPS Tracker all-in-one!?
So a while ago I was hit up by ZUS Smart to try out their Car Charger (which doubles as a GPS Tracker) and they asked if I’d like to give it a try and write a review. I’m not one to do that normally, but it seemed interesting enough that I said, Sure, why not!
As a disclaimer, they did send me a unit free of charge and I took it through the wringer to find its faults, its flaws and its benefits; because If I’m actually going to put fingers to keyboard, it’s to tell you the straight truth on it. :)
First things first, it arrived looking relatively pretty, aww, that’s sweet!
I know what you’re saying, “Derr, I have a charger, I got a free one at some arbitrary event’” Yea you’re telling me. My car is loaded with STACKS of lighter chargers which I’ve used to charge devices. Unfortunately, they’ve also done things which are less than desireable:
- Gotten VERY hot
- Fuses burned out in them
- ACTUALLY CAUGHT FIRE BEFORE
- Chargers with multiple Amp settings been iffy
- Oh and worst of all, charged either very poorly or not at all
What was pretty awesome about this charger is that it actually did what it said on the tin!
- Charged fast
- Charged consistently
- Did NOT get hot while doing it!
I know it is a lot to ask for and probably weird to expect something to do what it’s supposed to do, but we’ve really grown complacent in our culture to expect little from the things we purchase, so this was a nice surprise!
OMG WAIT! YOU SAID GPS TRACKER?!
Yea, I did say that. Thanks for remembering! :)
This has actually been kind of cool, it remembers where you park your car and communicates that with your phone! I’ve actually used it while hiking to check like, “Where is the direction of my car” and lo and behold it points in the direction of my car and an approximate distance. I borrowed some of their stock photos for this, because I didn’t do a screencap of my phone when I was *8* miles away from my car on a hike and had it point to that direction. Mainly because it just works so I didn’t even think to do that notification :)
Oh and it integrates its app with the Apple Watch so when I park my car it says, “Hey, you’re parked! Do you want to set a timer!”
I have used this here in Portland as when you pay at the Meter you’re paying for ‘x’ amount of time. So I mark that I paid for an hour at the meter and the app reminds me as we get close to that time so I can get back to my car before I pay a hefty fine!
There have been shortcomings. When I park in enclosed garages where it cannot get GPS Signal you get a message like this image, where it says, “Hey, take a picture of where your car is!” Which is pretty cool and convenient, as I do that in Airport parking garages as it is!
So to break down some Pros and Cons so you know where I’m coming from:
PROs:
- Charges FAST!
- Keeps track of your cars location
- Will actually QUICKLY update your location on a map while driving using its internal GPS
- Don’t have to remember where you parked your car or if your meter is about to expire
- Integrates with Apple Watch
- Did I mention it CHARGES FAST?! :)
Cons:
- It does not work when parked under heavy concrete or out of GPS signal
- If you unplug the charger it treats it like you’re parked
- If someone else takes your car you won’t know where it is as it relies on Bluetooth for its initial sharing GPS location with your app
All-in, a pretty hefty little number of features and a much better replacement for those very cheap and often ‘free’ (you get what you pay for) USB car chargers!
