ZUS Smart Car Charger Review
ZUS - automatically remembers your car's location when your engine turns off
This is a premium product, which fits right at home in premium automobiles. Everything from the packaging, presentation, and subtle design aspects screams premium. I love the tip and connector design (titanium coated!) which looks like it'd easily outlast a lot of the other ones I've used in the past. When they say military grade materials were used, I believe it. No, its not going to survive a car fire, or military bombing, but the key main failure points I've noticed on others over the years appear to be well designed. And because of the MIL-810G, it will withstand the hot weather car conditions in the summer in the desert in Las Vegas.
Plus, it looks like something James Bond might use (in an older vehicle with no USB ports).
So far (roughly a month in), it has performed well as far as charging. I use it for an iPhone 6 Plus while using GPS primarily, with a secondary device with micro-usb, or mini-usb for charging. It keeps up with my iPhone and Waze needs, that's all I wanted. However, I will likely post an update on my site with more technical tests in the future - if you are interested, just reply to this review or look me up. However, I don't think most will find any issue with the unit's charging capability.
It is the best unit I have used so far hardware wise, with only a few wish-it-had points:
1. Wish it had at least 3 USB ports, for the times I have an extra passenger in back or need to charge one of the other gadgets/gizmos I carry.
2. Wish it supported 'fast charging' technology or Qualcomm's fast charge technology for some of the newer Android phones.
3. Wish it also had a USB-C charging port. Yes it'd be ahead of its time, but if I could also charge my Macbook 12 at full charge speed somehow, that'd simply be awesome.
The software aspect is the main reason why I docked a star, as remembering where my car was parked is one of the biggest selling points for me. This isn't like a homing beacon, so it isn't going to help you unless the following conditiosn are met. You have to install the app on your phone, and the phone has to have GPS signal, and it also has to be paired/connected via bluetooth to the ZUS, and it has to be triggered via bluetooth with the App running in the background when you shut down the power to the unit in order for the App to save the location. If none of that is true, then the car locator feature isn't going to work when you open the app later to try and find your car. Luckily, the app will send you a notice if it was successful in saving the location of your car.
I found that in my use case, the App typically has to be opened regularly in order for it to remember where you parked. This may have to do with the number of apps I run on the iPhone, and its memory / app management - but regardless of who is at fault, it doesn't always deliver on this promise. If you have the newer iPhone 6S, and aren't a 'power-user' like I am - you may never run into this issue. Also, the unit activates when power is removed from the unit so if you have one of those vehicles that always powers your cigarette socket, this won't work quite so automatically.
One additional feature found in the app is a car parking timer - useful if you are going to have the app open anyway, and that itself could help you save on parking tickets.
For the premium price so far (roughly $34 at the time of this writing, but with a $5 off offer), it makes a fantastic gift for anyone that drives.
** I am an original backer of the indiegogo campaign and received a beta unit early for testing, to provide a review and feedback. I am not paid to provide this review, and it is entirely my own opinion.***
