Anker is a huge company, yet there’s a fair chance you haven’t heard of them. In fairness, they primarily focus on the American and Chinese market, but you can buy them on Amazon.co.uk really easily. I’ve been recommending Anker for years as the best alternative for iPhone cables which have a tendency to break…all the time. That’s why I was really excited to go to their first Anker On Board event recently in New York City and see what latest gadgets Anker will be offering on Amazon in the coming months.
Who is Anker?
For years, Irish consumers have been rather limited when it came to tech shopping. You could have any smartphone, once it was Apple or Samsung and when the cable breaks, you can either buy cheap dangerous cheap knockoffs or expensive official replacements made by the manufacturer. Over the past twelve months, the Irish market has been shaken up as tech shoppers like me and you now have more choice, whether it be from the likes of Huawei or Xiaomi.
I’m really hoping that Anker officially joins the market in the near future too, but even though you have to order them from Amazon.co.uk, I can’t recommend this company and their accessories enough.
Founded in 2011, the Chinese company made a name for itself and one of the world’s best power bank manufacturers. I’ll agree that isn’t the sexiest area in tech to specialise in, but in the seven years since, Anker as spawned some incredible tech including some very exciting sub-brands, namely:
- Anker
- Eufy
- Nebula
- Soundcore
- Zolo
- Roav
I’ll go through some more of these in a bit as I list off the cool products I got to play with at Anker On Board, hosted by Anker in New York’s Meatpacking District.
Anker: Power
My one fear of attending an Anker event was that they’d show off a few chargers and that would be it. Ironically, not only did they show off loads of incredible tech, but they also showed off some charging innovations which blew me away; innovations which were arguably the highlight of the night.
There are over 4 billion chargers shipped every year, with 95% of them bundled with a new device. We all know that we need to make some changes to how we behave to protect the planet, and Anker believes they can make a massive contribution. Speaking at Anker’s launch event, Steven Yang, CEO of Anker, predicted a BYOC future where you Bring Your Own Charger. In this world, Yang wants Anker to rule the roost and as such, they’ve created a suite of massively impressive phone chargers.
The Atom PowerPort range of chargers combines USB Power Delivery technology with Gallium Nitrate in a departure from traditional silicon-based chargers. As a result, Anker’s Atom chargers can charge both smartphones and MacBooks, with several of the range boasting enough ports to charge many devices at once. Thanks to the tech deployed by Anker, the Atom PowerPort range of chargers are not only capable of charging several devices, but can also charge them up to 2.5 times faster. That’s despite the Atom PowerPort PD 1 being 40% smaller than the average MacBook charger.
this outlined Anker’s ambition and got me really excited about what they are capable of
The long story short here is that on a night with smart cameras, home projectors and Google Assistant-powered speakers, I was most excited by the Atom charging range. Not only because of the tech being able to power my smartphone and MacBook but also because this outlined Anker’s ambition and got me really excited about what they are capable of.
Pricing to be confirmed later.
Soundcore: Model Zero+
Charging gadgets aside, Anker’s OnBoard event got one with what I would usually consider the more exciting tech announcements. The Model Zero+ is a slightly handbag-esque speaker, but while the insides of handbags remain a mystery to me, this speaker I can shine some light on.
The Model Zero+ combines the two most popular audio connectivity options on the market; Bluetooth and WiFi, meaning you can connect either way from a range of devices.
This speaker packs in a range of features, including a five-hour battery and Google Assistant, but most importantly, the sound quality from the Model Zero+ is fantastic.
Pricing to be confirmed later.
Eufy: A Modern Take on Home Security
Would you believe that even before I started a life selling phones which led to me starting Goosed.ie, I was a door-to-door monitored alarm salesman. They were dark days, but I did learn there were a lot of people in Ireland who were willing to buy expensive systems, pay ongoing fees and have complicated systems installed, all in the search of peace of mind.
Back in April, 2018, Anker launched their home security offering under their Eufy brand. They went through Kickstarter, not to drum up cash, but to drum up excitement and boy did they achieve that. Their campaign is still the most funded smart home product in Kickstarter history. Here’s why people love it so much.
The team behind the Eufy camera system did some research into what people hate most about existing home security; the costs and the complications. Then they built their Eufy camera system to avoid all of that. The Eufy system is completely wireless, powered by a battery which will last for a year. The camera is fixed to the wall with a strong magnet, which also means you can easily point the camera and move it around as required.
You also get some smarts built into the cameras as they learn the faces of regular visitors to your house, only identifying unknown faces as intruders. There’s also storage space built into each camera which stores footage locally, footage which you can view from anywhere in the world, all of which comes with no additional cost.
There’s also no monthly fee and the upfront installation costs are fair. In the States, you’re looking at about $500 for the kit to get you started. I remember most people didn’t like the idea of monitored house alarms because they didn’t trust monitoring companies to actually keep an eye on things, so with the Eufy security system you can just look after things yourself.
Pricing to be confirmed later.
Nebula Capsule II: Exciting Home Entertainment
Do you remember a few years ago when MTV started showing Cribs? All I wanted in my gaff was a projector. Last year I picked up a €100 projector from Amazon and recently plugged a Now TV stick into it to get Sky Movies, Sky Sports and Netflix at the flick of a switch. The projector itself can be quite loud so I need to use an external speaker, but the moral of this store is really to show you buying a projector is no longer reserved for the rich and famous.
Nebula is another Anker company out to make sure that message hits home with people. The Nebula Capsule II has just launched on Kickstarter and it looks like it might very well raise $1 million despite only targeting $50,000. This projector has actually been designed based on a can of Coke, so right away you can imagine just how small it is. Don’t let the size deceive you because in this small can sized projector, you get a three-hour battery and Android TV. This all contributes to a projector capable of delivering 720p video quality and a screen size of up to 100-inches big. The expected price for this in the States will be $500.
Now, I’ve told you about the €100 projector, so why pay five times that? Well, the Nebula Capsule II is at least five times better than the projector I have. For example, the Nebula Capsule II runs almost silently – I had to put my ear right up against to ear any sort of fan noise. When I saw the Capsule II working, it wasn’t in complete darkness, something required for my own projector, but still, the picture quality was really impressive and clear.
Nebula has also teamed up with Google to include Android TV. This means you can watch videos from Netflix and YouTube and thousands of other apps straight away on the Capsule II, right out of the box. I’m not sure if this means you’ll also get RTÉ Player on the projector, but I hope to test that out in the near future. With Google on board, you also get Google Assistant so you press a button on the remote and simply ask for what you want to watch. I’m been impressed with how my Google Home connects to Chromecast and expect similar integration here so this is definitely a feature I’d be looking forward to playing with some more.
Pricing to be confirmed later.
When Can You Buy All This Stuff?
We’re still waiting for UK launch dates for Anker’s range, but as soon as they launch in the UK you’ll be able to grab them on Amazon and ship them to Ireland direct or using Parcel Motel. Keep an eye on Goosed’s social accounts as we’ll be watching out for these launches ourselves. In the meantime, check out Anker’s existing range on Amazon safe in the knowledge they are a top class brand. I’ll also be testing out a few other bits and pieces from Anker and their sub-brands over the next few months, so do follow Goosed on Twitter and Instagram along with Facebook if you’re still into that kind of thing.
