ReTrak, popular in the US, are now selling their range of products in the UK at retailers such as Dixons and Amazon.

You may have come across retractable cables before – often found on portable mice for laptops, they wind excess cable into real which is suspended half way along the cable length. What ReTrak have done is improved upon this, added other new technologies and then created a huge range of products. Basically, what you get are a range of electrical accessories that take up as little space as possible.

Their range includes computer, visual and audio cables along with power supplies, headphones, iPhone and eBook products, mice and even a retractable mouse mat with built-in USB hub!

I’ve now had the opportunity to review a number of ReTrak products and, I have to say, I’ve now find my personal favourite!

There are 2 variations of this product, with slightly different plug socket variations. Both, however, come with a retractable 1m cable with a male USB connector on one end and a micro USB connector on the other.  Alone this cable can be used for connecting various products to a computer’s USB port – many phones (inc. Blackberry, Android, etc.), MP3 players, cameras, Bluetooth headsets, the Amazon Kindle and even the Sony Ericsson LiveView. Use it to sync to or charge from the computer.

However, you also get a mains socket with a female USB connector. Plug the supplied USB cable into it and you now have a mains charger for the very same devices. It uses the same ThinPlug technology as their laptop chargers, which means that the earth pins folds down, leaving a flat plug – much more convenient for storage. An LED light lights up when the mains power is on – reminding you that power is in use even when you don’t have a USB socket connected to it. Power is 1000 mA, twice the power of many equivalent chargers, giving your device a quicker recharge time.

The two versions available are the UKM5GTHINW and the UKCHGWSCM5 – the former is a thinner, longer plug, which sticks out further from the socket. The latter sticks out less but is a lot rounder as a result.

Both  come with a 3 year warranty and will retail around the £19.99 mark.

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Summary of ReTrak Micro USB 3-in1 Wall Charge & Sync

Fast recharge, folds neatly up and a reasonable price too – this is a brilliant use of retractable cables and the ThinPlug technology. Well worth having.

Reviewed by David Artiss on 21st December 2011.

This review is part of the 1 Pound Challenge – can you find a decent gadget in a pound shop?

The Signalex Game Card Card Plus+, although not stating so, if for the storage of Nintendo DS games (it does show an image of a DS on the packaging, though). The “Plus+” bit, however, is because it can also be used to store SD cards as well (if you have a DSi then these are used for storage).

The case itself is made of cheap looking black plastic – most of it is matte, with the exception of panels on the outside which are glossy – I would have preferred the whole item to have been matte. There is a lid of each side, with storing 3 game cartridges behind it (so 6 in total).

With the case you get a soft rubber insert that converts one of the compartments from DS cartridge storage to SD card – this works really well.

In one corner of the case is a loop of plastic, allowing the case to be secured – say, to a wrist cord. Size wise it’s  108 x 46 x 14 mm, so quite compact.

It’s available to buy from Poundland.

Summary of Signalex Game Card Case Plus+

Compact, holds DS cartridges and/or SD cards neatly and just one pound. A bargain.

Reviewed by David Artiss on 14th December 2011.

ReTrak, popular in the US, are now selling their range of products in the UK at retailers such as Dixons and Amazon.

You may have come across retractable cables before – often found on portable mice for laptops, they wind excess cable into real which is suspended half way along the cable length. What ReTrak have done is improved upon this, added other new technologies and then created a huge range of products. Basically, what you get are a range of electrical accessories that take up as little space as possible.

Their range includes computer, visual and audio cables along with power supplies, headphones, iPhone and eBook products, mice and even a retractable mouse mat with built-in USB hub!

So far I’ve had nothing but praise for ReTrak products and with their universal 70w notebook charger, that’s not about to change. Indeed, this is more than just a retractable version of a standard cable.

As with most laptop chargers, it comes in 2 bits – the transformer “brick” with  cable that plugs into your laptop and a seperate cable that goes from the transformer to the mains supply. This is usually done so that the latter can be swapped out for different countries.

As usual, ReTrak have put a retractable reel on both cables, the former of which (the one that goes into the laptop) has a slimmer cable due to the lower voltages involved. The whole thing reels out to about 9.5 feet (about 2.8 metres).

The transformer, designed to work on laptops requiring up to 70w,  is a pretty standard device and you can plug it into a range of laptops using some interchangable tips – there are 9 provided in total (more on this in a minute).

The really clever bit is the UK mains plug. ReTrak have created something they call the ThinPlug – a foldable version which makes it truly compact (see the pictures below). And it works brilliantly.

So, the cables reel in and the plug folds down – the chunkiest bit is the transformer – all this does mean it’s a lot easier to keep one in the tight confines of a laptop bag. To top it all off, they supply a handy cloth travel pouch to keep it all in.

Back to the charger tips… ReTrak claim that they will fit 7,000 models. Unfortunately, my ThinkPad Edge isn’t one of them. Or my wife’s Samsung. Or my daughter’s Samsung.  So, if you do buy one I’d recommend either checking out the connectivity first or buy it from somewhere that will happily let you send it back if it doesn’t work for you.

There’s only one other issue worthy of note.. the price. This will cost you about £70, whereas it’s not difficult to find an equivalent product (although not with the compactness) for under £20.

Summary of ReTrak Retractable Universal 70 Watt Notebook Charger

The price is a little steep but the engineering is fabulous – if space is at a premium you’re not going to do better. But check that it’s compatible with your laptop first.

Reviewed by David Artiss on 13th December 2011.

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