Gadget Freak Review: Charge Your Smartphone 92% Faster; USB Flash Drive for Portable Apple Devices

This Gadget Freak review looks at a USB multimeter with an integrated OLED display to charge your smartphone rapidly. Then we look at the first USB Flash drive that allows connection through the Apple lightening connector.

We also look at one of our vintage Gadget Freaks -- an analog camera built and assembled with laser-cut and 3D-printed parts.

Charge your smartphone 92% faster

The Legion Meter is a USB multimeter with an integrated OLED display that increases the speed at which your smartphone or tablet charges by up to 92%. Created by PLX Devices, this plug-and-play device comes in two modes of operation, Apple and Android. The device "converts any USB port to optimize the charge speed by signaling your mobile device to safely draw the maximum amount of charge possible," according to its Kickstarter page.

Once the multifunctional device is plugged into a USB port, you can simply set the device you are charging, and the Legion Meter will automatically accelerate the USB port up to the maximum amount of power it can safely supply. The device also includes an ultra-accurate multimeter to read voltage, current, power, and watt hours.

The Kickstarter campaign has drawn more than 5,000 backers and more than $200,000 of pledges, demolishing the $10,000 funding goal. The first backers should receive their Legion Meters in October.

USB flash drive for portable Apple devices

The iStick is the first USB Flash drive that allows connection through the Apple lightening connector. The device allows you to move data between your computer and any Apple device with a lightening connector -- iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. With the iStick, your data is never sent through a third-party server, so it is kept safe from hackers.

Available in a variety of storage sizes (8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB), the iStick can hold movies, music, and documents that may not fit on a portable device. You can access the files anywhere because an Internet connection is not needed to access your stored data.

The retail price starts at $129 for the 8 GB version and increases with the storage size. You can grab yours for a discounted rate if you contribute to the device's Kickstarter campaign before June 17.

Analog camera built from 3D-printed, laser-cut parts

Marin Davide designed, built, and assembled an analog camera with laser-cut and 3D-printed parts. This a real camera -- with lens, shutter, sonar autofocus, and touch control -- controlled by a microcontroller.

The design is modular. Magnets hold the main parts together, making it easy to open and assemble the camera. Photos can be taken on photosensible paper and developed at home.

To follow up on this camera, Davide plans to build a paper tray that lets users load multiple sheets. Then he plans to work on a camera that can develop its photos inside the camera box. The result should be a real instant camera.

Do you have a Gadget Freak project you would like the world to see? Send a brief description of your gadget and a photo to Assistant Managing Editor Lauren Muskett.

Check out the Best of Gadget Freak -- Volume 2 Technology Roundup here to see some of the best gadgets that your peers have created.

When you are finished, be sure to check out the Best of Gadget Freak: Vol. 1.

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