Belkin Conserve Valet

Belkin calls the Conserve Valet, which is essentially a giant USB hub, a “smart USB Charging station”. As someone who is occasionally dumb about keeping USB cables handy, the idea immediately appealed. As well as charging my gadgets, the “smart” part of the equation promises that the Valet will consume no power when there are no gadgets attached, and that it will switch off once everything has charged. So far, so good. The packaging, too, is nice and environmentally friendly: no plastic, just enough cardboard to hold it all together neatly.

The Valet looks as though it would be at home on a kitchen countertop. The slate grey surface and rounded edges give it a purposeful, utilitarian look without being unattractive. It comes with two cables, one mini-USB and one micro-USB, that plug neatly into the back of it. Beyond that, you’ll need your own cables – Belkin recommends that you use your gadget’s supplied cable rather than its included ones, anyway. There are four USB sockets in all, so you can charge four gadgets at a time.

No doubt I’m unusual when it comes to the number of USB-powered gadgets in my house, but I ran into a few hiccups when I started to use the Valet. For starters, the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 that I review elsewhere in this issue wouldn’t charge through the Valet. Belkin’s booklet says that it can cope with most portable devices that use USB input, but it also says that you shouldn’t try to charge more than two big-screen devices at once. If you work on the principle of charging as many gadgets as you can actually fit on its non-slip surface, you should be fine. It’s possible that Samsung’s fast-charge just isn’t compatible – it wouldn’t charge even when it was the only device hooked up – and we’d be wary of buying it to use with tablets and other fast-charge gadgets.

Much more minor, though annoying for neat-freaks, is that the cable management isn’t especially effective. I have three gadgets that have side-plugging USB inputs, which doesn’t work very well with the design of the cord eyelets – one either side and three at the front. Standard length USB charger cables wrap twice around the inner ring of the Valet, and then have a good deal left hanging out. Rather than my four gadgets sitting neatly, it was a mildly spaghettified mess.

Having said all that, the device works as advertised when it comes to charging gadgets. I love that I no longer have my phone nagging me to unplug the cable once its battery is at 100%, thanks to the Valet’s system of powering down two minutes after all attached gadget are charged. I thumb my nose at you, eco-conscious phone!

I’m unconvinced that it’s more attractive or space-saving than my usual system of plugging everything into a power board, though it’s almost certainly more environmentally friendly. I love the concept though, and the fact that it switches itself off is the big selling point.