Review of Smiley and Mini-strap usb cables w/lots of pics!

[twister6]

This is a review of Smiley Luminescence usb cable: Wholesale Smile Luminescence Micro USB Data Sync Charge Cable for Samsung Galaxy S3 I9300 / S4 I9500 / N7100 / HTC / Sony - White - Samsung Cables & Adapters and Mini-digital Strap usb cable: Wholesale 3 in 1 Micro 5 Pin USB Charger + Data Transmission + Card Reader Mini Digital Strap for Samsung Sony HTC Etc. - Orange Strap - Card Reader & Adapter

Since I'm on a roll with reviews from my recent tvc-mall order, here is another unique one you all might appreciate and enjoy! A typical usb to micro-usb cable is a boring piece of wire, nothing to get excited about. It took me awhile to search and to find something unique and fun to share with everybody. And for about $1 plus change - it's also a great value from tvc-mall.

First one is a Smiley cable. Just one look at it and you realize where the name came from. Both usb and micro-usb connectors have a light-up embedded smiley faces on one side and a round dot on another side. It looks super cool and highly visible in the dark. So once you have usb side connected to wall or car charger, both ends light-up and you will not have any problem finding your phone's micro-usb port to connect the other side of the cable in the dark. Cable itself is a flat noodle design. Feels and looks very durable, and comes in a variety of close to a dozen of different colors. One thing I do have to mention, I checked it with Galaxy Charging current app, and found that you will not be able to get full 2A charging speed. Perhaps there is some loss with current being used to light up smiley faces or wires being thinner, but honestly for $1.19 this is going to be the coolest charging/data cable in your collection.

Here is how it looks.

The other cable is a very short (a total of 4" end-to-end) multi-functional charging/data transfer cable which is equally unique. When you are traveling or on the go, dragging a spool of long cable often is not preferable. Finding the shortest cable is also a challenge because short cables are not as durable and often will not allow full speed charging. This one hits a mark in every aspect. It has a flat noodle design, dust caps on both of the usb and micro-usb connectors, and I confirmed it can charge your Note 2 at full 2A current!!! As a bonus, it has a unique built-in micro-sd card reader. The full usb connector has pins on both sides with one side supposedly being able to read data from micro-sd. OK, I tried it and even demonstrated in my pictures. I was NOT able to read micro-sd card, that didn't work for me. But who cares! For $1.32 you are getting one of the shortest and coolest looking charging and data cables which can take a full advantage of 2A charging. It even comes in 3 different color combinations. Definitely happy with this one as well, been using it with my extended battery for a few days now - very convenient to eliminate mess of long usb cables.

The pictures are below.

 

[lcneed]

One thing I do have to mention, I checked it with Galaxy Charging current app, and found that you will not be able to get full 2A charging speed.

I was using Galaxy Charging app, but I found that it is not very accurate so I switched to Battery Monitor Widget which actually calculate the mA over a period of time while charging/draining. It gives you graphs and stats. Anyway I found that there is no combination of cable and adapter that will actually give me 2A charging. The best I ever got was around 1850mA.

I have 2 usb cables that I got for 99 cents. I found out with the battery monitor widget that the max charging rate on them were only about 900mA even though I used the same charger with the OEM cable could get 1800mA.

I also found out that the last 10% of the battery charging is a straight slope toward 0mA. If it was charging at 1800 with battery at 90% full, it will be charging at 900 at 95% and very close to 0 at 99%. So testing the charging rate when battery is over 85% full is not going to be accurate.

 

[twister6]

True, I use "2A" loosely as max charging speed, but it actually close to 1.8A due to efficiency loses. Regarding Galaxy Charging app, my experience has been relatively good and I've verified it by actual charging time vs charging percentage of the battery (to determine actual mAh increment versus h time). I know it will not be as accurate as Battery Monitor Widget, but it gives you a very quick result based on some internal current sensing monitor.

There are too many variables in charging equation. The wall charger and its aging (some will have a drop in efficiency over the time, even OEM ones). the cables and how thin/thick the wires (you will need 24AWG wire for a full 3A throughput), micro-usb connector pins and how good they are making a contact, even your wall outlet will make a difference if you have it shared with other wall outlets (from the same power branch) or if you have your wall charger connected directly to wall outlet or through extension chord, etc.

 

[Sokudo Ningyou]

I actually use a red smiley USB in the car for my Note II, and though I haven't checked its charge rate, it seems to do pretty well. Mostly I bought it because A: it's flat, and easily tucked behind my console trim, and B: happy smiley face! No complaints about it at all, and the light up face gives me a good visual as to if the car charger jack was knocked out of the outlet.

 

[sonshine1]

Thank you for sharing all of your great reviews .They really help a lot. I bought one of the white UAG cases for my Note 2 because of your review and pics. I love it!! I will definitely try the Smiley USB cable. Can I ask where you got the circle widgets on your phone? I really like those but haven't been able to find them.

 

[twister6]

Thank you for sharing all of your great reviews .They really help a lot. I bought one of the white UAG cases for my Note 2 because of your review and pics. I love it!! I will definitely try the Smiley USB cable. Can I ask where you got the circle widgets on your phone? I really like those but haven't been able to find them.

Rings Digital Weather Clock - my favorite!

 

[sonshine1]

Thanks so much twister6-just what I have been looking for!!

 

[colchiro]

Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather have a glowing dot or oval than a smiley. Still, nice finds, thanks.

The Nook Color had a usb cable with a led on the device end that was orange when charging and green when fully charged. I always liked that.

 

[maximus96]

Since not everyone has micro usb cables I've been searching for a small charge cable for my keychain in case i ever need to use my phone as a usb drive at computer away from home. The 3-in-1 looks like it could work but i see the loop strap is located on the cap of the cable. Doesn't look very securely attached. How easy is it for the cable to come off from the cap?

 

[twister6]

Since not everyone has micro usb cables I've been searching for a small charge cable for my keychain in case i ever need to use my phone as a usb drive at computer away from home. The 3-in-1 looks like it could work but i see the loop strap is located on the cap of the cable. Doesn't look very securely attached. How easy is it for the cable to come off from the cap?

Good question! The cap on micro-usb side has latching hooks so it's not easy to take it off. It's very secure. All this time I couldn't understand why they made it so hard to take it off, until you asked a question. Now it makes sense

I'm actually planning to order a few more of these cables just to make sure I didn't get one with a bad micro-sd connector. But in general, that micro-sd card reader is not a big deal for me. This is the shortest cable you can get, it's very portable and durable, and actually let's you charge Note 2 at full 2A charge speed. And micro-sd pocket could be used to store extra card.