I was recently invited to try out the four in one charger by Love Cases known as the Groovy Cable. The Groovy cable has a standard USB plug one end that will plug into a USB charger or computer, while the other end features 3 different wires with different connections on them. At the end of one of the wires you’ll find a microUSB connection, suitable for connecting to the majority of most modern phones. Another connection offers Apple’s lightning connector which is compatible with the iPad Mini, iPad 4 and iPhone 5. For those with older Apple devices, the third wire has the traditional 30 pin Apple connector.
The most unique feature of the Groovy Cable however, is that when reversed the “Apple” connector is then compatible with Samsung Galaxy tablets, including the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note 10.1, thus making it a four in one charger. As someone who has several devices with different connections, I jumped at the chance to review the product as I was able to make use of all the connections the Groovy Cable offers.
My first impression of the Groovy Cable was that it was shorter than I imagined. The main purpose of the Groovy Cable is to cut down the amount of wires you need around you, which seems to include the actual amount of wire as well. When plugging your devices into a laptop, this is great but, for actual charging from the mains, or even when using a computer where the USB plugs might not be all that accessible, the length of the Groovy Cable is a disadvantage.
The Groovy Cable was able to simultaneously charge all the devices I plugged into it at once which was great as it meant I didn’t have to keep an eye on them much and swap them other. The downside to using more than one at once though, is the devices did charge slightly slower but, this wasn’t too much of a problem. The lightning connector and microUSB fit really well, the 30 pin connector however I had slight difficulty plugging in. This was the case for both the iPhone 4S as well as the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet but, I put this down to the connector being designed to fit both types of devices. Despite the slight difficulty of this connector, it did fit both the Samsung tablet and iPhone and more importantly, did charge both devices.
Overall I would recommend this cable if you have use for at least two of the connections. The only negative I found was as previously mentioned, the length of the cable. Had it been the same length as the standard USB cables included with my various devices, it would have been perfect.
The Groovy Cable is available to buy from Love Cases for £9.99 here.
