Patriot FUEL iON Wireless Charger

1. Introduction2. FUEL ion Case/Stand3. FUEL ion Car Mount4. FUEL ion Portable Charger5. FUEL ion Charging Cable6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Wireless chargers have been available for flagship phones for some time however they have often been limited in that charging speeds are not as fast as a wired connection and certain manufacturers' phones only work with their corresponding wireless dock.

The Patriot FUEL iON aims to change all of that, however. Essentially, the FUEL iON is a phone case which can connect magnetically to corresponding wireless charging devices. What is so interesting about it is that Patriot claim the ‘FUEL iON charges faster than competing products based on Qi and inductive technologies because its magnets form a direct contact connection to charge your phone.' Essentially, we should see charging speeds at the same level as a wired connection – a first in the wireless charging sector.

Features

• Cases currently available for iPhone 5/6, Samsung S4/S5 and Note 3.
• Car mount, phone stand, and phone ‘pad' chargers all available.
• Portable wireless charger also available, with a 2100 mAh capacity.
• Magnetic connection should charge as fast as a regular AC charger.

As the FUEL iON is currently available for just the iPhone 5/6, Samsung S4/S5 and Note 3 smartphones, you obviously have to get the right case. I use an iPhone 5s as my primary device, so was sent the iPhone 5 case, which is bundled with a wireless charging stand.

There are several accessories available for the FUEL iON – such as a car charger and portable wireless charger – but these are sold separately. The base unit is the phone case with a wireless charging stand. All the FUEL iON cases ship with the stand, though the iPhone 6 ships with a charging ‘pad' instead, for reasons which are unclear. As it is, I review the FUEL iON with the iPhone 5s case, charging stand, and the extra accessories.

Packaging for the case and stand is fairly simple, with a clear plastic box allowing you to get a good look at the products before you open them. A microUSB cable is included with the case and stand, which connects from the stand to an AC adapter. The AC adapter itself is not included, but it is a fair assumption that almost everybody should have one lying around somewhere.

The case is a fairly standard affair – a grey plastic shell fits around the iPhone, and has a Lightning connector which slots in to the phone's charging port once the phone is safely inside the case.

Other than being slightly thick – at 12.5mm – the main problem with the case is that certain earphone jacks cannot now connect to the iPhone's 3.5mm jack. For example, ‘L' shaped jack connectors cannot reach the iPhone's jack due to the extra thickness at the bottom edge. It's not a deal-breaker, it can just be very frustrating on a commute or on-the-go.

The stand itself is well designed. Made of textured, matte plastic, it looks very smart and stylish. It is not bulky at all, and would not clutter a desk or workspace. The base of the stand itself is rubberised, which means it does not slip once it is set on a surface – a smart move from Patriot.

At the back of this base section is the microUSB port to connect the charger to the power source. It is not overly tall at just 10.4cm, and weighs just 151g. When the case is attached via the magnets, your phone can be rotated 360 degrees to suit your needs – so you are not limited by one forced position.

The great thing about the stand is that you can just set it down and simply attach your phone to begin charging. Simply press your phone to the stand and you are off.

On to charging performance. Patriot claim that the FUEL ion is just as fast as a wired connection, and our tests proved them 100% correct. My iPhone charged in 107 minutes using the supplied Apple AC adapter and Lightning cable. Using the FUEL ion charging stand, my iPhone charged in 104 minutes.

While this is 3 minutes faster, the difference can be dismissed as we are not going to see identical charging times at every attempt. The negligible difference says to us you can definitely expect top performance from the FUEL ion charging stand.
Perhaps the most useful of the FUEL ion accessories – the car mount attachment. Just like many other car accessories, it uses a suction pad to stick to a car windscreen. You can then attach your FUEL ion case to the charging pad – at both horizontal and vertical orientations.

Instead of clear plastic, the packaging for the car mount is dark blue cardboard. A picture of the mount is visible on the front, as well as FUEL ion branding. Inside, there is a quick-start guide, the mount itself and a USB charger which connects to your car's cigarette lighting socket.

There is not a lot to comment on in regards to the design of the car mount. It is similar to many other in-car charging mounts in that it just sticks on to your windscreen via a suction pad, and your phone attaches to the main body of the mount.

What is beneficial is that you can ‘snap' the case on and off the FUEL iON car mount using only one hand, as the magnets do not require much strength to pull apart. This is a definite advantage over a wired car charger, as cables can be fiddly to try and use one-handed.

In terms of charging performance, we were not disappointed by the FUEL ion car mount. Compared with the 107-minute charge with a standard AC adapter, the car mount is just 6 minutes slower. This is another very minor difference, so it is safe to say the FUEL ion car mount also charges at a very similar speed to a wired connection.
The portable charger accessory is a very nifty little device. We have seen a few decent portable chargers here at KitGuru, but the FUEL iON offering is a very different animal.

Packaged in another dark blue box, the cardboard gives way to a microUSB cable and the portable charger itself. It is physically very small, measuring 1.27 cm (D) x 5.7 cm (W) x 8.3 cm (H) – meaning it is about three quarters as long as the iPhone 5.

Dark grey plastic – just like the case, with the magnetic connection and FUEL ion branding visible on the front. It simply snaps into place on the back of the case via the magnetic connection, and will begin charging straight away.

As it is 2100 mAh, it can fully charge an iPhone 5/6 – but will only hold about 80% of a charge for the supported Samsung smartphones, a limitation that must be taken into account. Even so, 2100 mAh should be enough to get you out of a tight spot should your battery be about to fail.

Image courtesy of Patriot Memory

One very snazzy feature of the portable charger is that you can connect it to the wireless charging stand, and then put the phone on top for a 3-way connection. This will charge both the portable charger and phone simultaneously, something I really like as it removes the frustrating need to charge multiple devices separately.

Charging performance is also as expected. My iPhone charged in 109 minutes using the portable charger, just 2 minutes behind the wired connection. Clearly, Patriot were not lying when they said the magnetic connection is just as fast as a standard wired charge.
The FUEL iON charging cable is somewhat of an oddball, I must say from the offset. It is simply a 1m magnetic cable, to connect to the FUEL ion case. All you do is connect it to a usual AC adapter via USB, and then connect the two magnetic parts together.

It is housed in another clear plastic box, with some FUEL ion branding on the front. Inside is simply the cable and a very simple user guide.

Charging speeds were dead on 107 minutes with the cable – the same as a standard wired connection. Again – as advertised by Patriot. What we cannot fathom, however, is what the need for such a cable is. It is no faster than the usual iPhone Lightning cable, it is not any longer, and it still needs the usual AC adapter. The only benefit is that you can rotate the phone due to the magnetic attachment – and even then, such a small advantage is probably not worth shelling out the extra cash for.

Simply put – it is a charging cable for the FUEL ion case rather than the phone's own Lightning connection. Sure, if you want to charge your phone entirely via the magnetic FUEL ion connection, go ahead and buy it. It just seems somewhat unnecessary to my mind –  as you are still charging via a cable, just not the standard Lightning cable.The Patriot FUEL iON is a very nifty wireless charger.

The base unit consists of a phone case and charging stand – I used the iPhone 5 case. The case connects magnetically to the charging stand, giving you a charging connection as fast as any wired connection. The stand itself is stylish and quite compact, and would not seem out of place in an office any more than it might a bedside table. It is so easy to use, as all you need to do is attach your phone to the stand, and the need for a charging cable is eliminated. The simplicity is very useful and will appeal to many.

Several accessories accompany the case and stand – the most useful of which is the car mount. While a fairly standard device, it is still very handy. Simply attach it to your car's windscreen, plug it in via the cigarette lighter, and your phone can connect magnetically. A horizontal connection is particularly useful for any GPS navigation you may wish to do on your phone.

There is also the 2,100 mAh portable charger. A small and stylish device, it simply connects to the back of your case and can charge your phone on the go. Giving speeds as fast as a standard cord connection, it could prove to be a lifesaver when you are out and about – particularly as it negates the reliance on cables.

The final unit we tested was the FUEL iON charging cable. This is simply a standard charging cable, but with a magnetic connection to attach to the phone case. It works a charm, but we cannot see why it is worth the extra cash when it is still just a cable to charge your phone, albeit with a magnetic connection rather than the standard Lightning/microUSB options.

On the whole, then, the FUEL iON is a great accessory and is a terrific performer. Despite that, the best thing about it is the ease of which you can now charge your phone – just snap on the case and you are off!

The FUEL iON is available from Ebuyer – with prices starting from £17.99 for the charging cable, up to £35 for a phone/charging pad bundle. You can see the range of options here.

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Pros

• Fast charging speeds.
• Slim and sleek design.
• Makes charging so easy.
• Portable charger accessory is entirely wireless.
• Car mount allows horizontal positioning.

Cons

• Case can restrict some headphone jacks.
• Charging cable seems unnecessary.

KitGuru says: For a wireless charger, the Patriot FUEL ion is very capable. It boasts impressive speeds and has a few nifty accessories to boot.

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