Travel Tech Review: ZUS Smart Car Charger

You know that moment when you discover something and wonder to yourself why you didn’t think of it first?

That’s how I felt about the ZUS car charger the moment I pulled it from its packaging; simultaneously so thrilled about using a tool that makes all kinds of sense and questioning why I didn’t think of something so simple, effective and functional.

While it’s practical as an everyday device, it’s exceptionally useful for travelers who opt to rent cars and travel deeper into destinations that they’re visiting. We regularly choose to rent in foreign countries so this device is all kinds of perfect for daily use and as an easy addition to our travel tech arsenal.

Not familiar with this new favorite? The ZUS Smart Car Charger is exactly what it purports to be: a stylish, car charger with two ports (extra functional so we don’t have to fight over who gets a charge first), and the added benefit of incorporating geolocation and bluetooth functionality. The best part? It’s simple enough for even my mother to use.

The key is their handy app, which users can download for their iPhone or Android device, with an interface as slick as the device itself.

Once the app is downloaded, the charger is discoverable with your mobile device, allowing you trace your car’s location using bluetooth functionality. So simple, so functional. Again, why didn’t I think of this? I can envision dozens of times in crowded mall parking lots where this is useful. This has added functionality with finding parked rental cars in foreign places, when you’d otherwise be doing like us old-fashioned folk and snapping pics on your phone of the cross streets with hopes that you can easily find that intersection again (anyone else with me?!).

I tested it en route to work and was immediately impressed; it knew precisely where I was on the island, and tracked my distance from the car as I began walking further and further from my parking spot. For those parking in areas with time constraints (e.g. two hour street parking), there’s the bonus of time tracking from when your car was last parked so you can have a rough idea of when you need to return to feed a meter.

As far as handy devices go, Nonda (the company behind ZUS), hit the nail on the head with leveraging technology that makes millennial travelers tick. Even for those that would rather stick close to home, why not make your car charger work harder for you?

Have you tried the ZUS Car Charger yet? What are your thoughts on the device?