Dodocool DP18 Wireless Charger – No Wires Required

Damien McFerran 08/01/2019 – 7:54am

Free yourself of cables with this stylish pocket charger

£30.00

Charging banks are nothing new – in fact, over the past few years, they've become something of an essential part of our mobile lives due to the fact that phone batteries still struggle to last a full day – but we're beginning to see a new range of these products which come with wireless charging support, making them even more useful.

Dodocool's DP18 wireless charger is one such example; it comes with the usual USB sockets for powering various devices but has the added benefit of a wireless inductive charging pad on the top which supports 'most' QI-enabled devices.

In terms of design, it's compact and pocket-sized, which can't always be said about many of these charging banks. This is partly down to the fact that it only has a capacity of 10000 mAh; that's enough to charge your iPhone X around two times, but is somewhat behind some of the other charging banks out there (Dodocool itself does one which has a 20,000mAh capacity and it's isn't that much larger than the DP18).

Still, two full charges is arguably enough for most people (phones with lower capacity batteries will obviously charge more than twice) and the DP18's USP of wireless charging will make it very appealing, as it means you don't have to carry around a bunch of wires to make use of it.

To top up your phone's battery all you need do is rest the phone on top of the DP18 (making sure the charging pad and your phone's inductive charging plate line up can be tricky at first) and press the button on the side of the charger to begin the process. An LED panel tells you if the DP18 is discharging or charging itself (the latter happening when you have it plugged into the mains via its Micro USB or Type-C input ports, obviously) and also gives a percentage figure showing how much juice remains in the tank.

Because of those two USB ports, you can effectively charge three devices at once with the DP18 – two wired and one wireless. However, we're not sure how practical that would be as the bank wouldn't have enough juice to top up three iPhone X devices, for example. Still, it's nice to at least have the option.

The DP18's sleek and pebble-like design is quite eye-catching, and we like the textured base which gives the unit a degree of purchase when it's resting on a table. The only issue we have with the design is that a lot of phones simply slide off the tap when they're charging – it only takes the slightest knock for this to happen, as wireless charging-enabled handsets usually have slippy glass back panels and the DP18 provides nothing in the way of grip to keep the phone in place. Some kind of textured panel on the top would have helped, but we found that having your phone inside some kind of case – leather or TPU – also works.

Dodocool is also keen to point out that the DP18 comes with a range of safety measures, including chips which prevent overheating, short-circuit problems, overcurrent issues and even overcharging and discharging.

Considering it's low price (it's about $30 / £30) the DP18 is an excellent option if you want to charge on the move without having to worry about carrying a pocketful of wires with you.