JANUARY 2022 MACWORLD 83The AmazonCommercial AC and USB
Desktop Outlet with Surge Protection
features four USB charging ports. Each one
can produce 2.4 amps at 5 volts.Using a lever backed by a powerful
spring, you can slide the horseshoe-
shaped surge protector onto any side of a
desk or tabletop that has about 4.5 inches
of clearance from front to back and is
between 1 and 2.5 inches thick.
The power “strip” puts its on/off switch
and four USB jacks on the top and arrays
two sets of 3-prong AC outlets, one set on
each side of bottom arm of the
horseshoe. The AC jacks are
oriented with the blades parallel to
the floor, and the ground pin away
from the front. The unit is 3 inches
wide and 1.5 inches tall across its
length; each segment is 5.5 inches
long.
The model’s six
outlets are closely
spaced, like a wall
outlet turned
sideways with one extra jack.
That means it will work well only
with standard two-prong and three-
prong plugs typical for computer
equipment and longer cords on AC
adapters, or AC adapters that are wide
instead of tall. Normal wall warts will cover
one or two adjacent outlets.
The four USB plugs can each produce
2.4 amps of power at 5 volts (12 watts).
All four ports can put out a maximum of
4.8A across attached devices (24W). The
manual warns that the surge protector
won’t distribute power evenly among the
four if they exceed 4.8W in draw.
Nonetheless, the wattage is enough to
charge phones and most devices
besides tablets at a relatively fast clip,
solo or in multiples.
Amazon doesn’t provide specifics about
the degree of protection offered by the