If you are interested in making your home a bit more friendly for charging mobile devices as well as add new features like built-in nightlights or Wi-Fi functionality, there are tons of aftermarket plug-in options that you can buy.

However, if you want to keep your home looking clean, there are plenty of options that will blend in with your decor as well as add a small bit of resale value. Some of these options require minor electrical installation, some do not. Check out the list below:

Built-In Mobile Device Charging

If you want fast, powerful USB charging and you don’t mind doing a little electrical work, you really can’t go wrong with the Leviton USB Charger. It provides a combined total of 3.6A charging current and 18 watts of power. You can plug up to two USB devices into the provided USB ports as well as two additional devices with AC adapter.

In addition, Leviton offers models with dual Type-C charging (30W), a version with Type-A and Type-C ports as well as a model with four Type-A ports (that removes the standard outlet plugs completely).

Check Leviton Store on Amazon

Nightlight / USB Charger Outlet Covers

If you live in an apartment and are looking for something temporary that you can remove / take with you when moving out, check out SnapPower’s outlet covers. No electrical work is required. You simply remove your existing wall outlet face plate and replace it with a SnapPower face plate. It installs in seconds.

You have a few options. SnapPower offers a guidelight model that goes over outlets (ideal for hallways), a switchlight model for your light switches (ideal for bathrooms), a safelight model to cover outlets (ideal for babyproofing) and a model with two USB charging ports for your mobile devices (perhaps ideal for a kitchen countertop).

Check SnapPower Store Amazon

Wi-Fi Light Switches

If you are interested in turning your lights on and off with voice control, check out the Kasa Smart Light Switch. Compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Microsoft Cortana, the switch connects via your home’s Wi-Fi network and you can control all switches via the mobile application on your smartphone or tablet.

Personally, I have one of these on the switch controlling my outdoor lights. I have a schedule setup to turn on the lights around sundown and turn off the lights around sunrise. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to make sure my home is lit up in the evening. I also have a few in the interior, which is significantly cheaper than purchasing smart bulbs. TP-Link also sells versions with dimmer options.

Check out the Kasa Switch on Amazon

Wi-Fi Smart Outlets

If you are looking for a permanent solution to Wi-Fi connectivity at a specific outlet in your home, check out the TopGreener Wi-Fi outlet. It works with Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control and includes a built-in smart meter to optimize energy efficiency, ideal for energy-frugal households.

If you are using it with a heater or ac/unit, you can tell it to check the weather each day to turn those device son automatically. It also has a function for randomized light schedules if you are going away on vacation. Of course, you can also set specific schedules as well as run timers.

Check out TopGreener Wi-Fi outlet on Amazon

Smart Home Control Panels

Replacing a 1-switch, 2-switch, 3-switch or 4-switch light switch panels, the Brilliant smart home panel creates a single place in your home to control smart lighting, climate, music, door locks, etc… Offering built-in Alexa and a beautiful display, users can control devices from Ring, Sonos, Samsung SmartThings, August, EcoBee, Nest, Hue, WeMo, Lutron, Kwikset and many more.

In addition, if you have mulitple panels installed in rooms around your home, you can use the system as a wireless intercom system with video chat (each unit come with a built-in camera privacy shutter as well). It also offer a “scenes” function that will run a string of commands. For instance, you can program it to turn off the lights, lock the front door, kill the music and lower the temperature when going to bed.

Check out Brilliant Smart Home Panels

5 Ways to Smarten up your Outlets / Light Switches without Smart Plugs

Designed for the mobile user in mind, IOGEAR has revised the much older USB 2.0 docking station to include faster USB ports as well as DVI and HDMI ports for advanced high definition displays. Sporting 6 USB ports, it’s easy to connect a ton of USB devices to your laptop or tablet without having to swap out cables over and over. The docking station also offers dual monitor support for your laptop or tablet, ideal if you need the flexibility of the desktop setup. Over the last month, we were able to put this handy device through a bit of testing. Here are our observations:

Design

The device isn’t must larger than two Apple TV set-top boxes sitting side by side. Encased in a slick black plastic, the front of the device displays a single blue LED light when the power cable is connected. On the rear of the device, you will find one USB 3.0 input to attach your computer, two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, one HDMI output, one DVI output and one Ethernet port. Along the left side of the docking station, you will find a headphones port as well as a port to connect an external microphone. The latter can be particularly ideal for tablets, since many only come with a headphones port in order to save space.

On the bottom, you will find a soft rubber pad that’s designed to prevent the docking station from slipping around once it’s placed on a surface. While it’s decent as preventing slipping, the weight of the docking station is very light and often gets pushed around based on the flexibility of your USB 3.0 cable between the computer and docking station. If you have a thick cable, it will be more difficult to position the docking station in a specific place. That being said, the light weight makes it ideal for travelling, a must if you are packing it in your tablet or laptop bag.

Regarding additional accessories, the docking station comes with a single USB 3.0 cable, the AC adapter and two monitor adapters. The two adapters include HDMI to DVI as well as DVI to VGA. This can be ideal for older monitors or HDTV setups that don’t have a DVI connection.

Performance

After attaching the docking station to my laptop, Windows 7 immediately recognized the hardware and started installing the device. IOGEAR does include an install CD and quick start guide if needed. However, it’s probably going to be as simple as connecting up the USB 3.0 port to your computer to get started. A similar process occurs when you connect up the HDMI or DVI port to an additional monitor. It automatically detects the new connection and brings up options to extend your display across multiple monitors or mirror the display for a larger screen.

I had no issues quickly swapping out displays or connecting up multiple USB devices to the docking station. My computer recognized all devices and the USB ports all worked correctly at appropriate speeds for each. One small limitation to note, the resolution on dual monitor support is limited to 2048 by 1152. While that’s perfectly fine for anyone with a 1080p display, the resolution on displays of newer tablets are continuing to rise and desktop graphic cards are supporting higher limits. However, for the mobile user on the go, 1080p is perfectly fine. All-in-all, the IOGEAR docking station does exactly what it proclaims to do and performance is flawless.

Should You Buy It?

This really depends on what level of versatility you need when working with your current computer setup. The IOGEAR USB 3.0 Docking Station solves a tons of problems, but mostly for users that primarily work on laptops and tablets. Someone that’s already tied to a desktop setup likely already has a plethora of USB ports as well as a direct line to a router and potentially a dual monitor setup using a desktop graphics card.

However, that versatility is tough to come by if you primarily work on a tablet, like the Microsoft surface, or the majority of laptops and Chromebooks. With so many additional gadgets to attach to our computers these days combined with limited ports on thin laptops, having access to an advanced USB hub to connect your smartphone, DSLR camera, external keyboard / mouse or external hard drive is absolutely ideal. The ability to extend or mirror the monitor setup is also fantastic if you want to work on a larger screen than most laptops and tablets provide.

While the $149 MSRP seems high, you are going to be hard pressed to find similar hardware that can offer the same feature set. ASUS makes a similar docking station at a $179 MSRP, but it doesn’t include as many USB ports as the IOGEAR station. Targus also makes a docking station at a $150 MSRP, but doesn’t include as many USB ports or a HDMI output option. This is exactly why the IOGEAR USB 3.0 Docking Station is a good deal, assuming you need the functionality and versatility of a desktop setup while using your mobile setup.

So Many Ports! IOGEAR USB 3.0 Docking Station Review

Have you ever wondered why it takes wildly different amounts of time to charge your smartphone through various USB devices? That’s exactly the question that the creators of the Practical Meter want to help you answer.

Launched through Kickstarter, the Practical Meter is plugged into your charging device, like a PC or laptop, and your smartphone is plugged into the Practical Meter. Similar to a Wi-Fi strength meter, the user will find a five-bar charging strength meter on the top of the Practical Meter. Each bar on the meter represents 1 watt of power with a max of 5 watts for smartphone charging.

Basically, the higher the wattage, the less time the smartphone will have to be plugged in. Using the iPhone as an example, five bars means the iPhone can go from a dead battery to fully charged in 90 minutes. Four bars is 2 hours, three bars is 4 hours, two bars is 6 hours and 1 bar is 8 hours. If you have multiple charging options, the Practical Meter will allow you to pick the fastest USB port for charging your smartphone.

Beyond the usefulness at home and work, this could also be ideal for anyone who’s spending time hiking or camping. For instance, a user would be able to immediately see how effective a solar charger is at filling up their smartphone battery.

In addition to the Practical Meter, the creators are selling a three-in-one charger cable that’s been specifically designed to maximize the charging rate for smartphones. That cable includes Micro USB, Mini USB and Apple dock connections.

The power consumption of the Practical Meter itself is less than 0.1 watts at maximum, thus the advantages to using the meter outweigh its need for power. Easily one of the least expensive Kickstarter projects, getting access to a  three-in-one charger cable and the Practical Meter costs a grand total of $19. With three weeks to go, the creators have already raised over $70,000. According to the project details, they plan to deliver the Practical Meter to backers by September 2013.

Check out a video from the creators below:

Shut Up and Take My Money: The Practical Meter For USB Charging

Easily one of the cutest ways to dress up an ugly USB hub on your desk at home or in your cubicle, this Smoko USB hub has been designed to look like a four-slice toaster.

In addition to using the hub to charge your mobile devices and connect computer peripherals to your system, the USB toaster hub can be purchased with matching toast-shaped USB thumb drives.

Each piece of toast has a little face and personality modeled after buttered toast, rye bread, burnt toast and potato bread. The creator has even named the four drives Butta, Ry Ry, Crisp and Tato.

Each drive has 4GB of space; not particularly impressive compared to other drives on the market. However, it can be ideal for copying and lending out files to co-workers, specifically because they will be more likely to return the drive in order to keep it with the set.

If you were hoping for USB 3.0, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. All four slots on the USB toaster hub are limited to USB 2.0 with speeds up to 480mbps. However, the hub also has an SD card slot.  That could be ideal for dumping pictures onto your computer rather than connecting your digital camera using a USB cable.

At the moment, you can find the Smoko USB toaster hub on sale at Thinkgeek for $11.19. In addition, the drives are on sale for $9.99. You can also find the product on Amazon. Check out a couple more pictures of the USB toaster hub in action:

Shut Up and Take My Money: USB Toaster Hub and Toast Flash Drives