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Christmas has come and gone and if you have friends or family in other cities/states/countries, you’ve probably received a few gifts after the fact. This was the case for me when a good friend of mine was kind enough to send me the single greatest gift ever. His name is Andru and a few days ago he showed up on my doorstep. Let me introduce you to him.
Andru is a universal USB charger in the shape of everyone’s favorite mascot, Android’s “Bugdroid.” As an Android fanboy, you probably can’t get enough of this little guy and whether he’s on your shirt, car, or phone. A USB charger is the final component to complete and total Android fandom.
Build quality
Now, before you write off Andru as some cheaply manufactured, 3rd rate charger, upon closer inspection you’ll find that Andru is as premium a USB charger as money can buy. The soft touch finish gives Andru a smooth feel and antennae are made of a flexible rubber. Andru’s Ample 1A output means there’s enough output here for a wide variety of devices. Even the USB cable itself was given special attention, constructed with a strong rubber material and accented with matching colored tips. As a bonus, his light up eyes make a great night light. I’d dare you to find something of this quality outside of an official OEM charger.
Bonus: He’s alive
The best part about Andru is he doubles as an actual Android figurine (although not for children). His arms move, and matching stand allow him to be displayed on your desk. This makes Andru more than just a USB charger — he’s your smartphone’s best friend. Andru’s maker, Gen, has made Andru available in 3 colors: classic green, black with red eyes (perfect for Droid devices), and albino white (compliments a white Samsung device perfectly).
Value
There’s no question: at $25 Andru is definitely more expensive than your run of the mill generic USB charger. But that makes sense with the amount of thought and attention to detail put into Andru. Then again, it’s nothing more than you’d pay for an official OEM USB charger from your phone’s manufacturer. When it comes to buying for myself, the frugal buyer in me would more than likely go with some cheapy $.99 cent charger on eBay. But as a gift, therein lies the difference. As a gift, I wouldn’t think twice about buying one of these for an Android friend. And I know, for a fact, they’d love it.
There is a slight downside to consider when adopting an Andru. Bigger devices like the Galaxy Note 2 require a bit more output from a charger (up to 2A). This means Andru could take a little longer to charge larger devices than when using a stock OEM charger. Still, when it comes to battery health, a slower charge could keep your phone holding a charge for longer over time.
If you’d like to buy Andru either for yourself or a loved one, all colors are available via the links below.
Too bad due to the plug required in UK it just won’t work.
You can always get a converter tip, shouldn’t be too much though.
yeah I thought that…where would the third prong be? hmm
i was given the black one for christmas….i love it lights turn red when charging and are orangish/yellow when charged
I too recevied one for Christmas in black. Goes great with my Droid 3 and will fit even better with my Droid DNA I plan to get in a few days. All-in-all, I’d say it’s an excellent gift for the your typical Android fan.
Droid DNA would look better on a wireless charger…just saying.
But can you use it while it’s wirelessly charging? :p
I gave my gf the green one for Christmas and it’s eyes are white and they turn blue when charging but they don’t change when fully charged.
Super cool!
Ima getting me one right now!
Very fast shipping!
My Dark Edition Andru is my new charger friend!
Thanks for the tip on this, I mentioned the site in my Amazon review for what it’s worth.
Maybe I’m just old (not really) or something but I don’t see the point of overpriced chargers and other Android stuff like shirts and dolls, and etc. Android rocks and I don’t foresee myself using anything else, but I just don’t see the draw of having figurines to go along with it. I’d rather spend my money elsewhere.
they’re not dolls. they’re action figures.
Best comment I’ve read on Phandroid!
I never understood the dolls as well. I don’t get how they make it on here either.
Perhaps if they were life-sized & multi-tasked…….. :-P
I have to agree, but as the Chav said [no pun intended – well ok maybe lol :–)] it’s not something I’d splash out & buy for myself but it would be a nice gift to receive or give to a fellow fanboy.
I ordered the white one for my white Galaxy S3
$25 is a little too steep for a product like this… If it was $10, I’d pick this bad boy up
Even $15 I would for sure buy it.
i was hoping to receive this for Christmas, but sadly did not
I saw these at the Android BBQ! I wanted one so bad! Lol. But my mom got me one for Christmas :p
i got one for xmas from my brother and his wife! he’s so cool haha
doesn’t ship to Canada! Why?
I was quickly reading through the post, and I thought it said “whether it’s on your shirt, condom, phone…”
Needless to say I had to go back and read it again.
As CC stated in the video,it’s a 1A charger.
Here’s the website w/the specs if anyone was curious.
http://powerbygen.com/Andru–Android-Robot-USB-Cell-Phone-Charger_p_8.html
Should charge most phones in a decent amount of time.
The Asus charger that came with my N7 seems to have gone bad and was charging slowly or even losing charge if I was running an app while charging, so I used my Andru charger and it worked fast enough, not to mention the longer cord is more convenient.
What color do the eyes light up on the green and white? The black/red would scare me at night. I would cover it up.
You should cover it up @ night.The eyes are just that, eyes,tiny cameras that watch your every move………..
Too late to cover yours up Chris,GOTCHA……. =-O
:O
HAHAHAHAAAAAAAA. Funny KOLIO.
The eyes on the green one are white and turn blue when you start charging something.
Thank you for the reply umataro42. Sorry I’m just seeing and responding to this.
got the black and green one for Christmas
Chris keep us updated if they make a more powerful one. Not enough power for the Note 2 as you stated in your video.
Will do.
Ya for $25 i’ll pass. Like @DavidVarghese:disqus said, if it was $10 then i’d buy it. The thing is, I already have like 15 micro USB chargers laying around the house. These days, I look for a lengthy cord, that’s more important to me. At least 6 feet. The daily cord is 10 feet. I like to be able to use my phone when laying in bed. (charging)
Gonna have one these little guys!
Haha cute, but 25$ seems a bit steep, I would of thought about getting it for my office at 10$. The regular micro-USB charger will do for now.
Everytime I see the name Andru, I think of this Star Trek episode :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bhueml6MqI
oh, it’s adorable, need to buy one of those.
I actually bought one for myself in the summer after seeing it in a Skymall catalog, but ordered from Amazon so I could get free 2 day shipping. It charges my Galaxy Nexus and even Nexus 7 pretty quickly (my Asus charger hasn’t been working well lately and the Andru cord is a lot longer). Not only do the eyes light up, they change color when you’re charging something. (blue for the green model).
Love it. I need to get one of these fellas for work.
That is so damn cute that I just might have to buy one for my desk so I can charge my phone in my game room rather then leave my phone in bedroom, even if it takes longer to charge my Note 1 or note 2. White one please