Highway Pro lets you charge USB devices via your car’s cigarette lighter

January 24, 2012 By Kelly Montgomery

This smart little device plugs into your car's cigarette lighter socket to give you charging power for two USB devices.

We have personally never seen anyone use a car cigarette lighter socket for lighting a cigarette, so it’s baffling to us that cars still come with them for that purpose, and using it as a power source is less-than-easy when you have to have a different car charger for every device. But, thankfully someone has come up with a smart way to turn your car’s cigarette lighter into a useful charging station. The Highway Pro by Just Mobile ($40) plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter and turns it into a USB charging station for two devices. If only cars these days would come with a similar idea built-in, we’d all be a lot happier.

The small and discreet gadget plugs directly into your cigarette lighter socket and gives you one regular USB charging port and one 2.1 version for fast-charging your iPad. There is also a simpler version ($35) that only includes two regular USB ports. A built-in fuse protects the ports from power surges, and the device has a small green LED light to indicate power. The Highway Pro even comes with a spare charging cord for Apple devices.

If you don’t spend much time in your car then the $40 might not be worth it, but we see this as a godsend for commuters, folks who love a good road trip, or people who spend a good portion of the work day driving around. We’re adamantly against texting while driving, but charging while driving sounds like a good bet to us. Just don’t leave your iPad sitting in the passenger seat while you run into Starbucks for a quick morning coffee.

Showing 12 comments

Joshua Toren Reyes at 2:25pm 24th January 2012 Oh, like no one has ever seen this before. The sell these at 5 Below for, you guessed, $5. That's 1/8 of the price of the garbage being promoted above. Honestly, this article is just stupid.
1. Kelly Montgomery at 3:33pm 24th January 2012 We haven't seen any other two USB port devices that have a quick charging 2.1 amp port and also provide power surge protection. This one also gets points for style.
  1. fengch at 4:05pm 24th January 2012 Well then the thesis of this article is completely wrong, it suggests that this is the first time anyone has ever seen someone like this. I suggest revision of the first paragraph and get into what makes this item different from others as opposed to "someone has come up with a smart way to turn your car’s cigarette lighter into a useful charging station" it almost sounds sarcastic.
    TechFreak at 5:23pm 24th January 2012 Jimmy, you are being a serious douche, and you need to back off with the arrogant comments. The article is fine and I see no need for anyone to change it.
    
    charlie_CA at 1:46pm 25th January 2012 I agree.
    
    Joshua Toren Reyes at 6:08pm 25th January 2012 There is a need in revision. The article is misleading, making it seem as if this groundbreaking tech. You are not "being a serious douche". You are just giving a bit of constructive criticism.
    Ian Bell at 7:13pm 25th January 2012 Where in the article would it lead you to believe that this is ground breaking technology? The only think Kelly says that would make someone believe that is this phrase:" If only cars these days would come with a similar idea built-in, we’d all be a lot happier. "Of which there are only a few manufacturers out there that I know of that have USB ports built into their vehicles that can be used for charging. Of course this is becoming more common.Otherwise, there is no where in the piece that would lead me to believe Kelly thinks this is cutting edge tech. Just a cool and useful tech product.
    Joshua Toren Reyes at 3:25pm 31st January 2012 "We haven't seen any other two USB port devices that have a quick charging 2.1 amp port and also provide power surge protection. This one also gets points for style." HAVEN'T SEEN. @CHARLIE_CA just bought one for $10. next.
  2. charlie_CA at 1:46pm 25th January 2012 I bought two dual-plug 2.1A USB car chargers -- Duracell brand, IIRC -- at the drugstore for $10 apiece as stocking stuffers in early December. So, yeah, I don't know why this product is considered "newsworthy."
    TechFreak at 7:14pm 25th January 2012 Maybe because this product looks a lot nicer than what you would get at a drugstore? Personally I think its cool, and it looks nice enough to put into my luxury sedan.
    
    TechFreak at 7:16pm 25th January 2012 Correction, the Duracell doesn't look that bad actually:http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-Charger-iPhone-Blackberry-Smartphone/dp/B003Z5UMFU/ref=pd_sxp_f_iBut the one she writes about is pretty nice and looks like it has solid metal on it? Not sure it's worth $40 though now haha.
    Wm Reader at 7:56am 25th May 2012 It does look like it has a knurled aluminum cap on it but it is likely just silver plastic. I'm going with the Duracell one myself. I mean, who cares about style when you have have a cord hanging out of your dash or console anyway?