Back-to-school gadgets to help charge phones, tablets

For students heading back to school this month, keeping their phones, tablets and laptops charged up is vitally important.

Everyone knows what it's like to lose a phone charger. So next time you are looking to pick one up a charger, you might want to look at these from Ventev.

It comes down to logistics. For example, everyone's phone comes with a small USB charger, but to use it you have to find an open outlet.

What happens if you are low on power, and all the outlets are in use?

The Ventev Wall Charging Hub 200 is very simple: Plug it into an outlet, and you get one AC outlet and one 2.4-amp USB port for fast charging.

It also comes in different variations.

Sometimes you need to bring enough ports to power everything and everyone.

The ports can auto-detect how much juice your phone or tablet can handle for fastest charging.

If you bring the RQ600 to your family holiday dinners, you will instantly be the most popular person there.

There is also the problem of bedtime. Everyone needs a place for their phone to land each night when they go to bed.

The Ventev Desktop Charging Hub S500 ($59.99) has something for everyone. There are two surge-protected 120-volt AC outlets and three USB ports.

One USB port provides 2.4 amps, and the other two provide a combined 2 amps.

Everyone who has a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or iPad is familiar with the blocky white charger that awkwardly sticks out from the wall.

The Blockhead replaces the included Apple white flip-out plug with a solid blue plug that is situated at a 90-degree angle so the block hugs the wall.

It's perfect if you need to keep your power supply tucked behind a piece of furniture.