Lumsing E-DR15 car charger: Splitting one cigarette lighter socket into three [Review]

A few years ago, the very concept of a three port extender for your car's cigarette lighter socket would have caused some raised eyebrows. Even if you were in a car packed full of chainsmokers, three lighter sockets would be deemed excessive.

Of course, these days, the lighter socket is less for lighting cigarettes and more for powering devices, so Lumsing's power splitter serves a clear purpose.

What it does is extend a single 12-24V cigarette lighter port to three (for a total output of 70w), and includes a USB 5V output for good measure. So you can charge up to four pieces of equipment at the same time. The manual makes some suggestions -- Sat Nav, air purifier, car charger, Bluetooth device, FM transmitter, iPhone, Android phone, MP3 player, Kindle, iPad... and so on.

The appliance is 3.70 x 1.61 x 1.30 inches/9.39 x 4.08 x 3.30 cm in size, weighs 3.60oz/102.05 grams, and is made of white plastic and stainless steel. It comes with two sticky pads on the bottom, so you can affix it firmly into position wherever you like. The cable is long enough to give you plenty of positioning room.

To use it, you just need to plug the end into your vehicle's cigarette socket. An LED will light up indicating there's power, and you can plug in your other devices. The LED is perhaps a bit too bright and distracting when driving at night, but you can always cover it up if that's a problem.

Not everyone will have a need for the E-DR15, but it will definitely come in handy for anyone planning a long journey in a car packed full of gadget loving passengers.

This model is available in white or gray, and although it's priced at £20 on Amazon.co.uk (it's out of stock at Amazon.com), it is currently on sale for just £6.99.