The tablets can be powered as well, if required.
There are few issues with using an 5v Auto Adapter plugged in to a cigarette lighter, as long as it is a good quality unit. There is the issue of over-volting a 5V device, as a car’s 12V system can actually get up to 14.6V, possibly more for short periods under certain circumstances. But most 5V devices can actually take 6.5V quite happily, so there would be no problem. (14.6V from the socket equates to 6V from the adapter, even if there is no protection circuitry in the adapter. i.e. It is a dumb DC to DC converter.)
There is also a chance of under-volting a 5V device, particularly when starting the car where the voltage may drop quite a bit. But again, normally a modern device such as an iPad or the MPW is buffered from an under-voltage via the inclusion of a battery and associated charging circuitry. An iPad and the MPW would just take 5V from the battery if the charging source drops below 5V.
A cigar/cigarette lighter in a car will supply nominally 12V and 10 or 15Amps, depending on the vehicle. An auxilliary outlet, such as found in centre consoles, the rear of cars, etc. may only supply 5Amp. But even at 5Amp and 12V, 60 Watts is being provided, which means at 5V 12Amps is available. iPads and the MPW only require 2Amp each, so one auxilliary outlet could easily provide power for two iPads and the MPW.
So if you go on long road trips realwopr, or want to arrive at your destination with fully charged devices, get the adapters needed to charge all of them in the car. If you only have one outlet, get a splitter, or a unit that provides both USB outlets and additional cigarette sockets, such as this one: Here Or go fancy with a voltage reading, two USB ports, and three outlets, in red! HERE (Note that one USB port on this unit is only 1Amp, so it won’t charge the iPads or power the MPW.) You would then still need an extra 5V adapter with two 2A USB ports to plug into one of the extra outlets supplied.
Easy.
Yes Mike, the Anker products are good. I have some and like them. I thought they were at least designed in America, and hence expected high quailty, even if they weren’t made in America. But I recently bought some products that are now discontinued by Anker, but are still available from the original manufacturer. I have pretty much concluded that they are also the original designer, and Anker is just a marketing and sales company. Maybe they have some say in the design, as their products have a consistent look and feel. But the internal design is probably done in China. A good company, no dount, with high standards, but not an original designer or manufactuer. The charging only hubs are very handy for charging lots of devices at once, I agree.
Vantec also make some very good products of a similar nature.
Take a look at the Boway site and specifically this page, you will see some very similar products, altough some are previous generation units.
Oh, and Anker have a six port, 60W charging station now. Nice.