Powermat

[cymbline]

Does anyone own one of these or know of someone who has one? What is your or their opinion?

I am looking for this to be a b-day gift for my brother in law. I have done some reading but not sure if this will work for the devices they own. Currently they have two IPod's one is the classic the other is a nano, two cell phones not sure the brand but they are not IPhones.

Here is the website:
http://www.powermat.com/us/home/

Any additional help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Cym

 

[SweetErika]

Here's the compatibility.

One of my concerns (besides this seeming cool then ending up to be a fad or more trouble than it's worth) would be the apparent necessity for you or him to buy a bunch of extra tips and stuff to work with his devices. It looks like the mat and "powercube" only comes with one of each type of tip, so if he has three Apple devices, someone will need to buy at least two extra tips at $8.50 a pop. Then, as he gets more or different devices, he might need even more tips. If they ever get an iPhone or Touch, they'll be in for an extra $40 for the special case they need. Blackberries also need an expensive accessory.

These things are a lot like razors - they don't charge much for the basic unit, but then they totally screw you on all of the extra things you need (just like replacement blades). I can't recall the technical term for that business strategy, but it sucks for the consumer.

Maybe I'm really weird, and this is neither here nor there, but I don't get why a power strip wouldn't work just as well for charging all of your devices in one place. As technology improves, I can see how the mat concept could be really cool (like if it charged wirelessly, without extra cubes, adapters, etc.), but right now it seems like a gimmick.

 

[TypicalDeviant]

lifehacker once posted a way to make your own charging station for not a whole lot of money. Basically, you would buy a nightstand that you liked from Ikea, Target, Meijer, Walmart, wherever (though the guide used a specific model from ikea). It would need to have a draw on top and a door on the bottom.

_________
|____o____| <---- drawer
|_________|
|_________|
|_______ o | <------ door
|_________|
|_________|
|_________|
| | <----- feet


Pretty much like that.

Anyway, you drill or cut a whole in the bottom of it, not too big, maybe two or three inches in diameter at most. You also cut a whole in the back of the drawer. Again, two or three inches in diameter.

You then affix a surge protector/power strip to the bottom (some screws would be fire, but not too long. You may ned to attach some extra wood to give the screws something to grip.

Place the nightstand whereever, near a power outlet and plug in the strip. Then plug in all your device chargers to the strip and feed their connection ports into the drawer. Depending on the length of cable, you may need to add some tape or something so they don't fall back in the bottom. Whenever you need to charge something, just open the drawer, pull out the cable, plug in the device and put it in the drawer or lay it on top of the nightstand.

Additionally, you can put a lamp on top of the nightstand, a clock, or whatever else you'd like to make excellent use of that space.

 

[cymbline]

Here's the compatibility.

One of my concerns (besides this seeming cool then ending up to be a fad or more trouble than it's worth) would be the apparent necessity for you or him to buy a bunch of extra tips and stuff to work with his devices. It looks like the mat and "powercube" only comes with one of each type of tip, so if he has three Apple devices, someone will need to buy at least two extra tips at $8.50 a pop. Then, as he gets more or different devices, he might need even more tips. If they ever get an iPhone or Touch, they'll be in for an extra $40 for the special case they need. Blackberries also need an expensive accessory.

These things are a lot like razors - they don't charge much for the basic unit, but then they totally screw you on all of the extra things you need (just like replacement blades). I can't recall the technical term for that business strategy, but it sucks for the consumer.

Maybe I'm really weird, and this is neither here nor there, but I don't get why a power strip wouldn't work just as well for charging all of your devices in one place. As technology improves, I can see how the mat concept could be really cool (like if it charged wirelessly, without extra cubes, adapters, etc.), but right now it seems like a gimmick.

Thanks for the input. With all the extra's it will start to add up, but the having the convenience is a plus. And we do love fad's...lol I think if he wants one he is on his own. Thanks again

 

[cymbline]

lifehacker once posted a way to make your own charging station for not a whole lot of money. Basically, you would buy a nightstand that you liked from Ikea, Target, Meijer, Walmart, wherever (though the guide used a specific model from ikea). It would need to have a draw on top and a door on the bottom.

_________
|____o____| <---- drawer
|_________|
|_________|
|_______ o | <------ door
|_________|
|_________|
|_________|
| | <----- feet


Pretty much like that.

Anyway, you drill or cut a whole in the bottom of it, not too big, maybe two or three inches in diameter at most. You also cut a whole in the back of the drawer. Again, two or three inches in diameter.

You then affix a surge protector/power strip to the bottom (some screws would be fire, but not too long. You may ned to attach some extra wood to give the screws something to grip.

Place the nightstand whereever, near a power outlet and plug in the strip. Then plug in all your device chargers to the strip and feed their connection ports into the drawer. Depending on the length of cable, you may need to add some tape or something so they don't fall back in the bottom. Whenever you need to charge something, just open the drawer, pull out the cable, plug in the device and put it in the drawer or lay it on top of the nightstand.

Additionally, you can put a lamp on top of the nightstand, a clock, or whatever else you'd like to make excellent use of that space.

This sounds like a great idea. I'll suggest this to him, hell I might do this myself.

Thanks!