As mentioned here in January, Powermat is a magnetic induction wireless charging system – plop your gadgets on it, and they’re automatically charged. The system has now been commercialized, and is available at the Powermat site, Amazon, Target, and Best Buy. I’m sure others will be added soon.
For those who missed the earlier post, here’s a quick, one minute video which will give you an idea of how Powermat works:
I was excited about the release of the product until I visited the Powermat site. The Home/Office mat is $99.99; but each device requires a $29.99 “Powermat Powercube” adapter (below, on the right), or at a minimum you need one to share between a couple or a few devices.
My alternative is to plug a wall wart into an outlet and then into my Blackberry and charge it; ditto my wife’s cell phone. I’m not sure the cool factor and (slight?) increase in convenience warrants the $130+ price tag. See it here: powermat.com
Your thoughts? Does this strike you as a sensible – or even reasonable – purchase?
The Fine Print: I have no connection to Powermat
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October 6th, 2009 at 3:23 AM
Total nonsense! No increase in speed or comfort at all. Instead just more money spent, more landfill and more stuff that can break. It even takes up valuable desk space. The extra thingamabob to glue onto your cellphone can fall off and increases weight and bulk. It cannot charge laptops, either. Or can it?
I know wireless power is all the rage and I am all for it but this is seriously senseless.
If they make a desktop organizer that looks like a file organizer with two or three drawers and it has a single cable to connect to the mains, and you then just throw whichever device into whichever shelf (camera, any battery itself, razor, laptop, Iphone, whatever) and it charges it without any extra doodads and cables, then we can talk.
I could also imagine something like that to hang on the wall next to the entrance door. Like the Reisenthel wall organizer I have. I looked for it online but it seems it is not available anymore. That thing was sheer organizational genius. It might be the most used tool in my life next to me computer and phone and car keys.
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Kevin Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 7:51 AM
Till: hmm, now you’ve piqued my curiosity. I was able to find several Reisenthel wall organizers – with multiple pockets – is this anything at all like yours?? http://is.gd/40jim kc
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Daniel Reply:
December 7th, 2009 at 9:46 PM
i gotta agree with u. plus if they dont have the batter for your phone u still have to use a cable. and a really short one. so its just a waste of money
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October 6th, 2009 at 10:35 PM
Sorry, Kevin. I looked for a picture of mine but could not find it anywhere. Apparently they don’t make it anymore which is strange since this thing is the best thing since sliced bread. I bought it at the Container Store. Still, in principle it is the same thing.
But mine is a particularly tricky version. It is made out of semi-transparent plastic. Have you seen those flexible cutting boards? Milky white yet translucent. Basically the same material. There were two or three sheets about 35-60cm each. The main sheet is the one that goes on the wall. It has an aluminum bracket on the top and the bottom, that is on the short sides. You simply put nails or screws or hooks in the wall and hang it there.
The two other sheets had pre-perforated pockets on them. You would punch out a pocket from the sheet and fold it to give it a three-dimensional shape. It had latches on the back that would then be inserted into slits in the main sheet. The configuration was quite flexible.
If ever anyone comes across this thing, buy it, it’s worth gold.It even looks cool and everyone who comes in says how smart it is. I keep sunglasses, glasses, a camera, business cards with their holders, receipts, cell phone, Ipod, keys, check book, pocket knives, pens and all the other stuff that one needs on a daily basis in there. When I come into the door I empty my pockets into the organizer. I have rarely misplaced my keys or wallet since. I also use a big red paper clip to hold whatever correspondence is really important and clip it to the organizer.
Since you can see through it, you always know what is where. Immediate access, total organization, minimal use of space and resources, minimal waste = perfect industrial design. That thing is true Bauhaus! No kidding.
I actually have my cell phone charger cable hooked to the organizer. I just plug it into the phone and drop the phone into a pocket. The pocket also holds a spare battery for the phone that charges in its carrying case when the phone is with me. (It’s a Samsung 320, great phone, terrible battery life.)
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