Tag: outlet

Categories
Chargers/Batteries

Plug’s beefy battery can power anything you need off the grid

Once a novel idea, our growing need for smartphone connectivity has spawned an endless supply of battery chargers. Many of these range from tiny keychain trinkets to more substantial slabs that offer two to three charges of smartphones boasting the biggest internal batteries.

To really stand out, though, you need to something big and different. ChargeTech knows this as the company has released a series of portable charging units including this charger charger that can keep a series of charging bricks topped off.Aafter hitting Indiegogo back in 2014 with what it claimed was the world’s smallest battery pack with an AC outlet, it’s with Plug, which houses a massive 48,000 mAh battery and two AC outlets as well as a USB-C port. How is capable of outputting  250 volts, which means it is robust enough to handle a desktop computer, a monitor, a television, a blender and many other electrical items one normally wouldn’t expect to use away from a wall.

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Categories
Smart Home

VOME gives Siri a bunch of outlets around your home

It’s 2016 and the smart home “revolution” is well underway. Unfortunately, that revolution fizzled out as soon as it started. The problem isn’t a lack of devices — look anywhere online for connected home devices and discover a glut of dual-syllabled hubs and plugs for anything you may need — but rather a lack of standard tying them all together. This was the problem at the very beginning, and it continues to be a problem now.

Mark Van Der Spuy’s VOME home automation system tackles this problem by piggybacking off of iOS. Specifically, Siri and Apple’s foray into home automation with HomeKit. The VOME system itself is comprised of a 4-Way Control Unit that any dumb object can be plugged into, allowing anything from lamps to curtains to coffee machines to be controlled simply by issuing voice commands to Siri.

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Categories
Home Kids/Babies Safety

Toddler Safety Electrical Plugs play hide and seek from little fingers

It seems like baby-proofing the house is one of those tasks that is really never done – kind of like parenting. And for whatever reason, toddlers seem to be especially fascinated by electrical outlets. Toddler Safety Electrical Plugs is kind of an out of sight, out of mind gadget that hides the electrical outlet from small fingers, but still allows mom or dad to easily access it when it is needed. Initial installation may be somewhat inconvenient, since it involves using a screwdriver and removing the existing faceplate, but after that, the product is touted as offering one-hand operation convenience.

There is actually a wide variety of outlet covers out there with child safety in mind. This particular product seems to have a similar design as the KidCo Outlet Plug Cover. One of the more popular covers among parents is Munchkin because they are extremely easy to use and inexpensive.  Backers with toddlers may also want to check out the PopSwitch and Bright Switch campaigns. This campaign seeks to raise $5,000, however may have trouble doing so as it is offering no reward tiers.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries

Tiny TravelBuddy charger/portable battery props up in a plug

Smartphones always seem to run out of juice at the worst moments. And as we become increasingly dependent on them, it will continue to happen more and more frequently. TravelBuddy makes sure that when you’re caught with a dead battery and no cord, you’ll be just fine. This small battery plugs into the wall and into your iPhone, without a cord. It provides fast charging on the go. The best part is that it’s a keychain, so you’ll always have it on hand. Coming in five different colors, one TravelBuddy will cost backers $30 at an early price or $35 regularly. This product hopes to raise $10,100 on Kickstarter. Hopefully, TravelBuddy will be compatible with other types of smartphones in the future. Another drawback of the TravelBuddy is that you’d still need an outlet in order for it to work, unlike the similar Buckle Charger. Still, outlets usually aren’t too hard to find and if it charges the phone fast, then all the better.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries Tech Accessories

ChargeAll kills the low battery warning once and for all

chargeallWith every device consumers add to their daily routine, the need for more electricity is added. Phones, tablets, laptops, e-readers: if it’s electronic, it needs to be charged. Rather than carry around a bag full of chargers, now there’s ChargeAll, a pocket-sized power outlet that’s only slightly larger than current phones. With fast charge technology, ChargeAll charges quickly and still holds enough juice to recharge a smartphone seven times or a laptop twice. With USB ports and standard outlet sockets, almost anything on the more portable side of a laptop can be powered by ChargeAll. ChargeAll launches in August and the basic model will be available for those that pledge $99.

Categories
Tech Accessories

TwistVolt shrugs at plugs, twists to accommodate wall warts and USB cables

editors-choiceThe Premise. Power cords are almost always dysfunctional. They look messy and can’t fit too many plugs at once. It’s almost impossible to find a power strip that is actually well-made or useful without several big drawbacks.

The Product. TwistVolt provides a “new twist on the power strip”. This clever product twists and turns so that each plug doesn’t sit right next to the other if desired. Using several triangle formations, each outlet is accessible and the strip can be used to its full potential. In addition, fancier versions of the TwistVolt come with USB ports. LED lights are also featured in this product, making it look very cool. Part of the allure of TwistVolt is that it is a power strip that you won’t want to hide.

The Pitch. This is not TwistVolt’s first time at the crowdfunding dance, having had a campaign at Dragon Innovation last November. The video for this revamped power cord shows how it stacks up against its competition and also how many different devices can be plugged into it. The rest of the campaign features the various ways that TwistVolt can be configured, including hexagonal and zigzag shapes. Michael Schroeder, the Bostonian creator of this product, has set a whopping $125,000 goal for this product in his 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. For $49, backers can enjoy the TwistVolt standard which includes five outlets and an integrated circuit breaker. One TwistVolt with two USB ports and LED backlit side panels goes for $89. Two other TwistVolt versions with four USB ports and eight USB ports costs backers $99 and $129 respectively. Reward tiers go all the way up to $2,900 with estimated delivery dates of December 2014.

The Potential. Without a doubt, one of the main competitors for the TwistVolt would be the crowdsourced PivotPower by Quirky, that company’s greatest success story. There have also been other solutions to the challenge of wall wart proliferation. Particularly with its LED lighting option, TwistVolt truly looks cool, even with a bunch of cords sticking out of it, and the way it bends makes traveling much easier. While a little expensive particularly for the high-power USB versions, the TwistVolt could make up some of ithave USB s expenses because they customers may not need to buy a USB-to-wall outlet converter. All in all, this product combines the best parts of functionality, design and innovation in an item that we use every single day.