Griffin launches dock that charges and syncs 10-30 iPads at once
The iPad is getting huge in schools, museums, and businesses in general. If you’re lending them out rather than having them belong to a single person however it can be a pain to charge and sync all of them. There are companies who specialize in solving that problem already, but they seem to have mostly given up since I saw their products demonstrated during a broadcast from Macworld earlier this year. Griffin finally decided to take matters into its own hands and have now released the Griffin Multidock.
The Multidock is basically a slot-in system for charging and syncing 10 iPads at once, with the ability to tie 3 multidocks together to gain a 30-slot system. It bears a ridiculous resemblance to computer racks in some data centers, and provides each iPad with a slot to rest in while having a cable plugged into the dock connector and indicators beside each slot for showing status. Each slot has enough space for even an iPad 1 with a case, which is no doubt a way to future proof the system for new iPads or other tablets (as the charging cable is connected using normal USB). A single USB port on the back connects the dock system to a computer, and iTunes can easily handle multiple iPads at once – making updates and such a breeze.
The price for this system is a hefty $699 per 10 slot dock, which isn’t cheap by any means, but we’re talking a business solution after all. It also looks very high quality in the pictures, not that cheap plastic that you would sell to a consumer. Just to emphasize the market, you seem to need to contact Griffin in order to buy these – no simple “add to cart” option.
[Griffin via TUAW]
