Kickstarter spotlight: xWalldock
The xWalldock is a new twist on an old concept: Making a wall outlet into a charging station. There are wall outlets with USB ports, hangers so your device can lie on a shelf that hangs on the wall charger itself, wall mounts designed to sit next to the outlet, and so on and so forth.
The xWalldock’s take on this is to add a dock to the frame that sits around US wall outlets. There’s no rewiring of outlets involved, you just change out the plastic that goes around the existing outlet. The dock part of the xWalldock does contain some electronics, which take a microUSB input on the bottom and converts it into a dock connector on the top. Both microUSB, Apple 30 pin, and Apple Lightning connector version will be offered.
The power comes from a small wall charger that feeds the dock part through a small cable. Why there is no Power4U version I have absolutely no idea, as it seems like a partnership between those two would benefit everyone. Instead you have xWalldocks for single or double outlets (actually double or quadruple), as well as rounded or square types.
I like the idea, though I’ll never be able to use it here in Norway – this is only for US outlets. Pricing starts at $15 if you’re quick, with all sorts of options and configurations available at different pledge levels.
[Kickstarter]
That is pretty neat. I have chargers hanging out of way too many outlets in my house and the flat surfaces have become littered with phones.
This is kinda cool. I couldn’t use it though :( All of my outlets are near the bottom of my walls and I don’t trust my dog enough to have him able to reach a charging smart phone….
Like the concept, it’s stylish too.
It appears to be a very solid purpose with a good market place. What I find humorous, though, is that it is made with the not-outdated 30-pin connector.
looks good but i guess you need power outlets that are placed at a reasonable height.
It’s a nifty concept. Probably most useful for an ipod/tablet or something. Not sure I’d really need to prop my phone up while charging.
Bad thing is that outlets are usually very low. I would not like to have my phone relatively out of reach.
And outlets are typically behind furniture. I don’t have an outlet that isn’t behind furniture except in the kitchen and bathroom – and wouldn’t really want to dock there.