Smartphones and tablets are starting to show up everywhere in our house. You either have your own or a few that the family shares. Regardless of how many devices you have, eventually you have to charge it. It could be a mess with all the wires running around the house and would be much easier if the wires disappeared. thingCHARGER is a smarter and less messy way to charge all your devices. The charger is designed like an electrical outlet but with a charging dock located at the top of the outlet.
thingCHARGER is a charger that replicates the look of an electrical outlet. It comes with interchangeable charging tips that seems to support all devices regardless if it’s an iPad, Android device, Samsung smartphone or any devices in between. The tips are stored in the back of the charger making it easier to switch out when you need to change devices. The charger is designed to stack on top of one another to charge multiple devices simultaneously. Two USB ports are located at the bottom to charge other devices if needed. If my math is correct you can technically charge 5 different devices at once in a single outlet. Obviously the point of thingCHARGER is to keep the outlets free to use, but it’s cool to know I can charge that many at once.
Most of us use cases to protect our devices or just to make it look more fashionable, but that doesn’t seem to pose a threat for the charger. There is an adjustment system so you can set the right height to charge your devices with or without a case and without it falling off or being too short to reach. It is stated that the stability of the charger is sturdy and your device won’t be solely carried by the charging tip. It is advised that if you have a larger device you should plug that closest to the wall and not on top of another charger. If you happen to lose the charging tips more are available for purchase.
thingCHARGER is on indiegogo seeking for more support. The charger has been under development since January 2014 and is currently in the process of making molds used for manufacturing. Dimensions for the charger are 3” (l) x 0.8” (w) x 4.8” (h) and weighs in at 185 grams. For $29 you can get your own thingCHARGER. Note that the Apple lightning charger is sold separately ($12.99 for supporters). It’s also designed for other electrical outlets around the world so it is not just limited to what you see on video. You can expect delivery sometime before the second half of 2015.
SOURCE: thingCHARGER
I see two major problems with this…
1. Chargers usually regulate the flow to a specific current or voltage for a device. Does this do the same? The wrong current could damage the batteries, or cause them to explode.
2. There doesn’t appear to be any support for the devices (especially larger tablets) while standing vertically. Personally, I would not want to charge an expensive device with all the weight on the charge connector, where any knock, vibration, or strong breeze could cause it to topple, potentially breaking the connector off the the motherboard.
Paranoimia – I see you’re thinking it all the way through – yes we did as well:
As to the power, yes this has the right circuitry to deliver proper power to any device, but because there are 2 other access points to the USB-power underneath, if multiple devices were all requesting power at once each device could charge slower than if there were only one. You would need to be actively drawing power from all 3 ports. There is also an upgraded version which has double the power – full power on top and shared power underneath.
Regarding the stability of the device it is designed so that a larger heavier item leans slightly towards the wall, and is thus supported. That said, nothing prevents using the usb Port underneath for a larger item, and the tip on top for iPod/smartphone. ~ Eric @thingCHARGER
I want to know how much power these ports are pulling. I cannot find this info on their sight or anywhere. I’ll measure it when I get one. I’m hoping it’s not minimum power. Then it would be considered an overnight charging station. Yeah, that thing.
This looks like an easy way to accidentally break a usb port
For an iPod or smartphone I think you’d have to be pretty determined to break something in order for it to cause any trouble, but for a larger device like ipad or a larger tablet tablet I’d keep things out of harm’s way and not stack the thingCHARGERS where the larger device might get bumped. ~ Eric @thingCHARGER
Just make sure that if you stack several thingCHARGERs together you put your largest thing closest to the wall. ~ Eric @thingCHARGER
Hey, Eric –
Isn’t it illegal – or at least highly unethical – for ThingCharger to continue to solicit donations when they won’t provide an accurate tally of how much money they’ve already raised? The tally on the IndieGoGo website is more than a year out of date! Where is the NYS Division of Consumer Protections in all this?
Do you have a ship date yet ?
Is this not available yet….when is the release date…I never buy things up front….I forget I bought it and then I am unable to ask for a return of my money because I forgot I spent it, but never got the item.
I ordered this thing then it was paid for out of my account then I see they sent a receipt for it. That was 12 days ago then I realize their receipt has no return address it had no tracking info in fact it has nothing that says it will ever be sent. Who knows if they ever will.
I order 3 and 1 free,… 3 month ago, haven’t heard “a thing” yet,… not even an email telling me that they receive my payment ! I want my money back… or maybe I’ll call the BBB …
If you purchased with a Visa/ MC/ Amex card you can simply contact your card issuer and dispute the charge as “has not shipped/never received.”
You will get your money back in just a few days