Review: Gomadic Quad Charger

**warthog** · 01-14-08, 10:39 PM

Have you seen the TV commercial touting IBM’s Bladeservers? It’s the one that begins with some IT guy peering out an office window through a pair of binoculars spying a Godzilla-sized orb overtaking the skyline of his city. “What is it?” he wonders out loud? “It looks like a giant ball of cables!” someone says of the rapidly expanding sphere. “Save us from all the cables!” [Cut from the screaming IT masses to the IBM Bladeserver; end of commercial.]

Well, if you live in a household with 4 kids ranging in age from 12-19, or you are a gadget freak in a league of your own then you know one of the biggest drawbacks of owning multiple gadgets is the aggravation of trying to keep all of the proprietary chargers organized for easy access and usage. I have to admit that I am a bit intimidated by the rat’s nest of cables that confronts me each time I open my desk drawer looking for a particular charger. “Please, someone save me from all the cables!” [Cut from the frantic reviewer to Gomadic’s Quad charger; end of frustration.]

Gomadic touts the Quad charger as a smart and flexible solution to powering all of your rechargeable devices.

Fight Wall Warts And Tangleweed One Cord At A Time

No more wondering where you left your Treo or iPod. No more unattractive wall warts and tangleweed polluting your power strips and outlets. Gomadic’s brand new Charging Station was created to bridge the gap between technological efficiency and stunning home design. Compatible with Gomadic’s innovative TipExchange Technology that works with thousands of mobile devices, the Charging Station gives you limitless options, providing a safe and tangle-free command center to charge 4 of your family’s devices at once.

Not a power strip in disguise like other universal charging solutions, the Gomadic Charging Station offers a clean streamlined solution unseen in either the technology or home design markets. While other charging solutions simply hide your AC adapters in a fire-risky environment, Gomadic’s uses one outgoing cord, offering a fire safe and ecologically sustainable solution to everyone from the chicest urbanite to the circuit salivating gadget aficionados we all know and love.

“Tangleweed” . . . I like that!

Read what else I liked and didn’t like about the Quad Charger here…

satish_appasani · 01-15-08, 01:06 AM

Good review. But this solution does not help for people who are on the move. Still i have to carry all my device specific adaptors when i am travelling.

*radimus* · 01-15-08, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by satish_appasani

Good review. But this solution does not help for people who are on the move. Still i have to carry all my device specific adaptors when i am travelling.

see my review on the ChargePod by callwave

**warthog** · 01-15-08, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by satish_appasani

Good review. But this solution does not help for people who are on the move. Still i have to carry all my device specific adaptors when i am travelling.

Actually, using the tips used on the Quad Charger can be used in conjunction with Gomadic's Rapid Wall Charger (which I also reviewed). The Rapid Wall Charger powers two devices in about half the normal charge time. You still have to pack all the tips for the devices you are traveling with, but you only have to pack one cable. That's good news for any road warrior.

DJUnreal · 01-15-08, 07:40 PM

Nice idea, one question though...

How can compatibility be guaranteed inside? Is there some sort of voltage and current regulation on each tip? Every device I have charges on a different voltage/current and it'd be a nightmare trying to get something that'd run them all, as far as I can tell...

Would be nice to see a user-settable voltage and regulated current feed, oh, and a UK wall plug!!!

satish_appasani · 01-16-08, 04:52 AM

Thanks for the headsup. Gomadic site doesn't list Nokia in their supported devices. So, can't i find a tip my Nokia phone using Gomadic or is there any standard tip that i can use?

Cheryl · 02-11-08, 02:00 PM

I really like this idea. The cost seems pretty reasonable, too. I've got an iGo charger but it will only charge a couple of things at a time. Not to mention it costs a lot more and doesn't keep things nearly as neat.