The Power Docking Station Review: de-clutter your desktop
Posted on 27 March 2007, at 2:18 pm, by Kerry Woo
We all love our gear – MP3 players, cell phones, portable gaming consoles, PDA’s, cameras, laptops, which all demand the use of electricity accompanied by the associated wires, cords and chargers that supply the lifeline needed to power our gear.
When I go to a concert and see miles of cable strung across the stage, it’s a wonder musicians don’t trip over them. Unfortunately, seeing a miniature version of cluttered wires strung out across my work surfaces and hanging over the backside of my desk like some ugly artsy waterfall of wires mentally trips me out.
Digital Innovations has come to the rescue with a Power Docking Station consolidating all of the wired clutter into an organized mess. It’s pretty straightforward – a rectangular box houses up to four chargers hidden out of sight connected a single 54” two prong plug.
Up to four devices can sit on top of the docking station 4 – high for easy viewing and may I add, safely out of spilled coffee’s way.
I really like how the wire is wrapped in a nylon skin to prevent nicks.
There are 4 sets of chrome finished “wings” to hold the device of choice upright. The wings insert snugly into the top of the dock while the connector feeds up through the recessed rubber housing.
The rubber slots are “sliced” to grab the cord from falling back down into the housing. Just remember to lift up the device with the fingers pinching the connector to avoid unnecessarily stressing the connection points. The housing has a rubber lip that protects the bottom of the gadgets from scuffing.
Once all the wires are stuffed in the back, the cord feeds out through the slot and the plastic back door closes in place holding all the wires out of sight and out of mind.
There is actually room to fit a USB station inside as well, if you want to feed the USB cables for syncing to a PC. I didn’t do so, as my devices sync to different PCs that I have. There is a slot on the opposite side to feed a USB cable out, which I did for the Apple iPod.
The wings press in place and can pivot to accommodate the device of choice. Understand that these wings are of a generic design, so the devices don’t exactly fit snug or for that matter, straight up and down because of the placement of the connectors for each device. While the devices may not look perfect and sitting pretty straight up and down like the big box electronics store displays, I’m satisfied that the devices are organized in one place with all the wires off my work surface and out of the way.
The outside of the box is finished in a brushed aluminum finish. I wasn’t sure if it matched my taste as wood grain is more to my liking. At least it’s not made of beige plastic that will discolored over time.
What’s cool is that the front will snugly accommodate a panoramic photo print, or one could put Web 2.0 stickers all over the front. Your choice!
The Power Docking Station by Digital Innovations does the job; four devices in full view charging away to make one’s mobile lifestyle powered up and ready to go. I’ve never seen a station like this, but for the money and the flexibility it offers to de-clutter a desktop, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick another one up for each desktop PC I have.
Manufacturer: Digital Innovations (Note: They offer care, repair and maintenance products as well *)
MRSP: $29.99
Available from: Office Depot Online – Item #: 936465
What I like: Room to hide wires and USB cables; length of plug wrapped with protective sheathing with compact footprint.
Needs Improvement: Assortment of wings to customized a better upright fit for devices.
* Read the GearDiary review of cleanDR Refresh Wipes for Electronics
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March 27th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
This thing looks slick! I like it much better than the ugly plastic one I was using from Herrington Catalog. It costs about the same, too.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Very cool device! Definitely VERY useful when you have a cell phone, a PDA, an iPod, and a Bluetooth headset you need to keep charged on a dorm room desk (as do I)
March 28th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Nice writeup Kerry Woo, but I can’t tell if it’s a review or a marketing blurb!* I have a device similar to this and it’s nice, but there are definitely some gotchas that this review doesn’t mention.
- After you’ve done your cable management, you still need to do cable management, if you know what I mean. Not all devices charge through the bottom. For example, I put 2 cell phones, a Palm, and a camcorder on mine. Unlike the picture above where each cable end is neatly hanging over the edge by 1.2″, the reality is that you’ll still see cables dangling over the edge.
- The large volume of these things is unfortunate, but the wall warts that you throw in there do take up every usable inch of space. Mine is crammed full.
- Are those holes small enough to keep a small device, like an iPod Nano, from falling through?
- The ultimate solution, in my opinion, is to put electric outlets in the cabinets under the counter and drill a neat hole through the counter. Then run the wires up through the hole. That’s not standard, though, so until builders stop putting every kitchen outlet a foot over the counter we’ll need products like these.
-Dan.
(BTW, my unit is the PowerStation Cable Organizer. I got mine as a gift from ThinkGeek. It doesn’t look as good IMO but it’s cheaper.)
* From the review:
“Note: They offer care, repair and maintenance products as well”
Are you getting paid by these guys or something? Sheesh!
March 28th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Hi Dan -
Not all of the devices do sit nice and pretty with the cables hidden – I actually tried to DIY a wooden cigar box to house my devices, but it took more time than I wanted to spend.
I wanted to show that the docking station did hold the necessary chargers that normally wouldn’t fit on a typical surge protector, so considering the space available, I could have fit a USB station inside.
I’m confident that a iPod Nano will not fall through the rubber housing (see the close up shot of the iPod connection).
As for drilling a whole in a counter (most desks have a outlet), I rather just have everything crammed into a box rather than fish and identify each cord on my knees behind a desk or muck up a kitchen counter. Then there is the issue of building codes, so yeah, the box with the metal housing does work for me.
As for mentioning “care, repair and maintenance products as well” I wanted to reference a previous review – Most people spray Windex on their devices – so being a neat freak, why not mention these items as a resource and show a little love? – We don’t get paid for these reviews anyway – besides, I almost sent the unit back as the “look” didn’t do much for me until I used a panoramic picture…
Thanks Dan for stopping by!
March 28th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Hi Dan, gotta poke my nose in for a moment, don’t mind me…
Kerry made the comment about their other products simply to point out that Digital Innovations offers other types of items – and that we have reviewed some of them; that’s all. We certainly aren’t getting paid by them.
March 28th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Ha! Kerry and I answered at the same time. Figures.
March 28th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Yeah, sorry, I just reread the review and overreacted in my comment.
I was wrong. I’m sorry.
-Dan.
March 28th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
No worries Dan.
March 30th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
No problem Dan! I appreciate the conversation – always fun to talk about gadgets and learn a few things about what other folks like yourself are using!