Too Many Power Adapters
The dog comes with the fleas, and with technology comes power issues. I've developed a weekly ritual for charging up the cell phone, handheld, wireless headset, digital camera, and music player (not to mention the electric shaver). At least this is better than having the electronics dead in the water.
While some may advocate less electronics, I don't think that's the answer. A few years back, they were showing off prototypes of a flat pad that could recharge a variety of small electronics devices. This is a great idea that is barely a dim memory at this point. For whatever reason, like some other good ideas, it never was brought to market.
So, I end up with a drawer full of power adapters. Unfortunately, each one is specific for only one device. Compounding the problem is that each adapter also has a power brick that takes up three outlets on a regular surge strip as it overlaps onto its two neighbors.
The real problem here is that there are no standards. Each brand of cellphone has its own unique shape of plug. In other words, a Motorola charger can't recharge a Nokia phone. Are their power requirements really so different? I sincerely doubt it. Compounding the problem is that the manufacturers change their own standards over time. For example, my old Palm charger won't charge my new Palm T/X.
There are only two open standards here. The first is the dwindling number of devices that use a standard sized rechargeable battery. At least with those devices I can feed eight AA's or AAA's into my desktop charger at once. The other is the few devices that can replenish themselves from a USB port via the mini USB connector. However, there are only a handful of music players that can recharge this way.
The problem of this "one charger, one device" is bad enough cluttering up a drawer, but it's even worse on the road. All these power adapters rapidly fill up and weigh down a notebook bag. It seriously makes me wonder if I just shouldn't have left the device home and is worth lugging along.
These power adapters are the necessary by product of our portable electronics. Wireless technologies like WiFi and Bluetooth eliminate connection cables which untether and enable us. Perhaps one day the manufacturers will get together and agree upon a limited number of standards. In the meantime, I’ll keep untangling the power bricks, and charging up all the gear once a week, knowing that there is a better way.
--Jonas
While some may advocate less electronics, I don't think that's the answer. A few years back, they were showing off prototypes of a flat pad that could recharge a variety of small electronics devices. This is a great idea that is barely a dim memory at this point. For whatever reason, like some other good ideas, it never was brought to market.
So, I end up with a drawer full of power adapters. Unfortunately, each one is specific for only one device. Compounding the problem is that each adapter also has a power brick that takes up three outlets on a regular surge strip as it overlaps onto its two neighbors.
The real problem here is that there are no standards. Each brand of cellphone has its own unique shape of plug. In other words, a Motorola charger can't recharge a Nokia phone. Are their power requirements really so different? I sincerely doubt it. Compounding the problem is that the manufacturers change their own standards over time. For example, my old Palm charger won't charge my new Palm T/X.
There are only two open standards here. The first is the dwindling number of devices that use a standard sized rechargeable battery. At least with those devices I can feed eight AA's or AAA's into my desktop charger at once. The other is the few devices that can replenish themselves from a USB port via the mini USB connector. However, there are only a handful of music players that can recharge this way.
The problem of this "one charger, one device" is bad enough cluttering up a drawer, but it's even worse on the road. All these power adapters rapidly fill up and weigh down a notebook bag. It seriously makes me wonder if I just shouldn't have left the device home and is worth lugging along.
These power adapters are the necessary by product of our portable electronics. Wireless technologies like WiFi and Bluetooth eliminate connection cables which untether and enable us. Perhaps one day the manufacturers will get together and agree upon a limited number of standards. In the meantime, I’ll keep untangling the power bricks, and charging up all the gear once a week, knowing that there is a better way.
--Jonas
posted by digitaldoc at 9:36 AM
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