We talk about apartments—a lot. But for those of you super-travelers who seem to live in your car, here's a tech solution for powering your gadgets...
Perfect for nomads or those that find themselves frequently road-tripping, the POWERCUP On-The-Go Power Supply Cup offers two grounded standard outlets and one USB outlet to charge up your gizmos with your car's lighter.
Plus, it's designed to fit perfectly in your cup holder, making sure it all stays put for the long drive. Grab one here for $32.
It might seem silly, but think about the moment when you're stuck in rush hour traffic with at least an hour ahead of you before you can pull in to your garage... and your cell phone gives that tell-tale beep and flashes that red light or the iPod you've been rocking out to suddenly kicks out leaving you with nothing but local radio (gasp!). You'll sure wish you had this power cup sitting around to plug that USB cord into.
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Comments (4)
The thing about stuff like this is that it's handy, but isn't concealed or stealthy. Personally I'm still looking for something like this except I don't want to see it. Ive contplated buying one and taking the guts out of it and retro-fitting it in to my ash tray(which I do not use).
lowonthe456
always a good option, that is one of the next things on my list.
However, if you are taking the guts out of one, i would recommend a switch installed with it, to turn it on and off, and then you also need a way to vent the heat that it will create, this could be just positioning it right and drilling a vent into your dash/console (you could use a circular pattern like a speaker). Or to the extreme of installing a small computer case fan that would turn on and off with it.
If you go this route though you can usually access the lighter power line inside the console, and just add another one on, so it is all concealed.
i built a ipod dock into my old cd holder in a car I had. It was form fitted to look like part of the car, and it powered it and ran it through the stereo, so nice.
I have a power adapter with 2 outlets that I keep in my center console -- it's saved my bacon any number of times -- but mine plugs directly into the lighter outlet, without the cord and cup arrangement, which leaves my cupholder free.
That seems like a lot of money for a 12v inverter, although I suppose the cup design is part of the reason. Check your local Cabela's or Sportsman's Warehouse. Something like $15 should be about right...