It's funny what you can find when you peek around the quieter corners at the CES show floor. Amongst the sexy showcases of "the future is now" technology like OLED or 8K resolution televisions, razor thin ultrabooks, and a dizzying amount of handheld tablets/smartphones are a few smaller solutions easily passed over. Here's one we think we believe a great many households not only may want, but can also afford...
RCA's USB Wall Plate Charger won this year's "Best of Innovations" CES 2012 award, and we could immediately see why once we unplugged the display unit, revealing a 2-port USB charger that fits into any typical household outlet for a retrofit design not requiring any additional setup. Instead of replacing the whole front face like other USB power port solutions, the RCA wall charger offers true "plug and play". Available in almond or white for $19.99, an affordable upgrade for the home office or for the home landing strip where you keep your handheld devices.
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I saw an outlet like this on ThinkGeek a while back, but it required replacing the old outlet completely and was 10 dollars more I believe. This is definitely a much nicer way of doing it. I know what I'm getting next :)
it's more clever than innovative, no?
@Robert - yeah, I was excited until I saw you had to replace it... now that I see this, I might need to get one ... or two..
WOW? Does nobody know how to do electrical wiring? I think that big bulky box looks dumb, you might as well have the same USB power adapter you were buying this to avoid in the first place. I would much rather pay $10 more for the other one and swap out my standard receptacle. Cleaner and looks nicer. I guess I am a minimalist in that regard.
It's not that hard to change your outlets, but some renters could get in serious trouble for doing so. This is perfect for cases where you're not allowed to mess with the wall!
If I get a power surge, will my iPhone be fried?
What a crap design! Why not pass thru both electrical outlets, and put 2 or even 4 USB slots on the sides of the adapter? It's more than thick enough.
Does anyone know how much electricity this thing uses while nothing is charging? The USB charging outlets on the wall do look neat (especially when mounted flush) but I've always wondered how efficient they are, when nothing is plugged in
>>Does anyone know how much electricity this thing uses while nothing is charging?
It's very simple to add triger or hidden button which will power on only when USB is inserted
@A.Sobolevskiy: Tutorial please! That would be great for most outlets. I see now that you can buy outlets with switches on the front, but this would great for USBs. Thanks.
Kind of cool, but just a flatter configuration of the 'wall wart' that comes with the gadget, isn't it? (I plugged mine in behind a table, so only the cord shows... and it was "free"...)
I agree that it sucks to have something stick out so far from an outlet. Given how we have a lot of furniture flush with the walls, I'd only get into something like this if it were lower profile. The phone jack our provider installed for my home office sticks out from the wall like an inch, and it drives me crazy -- I actually had to hack a hole in the backing of my Billy bookcases to make them accommodate it. Silly.
@ginnielizz - if you have furniture that is flush to the wall where this product would not work, how would your outlets even work with plugs inserted into them..?
:happy dance: I would love one of these!! I am notorious for losing wall warts and other small parts (including entire chargers)...but I have an abundance of USB to mini-USB cables. So. This would be PERFECT for me!
Here's the in-wall outlet - 2 grounded plugs, 2USBs, Made in the USA, and only $5 more:
http://fastmac.com/usocket.php
Biggest problem I see here is no surge protection. Convenience be damned if your iphone melts in the middle of the night due to a lightning strike.
want.
The small Belkin surge protector has 2 USB slots, plus electrical outlets. Bigger than this, but smaller than other options.
but will it charge an ipad? whats the output voltage? i want to eliminate the need for plugs/outlet before i die. i hate plugs. modern day shackles.