MiLi Universal Charger for the psychedelic world traveller
By Vladislav Savov 
posted Aug 1st 2009 6:21AM
posted Aug 1st 2009 6:21AM
posted Aug 1st 2009 6:21AM
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*yawn* slow news day at engadget?
They day's barely started!
But really, this is pretty neat. Something that i would seriously consider if i traveled a lot, but wouldn't really help me charge my laptop :/
£20 (£33)
Uhh.. £20 ($33) ?
kinda getting tired at the digs at the UK, i reckon the plugs are at least sturdy, and IMO like the big factor in the plugs
I'm not at all bothered about digs at the UK (bring it on :-). But I personally quite like our big-ish sturdy earthed fused safest-in-the-world plugs. It's just because you are bitter about having all your appliances explode when you go abroad because you use a silly voltage :P
lol yeah too right, i never know what the voltage is here in the UK though, 230 or 240 volts, guess ill never know, although id rather be electricuted by 230v
Am I the only UKer who doesn't think our plugs are really that big?!?
And given the stability/safety they offer, i'm pretty happy with them
£33 ish according to google checkout after VAT & postage.
Oh and UK plugs are great at home, but not so clever with adapters in those shonky US/Canadian sockets... They tend to fall out with alarming regularity.
We need the fuses in our big-ass plugs - houses here have ring circuits, designed to use as little copper as possible when there was a massive copper shortage in post-WW2 Britain. They're only protected by a big 32A fuse, so each plug needs a 13A fuse to protect individual appliances.
I travel enough to think about this, but there's a problem: their shipping charges to the US are an additional £20 !
It reminds me of the Apple travel adapters (ironically, not colorful) for their laptop/ipod AC bricks. Still a good idea.
that be true
I am actually quite interested in this, but I want to see more pictures of how it actually works.
As for UK plugs - in my opinion they're the best in the world. Not only do they have an earthing pin, unlike some, but they were actually deliberately designed to be sturdy, so that they can't get knocked out easily and the pins won't break easily. Yes, they're more cumbersome than some when travelling, but at least you know they'll still work when you get to the other end!
when plugged into the company's Vanili adapter, "Girl You Know Its True" is played
Interesting... but let's focus on making the world standardized rather than trying to come up with duct-tape fixes.
Another "travel" accessory invented by a non-traveler. 5 separate pieces you have to carry with you for it to work in all countries? There are several other adapters which do the same thing, but are in one piece so that you can't lose pieces of them.
A mili.
Does anybody know if this includes Argentina pulgs? they are regulars but with 45 degree angle and 220V
Not sure, I know Argentina's plugs use the same physical plug as Australia, but in Argentina the hot and neutral are switched, which can f up your devices, I wouldn't chance it.
"Capable of plugging into US, UK, EU or Australian-style sockets"
Gosh, if only it worked in Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic ...
Certain places just had electricity first and were imperialist and brought their standards to other countries, so saying 'US style' or 'UK style' covers tens of other countries, and it's descriptive for the plug and and isn't about the countries
I believe the -STYLE was included for a reason.
perhaps they should make one that screws in a lightsocket, because those are the same everywhere AFAIK.
Untrue - Ireland and the UK use bayonet (push and twist) fittings. The US uses screw-in fittings. I haven't changed light bulbs anywhere else, so I can't comment on those.
Really? pus n' twist for normal non-halogen bulbs? I had no idea, you learn something new all the time.
@Johnmc:
Ireland and UK use both screw and bayonet fittings (unfortunately). Just depends on the lamp/fitting as to which you use
It's too bad this thing still uses the "big ugly wall wart" idea. Plus, this one has the added "bonus" of being way too big both horizontally and vertically, like an old power brick for a NES or something. Here's a clue, power adapter manufacturers: Have a normal sized plug with a wire that leads to the transformer brick, that way you can fit more than two things on a frickin 6 slot power bar.
You do get that this is for travellers right? And is meant to be used in a non-permanent setup and that all multi-system/multi-country plugs by their nature are always big, they could have used a wire but the plug would still be huge and all you'd have is more clumsiness.
That said they could divorce the big types from the small types of plugs used in various countries and make it so you can keep the the big one that supports the big plugs (UK and such) in the bag when you are in one of the many places were small will work, and then a cable would be an advantage perhaps, although just having a box with usb connectors is still very easy to throw in a bag instead of something where you have to deal with wires.
It still wouldn't hurt to have the different country plugs at the end of a cord. Every laptop power brick I've ever seen (except for Macbook ones that have the brick plug directly into the wall) as well as the PSP power adapter and many others, has a detachable cord that goes into the brick, and can be switched for a similar cord with a different country's wall plug on the end. In fact I bought my PSP overseas and it had a European plug originally, but it was nothing to take a North American one off some other device (an old laptop in my case, IIRC) and put it into the PSP's power brick. That's the kind of thing that these travel USB chargers should do as well, have an interchangeable cord so that the big ass brick with the USB port on it doesn't sit directly at the plug but on the floor beside it.
Well yeah but this is an USB charger with like 5 volt 1 Ampere, which is a tiny thing now that we don't use transformers any more, so you'd have a 'brick' the size of a box of tictacs dangling from the plug that would end up bigger than the device.
Talking of tictacs I saw them while in the supermarket checkout line and was amazed how expensive they've gotten, quite outrageous.
The best things about tictacs are the smell of the inside of box and the very thin sugary coating. Other than that they are a bit meh. And don't get me started on the green and orange ones.
@Wwhat:
Kind of funny you should mention tictacs - i've just come back from a one month tour in Ibiza where they had teeny tiny boxes of tictacs (about 1/3 the size of a regular box - maybe 5 tics and 5 tacs) for 25 eurocents (about 20c)