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EE recalls every free Power Bar it ever gave out over fire risks
If you own one of EE's free Power Bar chargers, we have some bad news. After issuing a partial recall on selected units in August, the company announced today that it's asking for every single portable charging unit to be handed back. Tests reveal more models may be susceptible to overheating and could pose a fire risk.
EE recalls Power Bar chargers over fire risks
EE's free Power Bar portable chargers have been incredibly popular with customers, but recently a medical student was left with nasty burns after one exploded while charging. And it can't be coincidence that EE has just issued a recall request for all Power Bars sporting the model number E1-06. EE says it's "identified a very small number of incidents where Power Bars have overheated," isolated to this specific batch number, which Mobile News believes accounts for half a million units -- EE's subsequently told us less than half that number are actually in customers' hands, with the rest accounted for in its stores. The carrier warns these Power Bars "could pose a fire safety risk," advises that customers stop using them immediately, and asks they turn them in at their nearest EE store. Returned units will be replaced once EE has figured out what's going on with the bad batch. The network operator believes Power Bars with different model numbers are perfectly safe, but it's still putting a temporary stop to the swap-in-shop program while it recalls and restocks.
EE giving all customers portable chargers they can refuel in stores
Carriers are forever looking at new ways to incentivise customers -- whether it be with a subscription to this, or discounts on that, and so on -- but we can't recall any perk that's quite as practical as the one EE's introducing shortly. (Unless you're running an ancient Nokia, that is.) In the "coming weeks," EE's launching a scheme whereby any customer can walk into a store and pick up a free portable smartphone charger. The EE-branded "Power Bar" hosts a 2,600mAh battery, which'll be roughly enough for one full charge of your phone. What's more, if you find yourself carrying around a dead one, you can walk into any EE shop and switch it out for a fully charged replacement at no cost (you can refuel it yourself at home, of course). Best of all, there's a satisfying amount of small print attached to this offer.
Mobee's Magic Feet and Power Bar juice up Mac peripherals, no more battery swapping for you
Mobee's no stranger to the world of Mac peripherals these days, and you would've already come across the brand if swapping batteries is too much for you. Following its Magic Charger (for Apple's Magic Mouse) and Magic Bar (for Apple's wireless keyboard and Magic Trackpad), at this year's CES the company's decided to dish out an all-on-one charging station that features a second inductive charging pad plus four USB ports. But of course, there's a trade-off for this big daddy: in addition to the USB connection to your Mac, the Magic Feet also requires an AC adapter. However, given that each device has a battery life of up to 10 days only, this external power will actually come in handy for night time charging. Alternatively, if you're not a fan of clogging up desk space with a charging station, then you can consider Mobee's Power Bar. Unlike its inductive-charging counterpart, this stick simply adds a 10-day battery and a micro-USB port to the Magic Trackpad, thus letting you plug-and-charge when needed. Oddly enough, Mobee doesn't say whether the Power Bar is also compatible with Apple's wireless keyboard, but the response we received was that it isn't a matter of technical limitation; but rather, it's simply that the company believes the Magic Bar is the better solution for owners of the wireless keyboard. Well, we'll let you be the judge.
Ubiquitous iRemoTap puts your powerstrip in the cloud, turns lights off remotely (video)
It probably won't help you if you leave your oven on, but if you let lights linger after leaving home, Ubiquitous' iRemotTap may help you save a few Kilowatts. This seemingly vanilla powerstip is anything but, boasting the odd addition of a tiny OS embedded in a wireless LAN chip -- all the better to turn your lights off. Users can control the internet-enabled socket stick remotely via a mobile or desktop web browser, allowing them to switch off gadgets and lights after leaving the house. Can't be bothered to log in to switch off? No worries, this plug powers devices down automatically after they reach a pre-defined power consumption limit. If you're forgetful enough to need a light switch in the cloud, Ubiquitous is hoping to sell you peace of mind for less than ¥10,000 ($122) -- whenever these taps get out of R&D, that is. Vid's after the break, if you need convincing.
Motion sensor-equipped HiSAVER power strip cuts power when you leave the room
You probably wouldn't want to use it for all your electronics, but we're guessing that most folks could find a few uses for this new motion-sensor equipped HiSAVER power strip, which can automatically cut off power when you leave the room. To avoid too much powering on and off, the strip only shuts off power if it doesn't detect any motion for ten minutes, and it includes a master outlet and a second selectable outlet that can be kept on all the time if you like. No word on US availability just yet, but Tomauri has just announced that it'll be distributing the strip in Canada, and it promises that it'll save you between $30 and $50 a year on your power bill -- good thing, considering the power strip itself costs $110. Head on past the break for a quick video demonstration.
Sanwa rolls out wattage-watching power strip
Devices that keep watch on the amount of electricity you're using are hardly anything new, but Sanwa has managed to refine the idea somewhat with its new 700-TP1052DW power strip, which is considerably more compact and a tad less unsightly than some other similar options. Nothing too complicated here -- just plug in your devices, switch on each outlet as needed, and keep watch on the total wattage being used on the handy built-in LCD (it'll even alert you if you reach a critical level). No word on pricing or availability just yet, but you can check out an enthralling 21 second video of the power strip after the break.
Multi-Tab concept elevates power strips to an art form
We've seen plenty products both real and imagined that promise to improve on the standard power strip, but few as elegantly designed as this so-called "Multi-Tab" concept from designer Soon Mo Kang. Not only is it modular to accommodate as many plugs as you need, but each module also has its own release mechanism to eject the plug without pulling on it, and it would come with a set of stickers to let you label each plug for minimal confusion. About the only drawback is that it might not be able to handle larger plugs, but that's nothing a little fine-tuning can't fix -- optional brick modules, perhaps? Either way, you likely haven't seen a better video of a power strip than the one after the break.
