PowerStrip
Latest
Eject Powerstrip concept gives your foot a workout
Apparently, traditional powerstrips are in dire need of an overhaul, as the Eject Powerstrip is just one of many replacement concepts we've seen float by in the past several months. Nevertheless, this brilliantly engineered design essentially allows users to eject plugs leading to devices not currently in use in order to keep consumption of "vampire power" to a minimum. Additionally, any ejected socket is automatically turned off in order to keep your meddling youngsters safe from electrocution. Now, if only we weren't so ashamed about leaving our current strips out in the open, we'd really be infatuated with this idea.[Via GizmoWatch]
Tributaries T12 power strip features rotating outlets
Mind you, we've seen some pretty wacky power strips in our day, but the subtle Tributaries T12 is likely one of our favorites. This recently released unit provides eight rotating outlets in order to keep your mess of wires a bit more tidy, and furthermore, it also provides signal-line protection for phone lines, Ethernet, coax cable and antennas. Besides being thoughtfully designed, it also offers up 4,320 joules of surge suppression and noise filtering for AC power, and considering that it can handle up to 1,875-watts of load, all but the zaniest of setups should be manageable. Already feeling the urge? You can check it out right now for $120.
Free Lines make extension cables fun again
From what we can glean, Sung-hun Choi's Free Lines are merely a concept at this point, but any DIY'er trying to run power from the garage (or your neighbor's crib) to the home could appreciate the vision. Essentially, the design consists of a series of snappable cables and modular outlet blocks which can be strung along to just the right length, and better still, the artsy type could even use it to dress up a bare wall. Thinking there's just too much promise in this for it to stay stuck at the drawing board? Yeah, us too.
Powramid E-900H from Kreative Power: why didn't you think of this?
We've seen plenty of concepts aimed at squeezing all those pesky power bricks into the same "power strip" -- and redefined the term in the process -- but the Powramid E-900H might be the closest approximation of practical among the group. There's really not much to this thing you can't deduce from this image. A 8-foot cord provides power, there's a transparent safety switch cover, and a surge protection LED indicator. The Powramid will come in multiple colors and retail for around $17-25.[Via Blast]
Energy saving power-strip cuts the waste
French designer Gilles Belley has come up with an ingenious concept for power distribution and conservation, simply called the "Energy Saving Adaptor". The system uses modular plugs which link together to form a power-strip of connectors, these hang from the side of a desk (where they can be added or taken away as necessary), and each module monitors the energy status of a single device and displays that information via blue LED lights on the surface. When a connected device goes into "standby" mode, the lights alert the user, and within three minutes the module automatically shuts down, thus conserving otherwise wasted energy. Additionally, these modules look roughly a thousand times better than the power-strips we've all been buying at the dollar store, which never hurts. No word yet on when or if these will be made commercially available.[Via Akihabaranews]
Eubiq's power track system trumps extension cord
Eubiq's power track system is far from the first unique take on providing power elegantly to an array of devices, but we've got to give props to the unobtrusiveness this installation provides. The system can be mounted along essentially any wall in your domicile, garage, or office, and since juice is constantly flowing through the track, you simply plug in a proprietary adapter, twist, and enjoy your newfound current. Of course, if you're looking to use generally accepted plugs in your country, you'll have to pony up for adapters in order to make it worthwhile. Currently, Eubiq's not handing over any pricing details for you to inspect, but we can imagine that this here system will likely be reserved for the power-hungry and / or affluent sects whenever it lands.[Via Wired]
Rozetkus power strip just made yours look lame
Heck. Yes. Sure, we might have absolutely zero use for a powerstrip chock full of CEE 7/16 europlugs, but we just chucked all our current powerstrips out of our 4th story windows anyways -- even those cute little PowerSquid units can't compete. The new Rozetkus strip comes to us courtesy of those Art Lebedev design crazies responsible for the Optimus line, which has had us drooling for years. Of course, there's no word on any production plans for this unit, and a US version seems quite out of the question given the basic design idea of 12 low-power plugs pluggable in any configuration you see fitting. Oh, Art Lebedev, you taunt us so! One quick note before we split to remedy our newfound powerstrip situation: Lebedev would like all of you geometrically disinclined folks out there to know that these plugs don't work diagonally. You never can be too careful.
E-rope: saving the planet one socket at a time
As we all know, the biggest problem with conventional power strips are the unconventional plugs with whom the ol' girl mates. These boys come in all sizes and shapes resulting in at least one or two unusable sockets due to overlap. Well no more dear reader, at least not if the 2006 IDEA award winning design concept from the kids over at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute is taken from art to part anytime soon. The E-rope, designed by Chul Min Kang and Sung Hun Lim, is a modular power strip which can be twisted about to better accommodate cable gore with large, bulky plugs. Worried about vampire devices quietly leaching power off the mains? No problem, just give the socket section a 90-degree twist to strangle-off the current. Of course, while you're down there you could just unplug the damn thing but that's just an inconvenient truth, eh?[Via inhabitat]
