Quirky Converge – Charging Station
I had been looking for all in one charging solution for some time but finding something in stores was just not an option, a lot of online searching led me to the Quirky range of solutions which seem pretty cool. They have quite an unusual design aesthetic which I really like. Unfortunately I couldn’t get delivery to South Africa from their site but I found the Converge model on Superbalist for R499.
We all have hundreds of devices that need charging every day so having one unit which charges multiple devices has become a necessity. Also eliminating a multitude of cords and wires is a huge plus. I’m all about clean lines :)The Quirky Converge looks a little like a recipe book holder allowing devices like tablets and cell phones to rest comfortably in portrait or landscape position. It is powered by an AC adaptor and provides four USB ports allowing total flexibility for charging almost anything where one end will fit into a standard USB port.The actual USB cords are not included which in a way is fine considering you should have those that came with your devices.The charging station includes a nice area behind the stand to store the extra wire and a rubberised strip to pull the actual the tip of the cord through.
My unit is white but I have seen some funky colours on Quirky’s site as well as black unit. I was secretly hoping to get the black one as I feel there is less chance for discoloration or for it to look grubby over time but alas it was not to be 🙂
So, after having the unit for 2 months and using it daily in my kitchen I have to say that while it is functional and all that, it still hasn’t completely satisfied the neat freak in me. The area where the cords pull through is at an angle so the tip of the cords don’t rest flush against the unit unless you really fiddle. This can cause your devices to fall and not rest flush against the unit which isn’t ideal. I’ve kind of gravitated to using it with my devices laying next door rather than on it but hey it still has the advantage of charging 4 devices with the use of one AC plug 🙂
So to end off I’d say there are probably nicer ones out there and even Quirky themselves make other models which look better so perhaps mine was just first gen! It’s such a pity you can’t try before you buy because these are devices you actually need to physically look at and use to see if they are right for you.