I’m scripting this from my sofa. My laptop computer was at about 10 % after I sat down, however I’m not anxious. I’ve a secret weapon for maintaining my devices charged in the lounge: a little block with retailers and USB ports. I really like my energy dice.
I can’t keep in mind after I began doing this, however it’s been years of pure charging bliss. Prior to getting that energy dice, I’d use lengthy USB cables operating throughout the sofa or a moveable battery to cost my telephone whereas it sits on the espresso desk. These have been unpleasant and unreliable choices, they usually didn’t get higher as I began accumulating tablets, a Switch … and all my visitors’ units.
There are a number of respectable choices for charging devices on the sofa. A facet desk with a drawer filled with cables and a few retailers isn’t a dangerous concept. I nonetheless have this charging station sitting on a small shelf subsequent to my sofa, although that doesn’t resolve the cable downside for individuals on the other facet. Surge protectors are enormous and ponderous, and wireless charging pads can solely go up to now.
Enter the Cube
Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft
The first energy dice I obtained was really known as the PowerCube. It featured 5 full-size retailers. The unique was designed to plug directly into a wall socket, however later versions came with a cord attached so you may run these further plugs additional away.
That’s the bit that makes this complete factor work. In many locations I’ve lived, there’s been an outlet proper behind the sofa. That’s a terribly inconvenient place for an outlet, leaving you with an eternity of scooching one finish of the sofa away from the wall to finagle a plug. But the cable on the PowerCube was simply lengthy sufficient to go underneath the sofa and let the dice sit proper within the center. If you’ve got a nook sofa, it’s much more handy. You can stick it proper within the nook the place it’s virtually unattainable to kick it or journey over it.
Now, regardless of the place somebody is sitting on the sofa, it’s straightforward to plug in a cable of any form. Full-size charger for a laptop computer? No downside. USB cable for a telephone? Easy. Eventually, different corporations began making related units, which led to my present favourite, this cube from Anker. It has three common retailers, three USB ports, and—crucially—one facet that’s merely flat with nothing on it.
That would possibly sound like wasted area, however it got here in useful after I obtained a new sofa that was simply a little too tall. Some couches are low sufficient to the bottom that the dice will merely catch on the underside of the sofa and keep put. But if it’s taller, the dice can slip too far underneath the sofa and get misplaced or caught. I solved this downside by placing a little little bit of velcro tape on the ground and the dice the place I wished it to remain. (Folks with carpets, this won’t be as straightforward.)
