I’m penning this from my sofa. My laptop computer was at about 10 % after I sat down, however I’m not frightened. I’ve a secret weapon for preserving my devices charged in the lounge: a little block with shops and USB ports. I like my energy dice.
I can’t keep in mind after I began doing this, but it surely’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 transportable 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 company’ gadgets.
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 shops 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 drawback for individuals on the alternative facet. Surge protectors are big and ponderous, and wireless charging pads can solely go up to now.
Enter the Cube
Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft
The first energy dice I acquired was really referred to as the PowerCube. It featured 5 full-size shops. The unique was designed to plug directly into a wall socket, however later versions came with a cord attached so you can run these further plugs additional away.
That’s the bit that makes this entire 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 below the sofa and let the dice sit proper within the center. If you could have a nook sofa, it’s much more handy. You can stick it proper within the nook the place it’s nearly unimaginable to kick it or journey over it.
Now, irrespective of the place somebody is sitting on the sofa, it’s straightforward to plug in a cable of any sort. Full-size charger for a laptop computer? No drawback. USB cable for a telephone? Easy. Eventually, different corporations began making comparable gadgets, which led to my present favourite, this cube from Anker. It has three common shops, three USB ports, and—crucially—one facet that’s merely flat with nothing on it.
That may sound like wasted area, but it surely got here in helpful after I acquired 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 below the sofa and get misplaced or caught. I solved this drawback 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.)
