原创 More on Power2U

As you may remember, in a column from a week or so ago I was waffling on about a new type of plug socket.

This rather cunning idea is brought to us from the folks at Newer Technology. Basically, it's a replacement for a wall-mounted power socket. In addition to the regular dual power connectors, this little beauty also boasts two USB connectors, each capable of charging anything up to an iPad.

When I first heard about this little scamp, I thought to myself "I know just where I could use one of those!" For reasons I've never been able to fathom, out of the countless power sockets scattered throughout our home, my wife (Gina the Gorgeous) and my 17-year-old son (Joseph) both insist on charging their iPhones and iPads using the socket on the end of one of our kitchen cabinets as shown below:

I find this a tad wearing on the nerves for a couple of reasons. First, because this means the main pathway into the kitchen is littered with cables. Second, because Joseph insists on dragging the ironing board out of the laundry room each evening to prepare his clothes for the following day, which means he plugs the iron into one of these sockets.

Almost invariably, Joseph unplugs his mother's iPhone, but he neglects to plug it back in again when he's finished, which means I end up being called the following day to hear the dreadful saga of the uncharged iPhone and what am I going to do about it and why can't I have a word with Joseph and ... the minutes of my life pass before my eyes.

So you can only imagine my excitement when the nice folks at Newer Technology sent a Power2U to me to play with. Of course, nothing is as easy as you think it's going to be. When the Power2U arrived in my office, I was just heading out of the door to meet the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) guys, who were scheduled to perform some regular maintenance at the house, so I decided to take the Power2U with me and install it as a surprise for Gina and Joseph.

Thus it was that, while I was waiting for the HVAC guys to arrive, I popped the existing socket out of the side of the cabinet and disconnected all of the wires. Of course I should have turned off the power first, but "I R an Engineer" and I know what I'm doing (he said with a hollow laugh). Suffice it to say that when the doorbell rang and Henri the dog barked right behind me, the result was to give me an invigorating time.

Just to add to the fun and frivolity, I then found that the Power2U would not fit into the existing shallow box that was mounted in the cabinet. "Oh dear," I thought (or words to that effect). So I reconnected the wires and replaced the original socket, only to find that there was no longer any power coming out of it. This was not the surprise I was planning for Gina and Joseph...

I'm not as stupid as I look! (Who could be?)
Yes, of course I checked the main fuse box. I'm not a complete idiot (as I've mentioned before, my mother had me tested, and I'm happy to report that the word "complete" is unwarranted). All of the fuses were as they should be. And yes, of course I also checked the automatic circuit breaker thingy in the kitchen. No problems there...

By some strange quirk of fate, I happened to have two electrical-certified HVAC guys wandering around in my loft, so I explained when had happened and asked them to take a look.

First they checked the socket itself—all wired correctly. Then they checked nearby sockets – no power there either. Then they checked the automatic circuit breaker thingy in the kitchen (they thought of that quicker than I had) – no problems there. Next they checked the fuse panel in the garage – all was as it should be.

Then we all stood around for a while stroking our chins and trying to come up with a new move. After a while, the HVAC guys wandered off back into the loft to check the wiring up there. Sometime later they returned with a purposeful air and walked around the kitchen looking at the sockets a little more closely. Ah Ha! There was a SECOND automatic circuit breaker thingy in the power socket located behind the flat-screen television. I don't know about the HVAC guys, but I certainly felt a tad foolish.

But that's not what I wanted to tell you about...

On the way into work the next day, I popped into the local home improvement store to pick up a deeper box. That evening, while Gina and Joseph were in the family room, I whipped out the old socket and box and replaced it with my new, deeper box and Power2U. Now, all we see are two USB cables as shown below:

This really is much more convenient. We no longer have the two white chargers lying around, plus we still have two power sockets to play with. Gina's phone actually ends up being charged, and I am the hero of the hour.

The Power2U is one of those things that, when you first see it, you say to yourself "Well, that's an obvious idea – anyone could have thought of that." The thing is, of course, that it's only an obvious idea once you've seen it. All I can say is that I wish I'd thought of it first. Anyway, the bottom line is that I think the Power2U is a great idea and mine is here to stay!