gizmodo.com: Smartphones have become an essential tool in every line of work, from corporate accounting to carpentry. But often times those working on construction sites don't have easy access to a power outlet for a quick top-off when needed. They do, however, have access to power tools. And with this clever adapter they can harness a drill or saw's rechargeable battery to recharge their electronics.
8 comments:
This article sounded a little like a cheesy late nights infomercial. However, this could be useful to have when you are working and do not have any outlets near by. I was hoping there would be a little more detail about the device works. This probably not something I would personally buy but it is a creative idea. I do have a question about how much battery life it takes away from your tool because that is not something you want to die quickly and have to keep changing the battery for.
There are lots of cool gadgets this week but as far as actual usability goes, I think this one is at the low end of the list. It is a cool concept but I see a lot of issues with it. The most obvious one is that it only works with DeWalt batteries. Since there is no standard for power tool batteries, if you don't own DeWalt tools you are SOL. The other problem I see is that often you don't have an extra battery to use, one is in the drill and the extra you have is on the charger. Plus, if you have an outlet to charge an extra battery, you might as well just plug your charger in there. If you need a portable charger, you might as well get a real portable charger.
I can think of more times that I have had a dead battery on a power tool than I have a dead phone around power tools. Then again I have mainly been working in shops. This gadget seems pretty useful for the more unconventional venue load ins. I can imagine being screwed in an outdoor venue, but if I have one outlet to power a battery charging station then I can have a phone or any USB device charging at any time.
I think this is a fantastic idea for the market it is targeted towards. At a construction site, there are going to be a ton of batteries laying around. Even in our scene shop there are extra batteries in the tool room that are already charged while others are in the drills or on the charger. Over a coffee or lunch break, you could grab one of those chargers, throw your phone on it, and then switch that battery out for one on the charger when you get back. The fact that it only works with DeWalt right now is a marketing scheme, and if the idea picks up, they'll come out for other brands as well. DeWalt is probably sponsoring the product, and since it's one of the most popular brands out there, more power to them. The only thing I wonder is how much of the power tool battery life charging your phone takes up. Though if there are enough batteries laying around, that wouldn't matter as much.
Ok so I can't see my self ever buying or even really wanting this. At the same time, if someone gave me this for free and I had a really large tool bag that I didn't even have to move myself so that I didn't care how much it weighed I might bring this around with me. I don't think I've ever had a spare charged battery and a dead phone and no computers, or wall outlets. Most construction sites have power for corded power tools or at least for charging power tool batteries. This little gizmo sounds like something that the marketing department thought up with the idea that it would make them seem like modern, hip, innovators. But according to this article that's not what this is. Someone cared enough to make this product themselves and put it up on Kickstarter. It doesn't look like it's doing that well on Kickstarter with only $4,736
pledged of a $11,000 goal. Although 285 people did back it so perhaps there is a market for this after all.
I agree more with Philip here, I don't really think this it worth it. You might as get a real portable charger instead of an adapter to use your battery. If you think about it, do you care more about your work and making sure you are connected, or making sure your work is getting done. If you use up your tool battery cause there aren't any outlets, you will get no work done on the job. There are some issues with this that need to be sorted out before I think they can fully market it. I was thinking that it would be a tool that would harvest energy from your tools as they are used, that would make a good double use tool.
If you don't have anywhere to plug your phone in, where are you charging your power tools in the first place? Why don't you just plug it in there? And why are you using your phone so much while working at a construction site that it runs out of battery? Just charge your phone at home, and buy a portable charger if you're that desperate. I feel like a lot of companies would be very unhappy with someone using company tools to do something at unrelated and distracting as charge their phone. I'm pretty sure this product isn't going to go far.
On the job this could be fairly useful for more emergency situations involving dead phones but I can also see the tool room being filled with charging phones slowly draining drill batteries. So how useful these would be depends on how quickly they drain the battery. For home use however this could prove to be a cheap portable phone charger if you happen to have a drill battery lying around.
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