Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The Duracell myGrid charging device is a product you want to like. Imagine the possibilities, you come home and toss your phone, iPod or other device on the pad and walk away. No wires to plug and unplug, no more having several chargers plugged in the wall outlet. A wireless home power grid, truly the wave of the future.
In reality, though, this is truly a product that is far from being ready for prime time and is not the "wave of the future" powergrid you would think it is. More accurately it is an "extension cord" that transfers power via contacts in a totally traditional way.
It ships with 3 tips that fit an infinitesimally small number of phone models. Unfortunately, not MY Blackberry nor MY cell phone. The design of the power tips prevent them from being used on any other device than the exact model specified.
There are two glaring problems that Duracell should have considered and abandoned the whole concept of a power grid. One is that the location of the charging receptacle varies from phone to phone. On mine it was impossible to fit it in and have it connect to the included charging adapter.
The other problem is the charging adapter itself. It is a fairly large disc that you have to glue to the back of your phone with double-stick tape. Whaaat? Are you kidding me? So to make it line up with the little charging tip it is probably 90% likely to have to be glued over the phone's camera, flash or rear speaker. That's just plain dumb!
Not to mention, now you have a cell phone that you bought to be as small and convenient as possible, that you can slip into your pocket or purse or nice leather carrying case ... but no more! With a fragile adapter sticking out of the side or bottom of your phone, plus the clunky odd-shaped stick-on disc, your phone no longer fits easily into pocket, purse or case and has to be handled with extreme care so the extra pieces don't break off and get lost. Plus, with many phones that use a mini-USB connector, that same connector may be used for headphones, car speaker accessories or data access. So you have to remove the power tip each time. How is that more convenient than simply plugging the phone into a charging cord?
You can also get an optional overpriced "powersleeve" for a miniscule few devices which is a rubber boot that fits over the device with an awkward hump on the back and bottom of the device. Maybe a slightly better concept than the glue-on disc but so far I have seen them for only one model of iPod and one model of Blackberry.
Another major failing of this products is that if you travel a lot you probably have to take a charging adapter with you. You certainly won't take the power grid. That means removing the power tip each time and reassembling it to use with the grid at home. That would get very old after the first time.
I fail to see the slightest advantage to the entire product; it's like a bad April Fools joke. Someday someone will come up with a way to transfer electric power without wires; I understand that technology already exists. When Duracell or someone else comes out with a power grid that doesn't need ill-conceived adapters I'll be interested.
As far as the "instruction manual" goes, it is almost non-existent. For a product like this that most people have never used before, it is severely lacking.
Sorry Duracell, I can't give this more than one star for "interesting idea".
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Duracell myGridWith Duracell myGrid you can charge up to 4 devices at one time. Just place your myGrid enabled devices anywhere on myGrid's surface and they start charging -It's Charging Made Simple.
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