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U-Socket makes u-wait until October

by Michael Rose May 25th 2010 at 4:00PM

Back at Macworld 2010, one of the surprisingly popular hardware items on the show floor was a simple electrical outlet. FastMac's U-Socket caught the attention of showgoers with a perfect gimmick: a pair of USB charging ports alongside the 15-amp standard AC receptacles. Clear genius -- and, at a show preorder price of $10, a bargain.

That bargain is going to take a bit longer than expected, though. Reader James let us know that FastMac is sending out a progress email noting a later ship date for the U-Socket. The device is now expected to be out in October of 2010, pending some changes to the design that were encouraged by US and Canadian regulatory and safety agencies and by Underwriters Laboratories (the organization behind the little 'UL' symbol on most electronics equipment).

Those who order the U-Socket now for fall delivery do get a couple of other bonuses out of the delay. In addition to Energy Star certification and support for the USB 3.0 standard, the redesigned units will now support 10W charging -- meaning that one iPad can be charged at full speed, or two in slow mode.

If you want to get your USB charging on and you can't wait until October, I still swear by my trusty Belkin mini surge protector. I haven't tried to charge the iPad with it yet, but it does work fine for iPhones, MiFis and all other kinds of USB-chargeable gear.

Thanks James!

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Back at Macworld 2010, one of the surprisingly popular hardware items on the show floor was a simple electrical outlet. FastMac's U-Socket...
 

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17 Comments

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flemingm

It should be noted this will not charge an iPad at full speed. Their specs page lists USB output at 600 mA per port, while their front page lists output at 1500mA (total), implying 750mA per port. iPad requires 2.0A (Apple's charger lists output at 2.1A) and iPhone requires 1.0A (Apple's charger lists 1.1A output I believe).

Regular USB devices are supposed to cap out at 500mA. So don't get too excited about these...

May 30 2010 at 7:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jeem

A real electrician would mount them grounds-up.

@Hal: Brilliant idea!

May 26 2010 at 9:54 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jeem's comment
bsrjunk

For a number of years now, in most state and local (US) building codes, mounting the sockets ground up would mean at least one of tjhe two sockets was controlled by a light switch (and it would be a code violation to mount it that way if one were not so controlled).

May 26 2010 at 3:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
roosto

Potentially ignorant question alert:
Would these thingama-jiggies protect your USB powered device from a surge? I mean there's a reason why we use surge *protectors*, right?

May 26 2010 at 9:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
JeeBee

Aww, look at the little sad faces.

Or ... wait, they're angry facing, with arms up in the air.

May 26 2010 at 9:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Hal

Now car companies need to get with it. Get rid of the cigarette lighter and put in USB instead. People would love them.

May 26 2010 at 12:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Hal's comment
dustin91

Seriously! What idiot still smokes these days, anyway?

May 26 2010 at 11:54 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
flemingm

Some are doing this.

May 30 2010 at 8:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
NancyB

My Belkin surge protector DID charge my iPad, though I got the false "not charging" message while it was connected. It's slow, but it does do the job.

May 25 2010 at 10:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tuaw

I've not had the same experience as you with the belkin, the second I plug a second USB device into it, the iPhone flips in and out of charging mode every few seconds... I was very disappointed with that, since charging 2 iPhones or an iPhone and my mifi were the reasons I bought the darned thing...

May 25 2010 at 7:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
simonhowes

Anyone care to let me know what is new about these sockets? They have been around for a number of years now, well at least in the UK. *confused*

May 25 2010 at 5:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to simonhowes's comment
tuaw

Clearly they are not already available in the US, as even the slightest grasp of context should have made clear. We all enjoy a spot of sarcastic superiority from you brits every now and then though, so keep it up chap!

May 25 2010 at 7:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris Grande

I guess they just went the easiest route to get it out ASAP.

It looks more like a prototype now then what they showed:
http://db.tidbits.com/resources/2010-02/u_socket_fastmac.png

May 25 2010 at 5:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris Grande

I wonder why they redesigned it.

May 25 2010 at 5:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Chris Grande's comment
Michael Rose

The original design did not pass muster with regulatory review.

Translation: They could have sold it to you, but when your house burned down you might have been able to sue them.

May 25 2010 at 5:08 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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