In my house, you can’t find an empty outlet. We have smartphones, tablets, kitchen gadgets, laptops, TVs, and all sorts of weird things my wife keeps that are supposed to make it smell good. If you want to plug in a smartphone to charge around here, odds are you have to unplug something else first. Whatever I unplug typically makes someone mad because it was plugged in for a reason.
A new outlet faceplate has turned up on Kickstarter that is perfect for homes with crowded outlets. The device is called SnapPower and it’s an outlet cover with a small USB charger on the end. You don’t even have to wire the thing to get it to work. It has some slick tech that has prongs that snap around the bare wire inside your walls that connect to your outlets. That means all you need to do for install is snap this into place and win.
Unfortunately, the on-board charger produces just 1 amp of power so it won’t exactly charge tablets that need 2 amps like the iPad. Still, if you have smaller gadgets and smartphones that need charging, it should come in handy. You can get a SnapPower USB outlet plate for $14 or more on Kickstarter with delivery estimated for August.
