The Unwired has taken a quick look at the Innergie Magic Cable Trio (~$20) and concludes that it’s “a little bit pricy but definitely a recommended accessory for travelers.” And, from the description, I might have to concur… as these days the bulk my mobile syncing and power cable needs would be covered by Innergie’s USB-to- Apple Dock and microUSB connectors – that third miniUSB is bonus. In addition to offering three connection options, the “tips” don’t actually come off so there’s no possibility of leaving one on a table or losing it in a bag. Instead, they pull forward and flip back for access. Clever. Unfortunately, and probably a deal breaker for me, is the minimal length of the cable which clocks in at under 8″. Perhaps v2 could feature a longer retractable cable and spindle?
See here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003V6VBHG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=appletv-hd-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003V6VBHG
I have several of them, and actually wouldn’t mind having 1 or 2 of the shorter version in white.
-Rob
You also could use a USB extension cable with it if you need something longer.
Rob, perfect – that was exactly what I was envisioning for v2. Will order at least one – may also get one for my wife. Given the mechanism that looks the same, now I wonder if there’s some manufacturer out there making variations of these products and other companies are just slapping their names on them. I’ve seen that with a ton of tablet cases, some solar chargers, etc.
Update: Yep, there’s a few of these on ebay all originating from China. For $3.79, pick a color and have it delivered for free. I chose white: http://refer.ly/a0T4
I might have to check these out (the ebay ones). for that prices it would be nice to not have to carry different cables for my ipad and android phone
Some one needs to come up with one which can be custom logo’d so we can all get them free at conferences.
I have found the “powerstick” to be pretty handy for charging stuff. I don’t care about sync anymore.
Not sure how durable those $4 ebay ones are, so I bought half a dozen. Better to have a couple of spares! Hope it works for portable hard drives. Most of the cheap mini-USB cables work for most tasks, but can’t power a 2.5″ USB drive.
Innergie actually has a number of different versions of this, all for sale on Amazon. A Duo that has just the Apple dock and micro UBS and a longer cable is in my current gadget bag.
You should have interviewed Matthew Modine and restricted all of your queries to various aspects of the use of microUSB connectors.