Griffin PowerDock Dual review

Jason Tsay Jun 20, 2011 Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Us Accessories, Apple, Gadgets, Hardware, Okay Geek Review, Reviews, iPad, iPod

A while back we reviewed the Bluelounge Refresh charging station which also lets you power up multiple gadgets in one place. The PowerDock Dual takes a slightly different approach with two Apple 30 pin docks and a region to store important stuff right in front. How does it work?

Features

• Valet dish for your change and keys
• AC power supply with 4 international plug adapters
• 10 watt (2 amp) charging for your iPad
• 5 watt (1 amp) charging for your iPhone or iPod

Our Impressions

In the white cardboard box, you get the dock, two transparent pieces of plastic, the AC adapter, and several plugs to use with the adapter.

The dock is shaped like a lopsided triangle with curved edges. The left side accomodates a 10 watt iPad dock and the right a 5 watt for your iPhone or iPod touch. In the middle is a curved area for you to place items such as keys, coins, or flash drives. This region has a nice textured finish to it whereas the rest of the dock consists of glossy plastic. The dock connectors themselves are actually quite interesting. Rather than being cemented into the surrounding plastic, it appears that they are actually standard sync cables slotted in that area. What this means is that the dock connector is able to tilt forwards and back to accomodate devices of different thicknesses. A larger piece of plastic spans the rear of the dock while a shorter one positions itself in front of the iPad dock. These provide extra support so that your device will not fall and the dock connector won’t break.  

Setup was simple - slot the bits of clear plastic into the dock and plug in the AC adapter. Do note that the wavy plastic wedges stay in permanently once you insert them. Both docking areas fit their respective devices perfectly, although this will become more of a challenge if you have a case. The nice thing about this dock is that it will have no problem charging your iPad, which is rather picky about the amount of juice it receives. We wish there was some sort of indicator light to let you know when the dock is receiving power. Better yet, there should be lights on each side of the dock to indicate when either device is fully charged. 

Overall

Overall, we think the PowerDock Dual is a great concept. Rather than just having a square dock that charges multiple devices, the Dual et’s you handily store the rest of your important things right along side your most important gadgets. We do wish there was some sort of charging indicator light but if those aspects are trivial to you, the PowerDock Dual is a great multi Apple device charging solution.

Pro’s

• great concept
• charges iPad
• adjustable dock connectors

Con’s

• No indicator light

Where to buy

Griffin / Amazon — MSRP: $59.99

This review was done by Jason Tsay, who was provided the PowerDock Dual by Griffin.