Powermat: Great Gift for Grads (Powermat Review & Giveaway)

 This is my Powermat, with two phones and a Bluetooth charging

Do you love your technology?  iPods, Bluetooth, cellphones, DS, PSP... the list goes on and on.  In my household, we charge our devices in the same spot.  I *might* be tempted to unplug hubby's cell phone to charge my own because it is just too cumbersome to have chargers hanging out of every outlet in the house.  This is one of the reasons that I loved the concept of Powermat!  It allows us to charge three devices at once while only taking one outlet.  In the interest of full disclosure, I did receive the Powermat free for review purposes.  However, what follows is 100% my own opinion, as well as that of my husband.

Just what is a Powermat?

Powermat is a wireless way to charge your devices.  No more looking for the right power adapter when you have one of these in the house!  Click here to read more about Powermat and how it works! 

My First Thoughts:  That Powermat would be great for grads

Because my husband travels a lot, he knows that hotels aren't exactly bursting with available outlets.  This got me to reminiscing back to my college days... those days when you had just a few outlets for things like the TV, your hair dryer, your curling iron... etc.  Older houses in particular just don't have the number of outlets that we need today for all of our gadgets.  What could be better for a grad than a space saving device?  Young adults are way into their gadgets.  This is why I think that Powermat is great for grads.  Send them off to college with a way to charge their phone and iPod, while leaving an outlet free for the TV and PS3.  Remember, colleges are very strict on fire safety!  Don't get caught with an overloaded powerstrip!
 

How it works!

When the Powermat arrived, it came with several basic adapters and two power cubes.  This allowed us to find the right adapter for our Samsung phones, our iPods, our Bluetooth (which in my case was the Micro adapter) as well as the DS and my hubby's beloved PSP.  All you do is plug in the Powermat, find the appropriate adapter and click it into place on the powercube and then snug the head into your gadget.  Place the powercube on the Powermat and it will make a noise when it is in the correct place for charging.  It will also light up so you know that it is working.  It was easy as pie to get the Powermat up and running and charging my devices.


Did it really work?

You betcha!  The only thing that I will note is that if your device has a ready light that turns green when fully charged, it may not turn green using the Powermat.  In the case of our daughter's DS, her light did not turn green to let us know it was fully charged, even though it was.  To test to see if it really was charged, we pulled the cube off and then placed the cube back on.  It was then that the light on the DS went to green.  This was exactly the same with our Bluetooth devices.  Therefore, if you do get a Powermat, don't panic or think your item isn't charged if you don't see the green.  Your item is charged if you allowed it to charge like you normally would under its own power adapter.

The best aspects of the Powermat device from my own perspective....

I really love the ability to charge several items at once. This cuts down the clutter and having just one place to charge is convenient for our household.

I washed my phone several months ago and though it lived through drowning in the washer and high heat and banging around the dryer for a few moments, the battery life is significantly less than it was before I bonked and washed it.  As a result, I have to charge my phone far more frequently than my husband has to charge his (the same exact model).  Therefore, I was usually the one hogging the charger.  Now, we can charge both of our phones at the same time.

In addition, Powermat also sent me a travel mat, which folds neatly into a carrier.  So if you love the idea of your Powermat, there is a portable option for those who travel frequently.  Taking along a phone charger, a Bluetooth charger, an iPod charger, etc. takes up valuable space in your luggage.  They even have an adapter for ebook readers, so don't fear -there's even an adapter for your Kindle.  Considering how much airlines charge these days, any space saving items are also cost saving ones.  Take a look at how little room a Powermat Travel Mat takes up when folded up into its case:

There are so many adapters available and you can search for your device on the Powermat site to ensure that you can use the Powermat to charge your gadget.

Things I didn't know... until I read the manual!

I am not one to read manuals, but I do think reading the Powermat manual was worth it to me!  Here are some things that I did learn:

• There's a USB port in the back so you can charge devices that will charge via USB.  Of course, if your camera's USB is to offload pictures and videos only (like my Zi8), then you won't be able to use the USB on the Powermat to charge your device.  
• The lights and the volume (it makes a ba-zhoop noise when your cube is in the proper charging place on the mat) are both adjustable.  So if you sleep with the mat next to your head, you can turn off the lights so you aren't disturbed by the light.
• When your devices are charged, the cube no longer draws power.  This means energy savings as many device's power supplies when left plugged into the wall still draw power even if your device isn't plugged in for charging.  

Buy It!

If you have just got to have one today, Powermat can be purchased via their website and orders over $50 receive free shipping.  You can also find it at Amazon.com, some Staples stores, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Best Buy and other regional retailers.

Win It!

Powermat has generously offered me the opportunity to give away a Powermat Home and Office Mat.  This is an awesome device that you will love!  Here's what you need to do to win it and your choice of  up to 3 receivers:

Rules:  You must be 18 years old or older and a resident of the U.S. that currently lives in one of our 50 wonderful states.  In addition, you can not have won a Powermat in a previous contest hosted by another blog or anywhere else. 

This giveaway will run from the date of this posting (July 19) through August 3, 2010.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond to an email asking for shipping information, including telephone number.  If I do not receive a response within the allotted time period, I will have to choose an alternate winner.

Mandatory entry:  Visit Powermat and then come back here to tell me which Powermat they offer for sale is best to suit your needs and which devices that you would use Powermat to charge!  You must answer both questions to qualify.

Additional entries for one entry each - you must leave a separate comment for each entry to count.

1.  Follow Powermat on Twitter 
2.  Like Powermat on Facebook
3.  Follow Me on Twitter
4.  Become my Google friend
5.  Tweet this contest or share on Facebook and come back and leave me a link to either your Twitter status or your Facebook status.  You can do this once per day.  Just come back once a day and leave a comment as a contest entry.  Don't spam your friends!  Tweets should be at least 12 hours apart (so please don't tweet at 11:59 PM and then again at 12:01 AM).

If you have already followed or Liked me or Powermat due to a previous contest, just let me know in your comment. The winning entry is subject to verification, so please be honest. 

Tweet this:  Ditch your powercords & charge wirelessly! Win a Powermat at Making Ends Meet! http://tinyurl.com/2dra5re

Phew!  Did you make it to the end?  Thanks for stopping by and please share this contest with your friends (sharing buttons are below).

Disclosure:  As I mentioned, Powermat products were provided to me at no cost for the purposes of review.  I did not receive compensation for this review and the opinions stated herein are 100% my own or derived from comments made by my husband.