[Macworld]

Post your comments for Review: InCharge X5 charges 5 iPads, iPhones, and iPods here

[aestival]

Destined to sit somewhere in a drawer with the ethernet and firewire cables, computer mice, and a few old battery chargers... though unlike any of those, this $150 behemoth is already certain to be completely obsolete within a year or two.

If someone is trying to sell you a 30-pin accessory at anything close to full price, then make sure the deal includes some snake oil and a Brooklyn Bridge or two.

[Dan Frakes]

If all new cars sold after today used a new kind of gas, would it be "snake oil" for gas stations to continue to sell traditional unleaded at regular price?

The vast majority of iOS devices (and iPods) out there use the 30-pin dock connector. We're talking 9-figure numbers. And all of those devices continue to work just fine and need to be charged, despite the debut of the Lightning connector. If someone (or some company or school) needs a way to charge multiple devices, this is a solution. I don't get the criticism.

[aestival]

Quote

If all new cars sold after today used a new kind of gas, would it be "snake oil" for gas stations to continue to sell traditional unleaded at regular price? The vast majority of iOS devices (and iPods) out there use the 30-pin dock connector. We're talking 9-figure numbers. And all of those devices continue to work just fine and need to be charged, despite the debut of the Lightning connector. If someone (or some company or school) needs a way to charge multiple devices, this is a solution. I don't get the criticism.

The best time to buy adapters/chargers/cables is when there's a new standard that you're likely to stick with; the corollary is that the worst time is when there's a new standard that you're all but certain to adopt. My problem is the premium price tag on legacy technology. I actually found your review very useful otherwise, and look forward to the lightning versions of similar products.

As for the car analogy, fuel is required to operate a car, while multiple-unit chargers are not required to operate an iDevice.