CES attendees find one wire is better than three

By Levi Chronister

Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010 | 11:46 p.m.

If you're not quite ready for the surge of wireless power options showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, IDAPT may have just the thing you're looking for.

Rather than requiring different wraps, cases and pads for your personal electronic devices like wireless chargers do, IDAPT offers charging stations that need just one cord plugged into the wall to power up as many as three different devices at the same time.

The company's i3 charger — which is about the size of three DVD cases stacked on each other — features a trio of charging slots with interchangeable tips, allowing you to charge your Palm Pre, iPod and PSP at the same time. Or your Blackberry, Nintendo DS and rechargeable AAA batteries. With nearly 30 different tips available, IDAPT says it can charge more than 3,500 different gadgets and soon will have tips for rechargeable camera batteries.

IDAPT's David García said the Barcelona-based company hit the United States market about two months ago and was so popular that it already has sold out of chargers. Don't worry, though. There should be more products on the shelves near you soon.

However, it might be worth it to wait until March, when IDAPT plans to roll out the i4. The newest member of the charging family still will feature three charging slots for tips, but also will have a USB port as a fourth option. The i4 also has an on/off switch to save power while plugged in, LEDs to let you know for certain that a device is charging, and a cleaner, sleeker look.

IDAPT also offers an i2 charger, which is very similar to the i3 except it has — yep, you guessed it — just two charging slot.

All three chargers, once they're back in stock, come with 6 tips — microUSB, miniUSB, iPod/iPhone, Nokia 2, Samsung 4 and Sony Ericsson 2. Suggested MSRPs are $34.95 for the i2, $49.95 for the i3 and $59.95 for the i4. Additional tips are available for $9.99 each.