"The last thing I expected was to receive a cubic metre of toys at work"
A happy event I alluded to earlier has finally come to pass - people have started sending me things with the hope that I will give them some word of mouth attention.
Having been a student journalist, I'm an exceedingly easy target, I must admit.
My plan was that I wasn't going to write about it right away, but it's a slow night and I had fun playing with it already - which is a coded way of saying I'm a sucker for anything with a blinking blue light.
What you see there is a portable iPod charger. Note the clever alignment which allows you to use the audio plug while charging. To design it any other way would, of course, be insane.
My relationship with that piece of Mac hardware is a funny one. I got the iPod for free, and now I got my first ever accessory for it for free too. I think the accountant in me would've said, "but your cell phone can also play mp3s for you" is what kept me from ever actually buying the player. That, and the fact that it seems like everywhere I turn there's a contest where I can win one, so buying one seemed to be - and was - unnecessary.
So what's the deal with the charger? So far, it works as advertised. It only connects to 'modern' units - 1st generation pods need not apply, sadly. It comes with a couple of batteries, and I got a cute little mini-travel speaker which doesn't seem to be part of the 'regular' kit. Going back to the industrial design aspect, yes, they made sure you can plug the travel speakers - which are in fact larger than the iPod nano - while using the charger. The whole combination can actually stand up on a desk. Clever.
The only immediate negative is the "Energi to Go" slogan which hurts my fingers when I type it. Yes, I get your branding. Replacing the "y' with an "i" in Energy is just cloying, though.
Using disposable batteries to recharge another rechargeable battery - that of the music player itself - is, however, the height of wanton profligacy.
I do, however, have a handy supply of rechargeable AA's. I'm already curious to see how well they'll work.
My plan is to put the device through its paces with the included lithium disposables and see how much playtime I get out of them. I get to keep the review device - something that separates this exercise in so-called "consumer journalism" from a normal 'real' review. That and the fact that I qualified for getting the device by virtue of being a chatty online type of the target demographic - so I'm sure I'll have plenty of chances to torture the rechargeable batteries.
Of course, the obvious question that has gone unanswered is, why don't you just plug it into a travel USB charger instead of using this thing? Excellent idea, if you have one.
As I don't - and I leave my charger cable at home - this is one piece of geek hardware that might actually come in handy.
I'll end on the observation that I really respect matchstick's style. Viral marketing has gotten a bad rep - one of my friends immediately sort of joked that he has to close his eyes and run away screaming when he witnesses it - but the little 'thanks for trying out our stuff' letter mentions that they'd like you to openly mention that you've scored their swag by way of their program - no secret promotion which will only end up biting you when people realize you haven't given them full disclosure.
Well done on that front.
And the fact that they also sent a giant pink bunny with drum and sunglasses - yeah, the big mascot - was a nice cherry on top.
Seriously, the last thing I expected was to receive a cubic metre of toys at work today.
(They were scheduled to arrive next week.)
It led to some funny conversations in the office. Especially as people frisked the toy rabbit to find the battery compartment. They figured it should actually walk around and bang its drum. Many were disappointed when they learned it's just a static toy.
There's nothing wrong with it on the level of a stuffed animal, but it's hilarious to see how strongly people have been conditioned into expecting that the rabbit should move the way the one in the commercials does.