Customer Reviews

Gomadic Universal Charging Station for the Amazon Kindle 2nd & Latest Generation / Kindle DX ( aka Wi-Fi Free 3G 6in. 9.7in. ) and many other mobile devices - 2nd Generation Design - uses Gomadic TipExchange Technology - 4 tips included

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been very pleased with this charging station. They send you a nearly comprehensive assortment of tips that'll charge just about anything. (And as new devices are released, Gomadic makes tips for them, which you can buy for a nominal fee from their website.) Not only will this charging station clear up the mess and tangle of cords, but it means you don't waste energy by leaving half a dozen chargers plugged in that are sucking electricity, like vampires, even when they're not charging their respective devices or plugging-and-unplugged every charger for every device every time you charge. This station cleans up your space, brings order to your charging mess and reduces energy waste!

And in general, Gomadic makes excellent quality devices of ingenious design! Their order-handling and shipping is prompt. Among multiple orders I've placed from them, on the rare occasion that there was a problem, their online support moved very rapidly to do everything they could to make it right; their sole focus was satisfying me as a customer (w/ no scapegoating, excuses or concern for the expense to them).

The only weakness of this product is that, once you've got one at home, you're going to want one for your desk at work too.

"Product Information
November 4, 2010

In October 2010 Gomadic was contacted by an attorney representing Apple which advised us that, in their opinion, our Apple compatible connector "tips" were infringing upon their patent (7,627,343). While our patent lawyer's opinion was that we do not infringe this patent, we have voluntarily pulled all our products which use an Apple compatible 30-pin connector and we will no longer be able to sell these products. We note that many of our customers have successfully used our standard Female USB Tip A4 (Click here to proceed to purchase tip A4) , in conjunction with their Apple brand USB cable as a functional charging alternative. We apologize for this inconvenience. Picture below shows how tip A4 is used with an Apple brand USB cable."
When I bought the station in 2009, it shipped with the iPhone's 3GS tip; however, I just bought an iPod touch and when tried to buy a tip for it, got the info above.

This company, while offering many products as accessories to many different devices, does advertise and market products online that they know to be incompatible with the devices they claim their products will support. In other words, they are selling cheap, flimsy junk that does not work, in spite of the fact that some of their other products do work.

The kicker is that they are aware of these failings in their product mix, yet do not take action to rectify their web marketing or to satisfy customers. In other words, they are ripping some people off and not addressing the problem. This is considered theft by most law enforcement agencies.

My case was a battery extender pack. Gomadic was fully aware of their product's incompatibility with my device, yet continued to market and sell battery extender packs for the device on their website.

While I did get an email customer support response, the nameless individual did not have correct information regarding my order, indicated in writing that Gomadic was aware of their mistake, and promised to refund my money. No refund has been sent as of this writing, and quite honestly, I do not expect one.

My experience with Gomadic is terrible. They seem to be a shady operation that has little regard for overall customer satisfaction. Upon close scrutiny of their website, you can find spelling errors, incorrect info, and a slick, surreal, double-speak techno-babble copy style that equates to less-than-truthful advertising. While the $24.25 I lost on this deal is not a huge deal, the trust lost and market damage is considerable.

Honestly, I was surprised to find these guys on Amazon.