*notcot in tech , 16:00

Belkin Conserve Surge Protector- 01.10.08

belkinswitch.jpgThat is a giant hand held switch. They call it a remote, but i think giant powerstrip switch works a bit better… especially since it even comes with a wall plate where you can magnetically dock it like a light switch. As mentioned in my Top 10 CES Cravings ~ this is the Belkin Conserve Surge Protector. As we’ve all been hearing,even when off, plugged in electronics are still slowly sucking energy… so here’s one way to actually cut off power to the tv, laptop/phone/mps chargers, etc when not in use. The interesting thing here (besides the awesome switch and magnetic mount) is that there are two plugs on the power strip which will stay on regardless (perfect for alarm clocks, tivos, etc), and the others are controlled with the switch. And if you have multiple ones of these? Well they wont interfere with each other since you can set the channel on the back, but if you have more than 6, be careful. Also, i worry about wandering over to a neighbors and turning their lights on and off… or vice versa… but Belkin seems to think that would be a luxury problem… although after watching the TV-B-GONE in action at CES, i’m not sure. I’d hate to have a desktop lose power because of an incident like this. How about some more secure pairing technology? See more images of it in action and close up after the jump!

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4 Notes

@Tipere, really now? At least learn how to spell if you’re going to rant so much.

@Rob, of course it’s drawing power. It’s clearly stated that two of the sockets still provide power even when the device is switched off via the remote. It’s the six sockets themselves that have the power cut off from them. However, I do agree with your POV regarding an alternative pairing method.

Quite frankly, I wouldn’t even mind the remote being a tethered one. The only reason I have ordered this device is because it’s quite a pain to reach down behind my computer to turn the power switch on/off as the space around the computer desk is quite limited.

Other than the security issue(s), this device is quite novel. Now if only I could find a UPS with a remote, then I’d be set.

----- Marc 26.03.09 08:51

The irony is of course that its highly likely that this surge protector is going to be drawing phantom power itself, since it responds to a remote. I suppose if you’re trading its phantom power for 4 devices plugged into it, its an improvement.

It would be really cool for a company to come up with one of these that ran off an RFID-style technology that responded to energy on a particular frequency simply by virtue of its antenna design, so it would need no phantom power. The very first wireless television remotes worked in a similar way I think. It seems feasible.

----- rob 11.01.08 08:52

Oh come on, seeing corporate crap being shut down for a few minutes is hilarious. Did you see the ridiculous content of most of these presentations. As usual, it involved fat people discussing how they could get fater by playing video games all day long. If you work for any of those companies, you know just how crappy these marketing campains get, every single target of the CES turn off was tacky useless crap. Do I need to get into the fat goatie wearing cheesy sales rep and their fake tit booth girls… what about those ? Have you seen the D-Link silicone girls… As far as I am concern, they should just turn off Las Vegas with one click… wasteland.

----- tipere 11.01.08 04:56

I saw the TV B gone and while funny it was appauling to think of how irresponsible and immature the people over at Gizmodo are for commiting such acts of vileness. They were not only jeopordizing the efforts of the booth people who dedicated a decent amount of time to creating such presentations but also some may have their jobs at stake for such a failure.

----- Justin 10.01.08 16:39


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