Review: Griffin PowerDock 5 Multi-Device Charger

My charging area is not a pretty sight. I have two phones, one tablet, two external battery sources and my Macbook all plugged into a power strip on my nightstand. All the devices are piled up in a not-so-eye-pleasing manner. Of course, being a guy, I have no issue with the “messy” look. But not every guy likes the messy look, and most of our ladies definitely do not like the messy look. This is where Griffin’s PowerDock 5 Multi-Device Charging station comes in.

The PowerDock 5 is a multi-device charger that will charge five of your iDevices (or any USB mobile device) at once. And do it in a clean setup. The dock itself is very lightweight and easy to move around. It is constructed of sturdy plexi-glass and plastic with a rubber gripping base mount. The plexi-glass dividers provide a sturdy resting area for your taller devices like the iPad Mini or iPad, and they keep five of your devices neatly aligned. Under the charging station there are two plastic fingers that you wrap the power cord around to keep it neatly tucked in if you do not need the entire length of the cord.

Each USB port has a 10 watt rating (5 volts DC @ 2.1 amps), so there is plenty of power to charge your tablets and external batteries. I had my iPhone 5, iPhone 4s, TYLT Energi Case, myCharge external battery and an Android tablet all charging on this thing and they all got their full charge in a few hours. There is no doubt the PowerDock 5 is effective in charging your devices. It delivers what it advertises.

Now the only real issue I had was not really Griffin’s fault. The issue I ran into with this dock is, in an effort to clean up the mess that is my charging area, I really didn’t. Having used all my charging cables, that come with the devices, with the dock, I noticed they were all very long cables, and I was left with a bundle of cables that looked like a rat’s nest. Now, there are some solutions to the problem such as possibly using zip ties. But the better solution would be, shorter cables, which can be had on Amazonbut they are not cheap. But I would have rather seen Griffin include a 5 pack of these short cables in the box. Of course part of the issue is finding these short lightning cables approved by Apple.

To buy or not to buy?

The Griffin PowerDock 5 does what it says it does and it does it brilliantly. It charged all of my iDevices without issue and it did it fairly quickly. The only thing I would have liked to see is the inclusion of shorter Lightning cables to clean up the look. I don’t think that would have been very hard to include given the price tag on the PowerDock 5, which clocks in at $99.99 ( you can catch it on special on Amazon for $78.90 right now). That’s pretty steep for a charging dock but then again it is recharging 5 devices at once and doing it effectively. I would recommend buying the PowerDock 5 if you are prepared to spend that kind of coin. Otherwise you can find other options for cheaper on Amazon or even ebay. The PowerDock 5 is a solid product, though, and I feel good giving it 4 out of 5 stars. Hit the links below to check out Griffin and to pick up your PowerDock 5.