If you are a heavy user of mobile phone then you must be well aware of the situation wherein you sit down on a chair and the first thing you do while your computer turns on is insert memory card in reader; connect mobile with charger; free a usb slot for mobile phone cable and then start with the work. This gets worse when you have got more than 1 mobile to deal with. Space and lack of free USB slots become the biggest challenge!
In comes Desk genie. A portable, light multi purpose mobile phone stand that does a lot more than just being a “stand”! Desk genie is a non-slip charging desk stand which comes with plethora of features, from charging to acting as a memory card reader. Courtesy MobileFun, I had this opportunity to take it out for a spin and write this review. Read on to know how Desk genie fared out for me. For your ease I have divided this review into heads, each one covering an aspect of Desk genie.
Desk genie – A Phone Holder
Acting as a non-slip phone holder is the USP of this product. Desk genie’s phone stand has a special type of rubber on it’s front face which acts as a glue and your phone literally “sticks” to it. The good part is you can place your mobile phone on the stand in any position you want and it will stay put!
As a phone holder, Desk genie gets a thumbs up from me 🙂
Integrated Memory Card Reader
Desk genie comes with 4 memory card slots, perfect fit for any memory card used in mobile phones. These 4 slots are capable of running 8 types of memory cards (MicroSD, SD, M2 cards, etc) without any need for other piece of hardware. And all the 4 slots are nicely placed on the side of the phone holder thus no extra burden for user. Just simple plug-n-play.
One thing that bugged me while using memory card reader was that all 4 cannot be used at the same time. This might have to do something with circuitry but I believe this is a let down for users like me as I usually connect external memory card of my phone and digital camera to transfer photographs and with this product I’ll have to do that one at a time.
A Medium to Charge Mobile Phone
I pointed out this in the first paragraph of this article that putting my phone on charging is the first thing I do. With Desk genie I can do that without carrying the Nokia charger! Desk genie allows you to charge your phone (a bunch of mobile phone models are supported) using the extensions that are supplied with it (see image below). Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Blackberry, etc are supported with the available charging extensions.
The good part is that with this feature combined with the one’s mentioned above Desk genie becomes a good travel companion but on the flip side, the charging is dependent of electricity that phone holder derives from USB port which means Desk genie needs to be connected with a USB port for you to charge your mobile phone. A certain dependency on your computer or laptop.
USB Hub – Added Functionality
Yep, there’s more to Desk genie than being a holder, card reader, charger. It acts as a USB Hub too! With 2 USB ports present on the side of phone holder, Desk genie serves the purpose for attaching your phone with computer via USB port and/or any other device requiring USB connection. This added USB functionality compliments well with the placement of 2 USB slots on the side of Desk genie thus eliminating the need to buy a USB Hub. Money saved!!
Desk genie Overview
Although the limitation of using all memory card reader slots at one time did bother me initially but then if you come to think of it, not many use more than 1 slot at a time. I believe for a average user this limitation shouldn’t be a problem. However the problem of using a USB port to charge a mobile phone is a concern. But then again this can be solved by using a USB Mains Charger.
In a nutshell I really liked Desk genie, the functionality it comes with as well as its sleek design and especially the non-slip holder. Desk genie ramps in a memory card reader, 2 USB ports, multi phone supporting charger and an awesome phone holder! In short, A perfect travel companion and a nifty mobile phone accessory to reduce wire clutter on your computer desk.
You can buy Desk genie and iPhone 4 accessories from MobileFun.co.uk for 19.47$ or Rs. 900 approximately.