Ho hum, another dock for iPad and iPhones, eh? Hang on, this one’s different. The company smart:)things (yes, that’s how they spell it) has released wall mounted docks for iOS devices.
Called the sDock, they can be used both commercially and in the home. You place your, say, iPad in the sDock’s grip and there it is ready for use and display, right on the wall. There are three varieties compatible with different sized devices, but they all do the same thing. Anodised aluminium bars secure your device, locking it in at the top and bottom so that it can’t be stolen. The mount can rotate to show the device in both portrait and landscape mode. And it has a built in Lightning connector so that it can charge your device.
When you take your device out, it reveals a frame which can hold a photo or notice.
All that makes the smart:)things sDock sound just right for commercial premises. But I can see them being just as useful in the home. With home automation, or even relatively simple things like multiroom audio, the controller is all important. I recommend an iPad mini for this job, since just about all network controlled equipment has an iOS control app. A 16GB iPad mini 2 costs on $369 and is plenty powerful enough to do the job.
You can have your iPad mini on the wall, looking pretty stylish and available for easy operation, but equally ready to be pulled down and taken to the couch with you.
The sDock mini is compatible with the iPad mini, the mini 2 and the iPhone 5 and 5s and costs $499. The sDock air is, not surprisingly, compatible with the iPad air, plus the iPad 4, the iPad mini and the iPhone 5 and likewise costs $499.
The biggie is the sDock Pro, which works with the 12.9 inch iPad Pro and costs $649.
Each is supplied with a 1.5 metre USB charging cable and two keys for the lock.
smart:)things products are distributed in Australia by Melbourne-based Canohm.
