Volt Buckle -The World’s First and Only Wearable Mobile Device Wall Charger

by Janet Cloninger on July 2, 2012 · 16 comments

in Gear, News

I’ve seen lots of chargers that are small enough to slip into a pocket, but this is the first wearable one I’ve seen.  The Volt Buckle is seeking funding as an Indiegogo project.  If they can receive pledges of $60,000 by August 13, they will produce a belt buckle that will also serve as a charging dock for smartphones.  The buckle will pop off the belt to plug into the wall and serve as a dock to hold the phone.  A charging cable will be stored behind the belt, so you’ll have nothing to carry in your pockets.  An early-bird pledge of $50 gets you one aluminum Volt charger and a belt; the pledge will change to $60 after the early bird rewards have been claimed.

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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Andrew Baker July 2, 2012 at 4:58 pm

This is officially the most STUPID dumb idea I have ever seen, and I WANT ONE.

Seriously I looked that the title and immediately though this was dumb. But then I realized how often I could use this. I wear a belt every day. This unit (on website, not the one on The gadgeteer) looks very nice and actually does not look like a wall plug. Honestly I could see myself using this.

Cyborg here we come.

2 Janet Cloninger July 2, 2012 at 5:05 pm

@Andrew Baker I showed the backside of the buckle to best show the power plug.

3 Herve Fontaine July 2, 2012 at 5:15 pm

Its not the first wearable charging device and it’s definitely not the only one.. There is one that was made 3.5 yrs ago…you have made an error. Check your facts!!

4 Julie July 2, 2012 at 9:58 pm

@Herve Ummm, where are your facts? Do you have a link you can share?

5 chriszzz July 3, 2012 at 12:24 am

Is this water-proof ? What if you are caught in a rain storm ? And when I’m charging my phone, what’s holding up my pants ? Apart from these questions, this looks quite nifty actually ( the geek in me loves the idea ), and it will be even better if they can somehow hide a USB cable in the belt for some quick syncing with a laptop.

The only problem is that the belt looks too casual, and would look out of place if you are wearing office clothes.

6 Andrew Baker July 3, 2012 at 1:18 am

Well you can now use the excuse “I was just charging my phone ” if you get caught with your pants down at work.

‘The only problem is that the belt looks too casual, and would look out of place if you are wearing office clothes.’

7 Dmitriy July 3, 2012 at 1:26 am

belt will look bad, charger will be hard to extract… everyime i want to charge my phone my pants will go down… and process will be looking strange from the side…

i don’t want one.

8 John Waite July 3, 2012 at 5:03 am

So many flaws in the concept, but I do really want one! Can’t count how many times I’ve had the low battery panic when at work…

9 RainyDayInterns July 3, 2012 at 7:09 am

So…those of us from NY can finally say…

“Yeah…I got your charger RIGHT HERE!”

…with a straight face.

10 jhon July 3, 2012 at 11:10 am

Julie:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/ceca/?srp=1

Would that qualify as a wearable device charger?

11 Julie July 3, 2012 at 11:55 am

@jhon Yes it qualifies as a wearable charger, but it’s not a wearable wall charger like this belt…

12 Andrew Baker July 3, 2012 at 12:05 pm

It’s bad enough I have to have one of these in my phone. But I would NEVER put a lithium ion battery on my wrists. After seeing the condition my WATCH looks like in a year.

Google “lithium ion exploding” Just saying :D

13 jhon July 3, 2012 at 1:02 pm

Julie:

But it is. You can charge the wearable wrist battery WHILE it is charging your device. What’s cool is that it holds a charge WHILE you are away from the wall.

Granted, it’s not designed to be a “USB Belt Buckle”… the concept of which kind of creeps me out. Its like a gadget-centric “wearable shot glass” or “hat fan”.

14 Julie July 3, 2012 at 1:39 pm

@jhon I don’t think the bracelet has a built in 2 prong plug that you can insert into a wall jack. Instead it is recharged via a USB jack on your laptop or desktop computer.

15 KRYPTlK July 3, 2012 at 6:54 pm

http://www.ketzer.com/original_movie_props/armageddon_spacesuit.jpg

Pretty sure this qualifies as a wearable mobile device charger…

16 Volt Buckle July 4, 2012 at 1:09 am

Thank you all for your comments and feedback. The belt is still functional when the charger is in use! It looks just like a normal belt. And yes, the sync cable is hidden. Head over to our Indiegogo campaign page at http://igg.me/p/120587?a=688991 to see a video of it in action, and answer to the most common questions! Thanks again.

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