Computer Times
Editor's Choice Accessory
PowerSquid Surge3000
Reviewed by Terry Kibiloski
The PowerSquid® Surge3000 Calamari Edition (Retail $84.95), from Flexity, LLC, is an incredible surge protector that features 3240 Joules of surge protection, six outlets, of which two are glowing neon, a 360° rotating flat-profile plug at the end of an 8-foot cord, a powerful Purestream power filter, and an audible alarm. If that's not enough for you, it also has complete connectivity protection for DSL, dial-up, and cable/coaxial, plus a $500,000 limited protected equipment warranty. That alone would make it worth its price, but the best part is yet to come - its incredible design that can accommodate every type of power supply imaginable, which is especially important when you are on the road.
As we do with all of our review products, we thoroughly tested the PowerSquid Surge 3000 in actual settings, for several months, putting incredible demands on its capabilities. You cannot appreciate the friendliness of this device until you travel with it from hotel to hotel. The photo above shows it in an Orlando hotel when our editors were at CTIA Wireless 2007. When you see it in use you begin to appreciate its flexibility. Whether you have a battery charger, power supply, or any other bulky item that needs to plug into an outlet, the PowerSquid will accommodate them. By having tentacles that have some length to them, you can easily arrange your devices on a desk top as well as on the floor in a configuration that makes sense for you.
The placement of the connections for the DSL, dial-up, and cable/coaxial cords is especially convenient as they face the wall where the PowerSquid is plugged in to keep the cable tangles to a minimum. The 360° rotating flat-profile plug at the end of the 8-foot cord is a joy. Especially in hotel rooms, it seems like the plugs are always in the worst locations, many times located behind a large piece of furniture that cannot easily be moved. With this flat profile plug, that can rotate to accommodate any scenario, we found it easy to plug into every contortionist's nightmare that we encountered.
Then, there are the glowing neon lights inside the body of this friendly squid and inside two of its outlets. At first you might think this is just a novelty. But, the first time you get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and these lights help you avoid tripping over the cords, you come to really appreciate the usefulness of this feature. For those of you who like to have a nightlight on for sleeping, you can leave it at home since the PowerSquid is a great substitute.
Are you excited yet? Well, there is still more. This is absolutely the most durable device attached to power cords that we have ever tested. While we did not try this, its durable design and engineering gives you the impression that you could literally bang it against the wall and have a tug-a-war with the cords and it would be no worse the wear. This is a very durable power surge protector, both inside and out.
If surge protectors can be exciting, the PowerSquid® Surge3000 Calamari Edition is definitely exciting. It offers protection, convenience, durability, flexibility, practicality, and beyond all of its impressive technical features, it just looks cool. This is truly an Editors' Choice because it has replaced all other surge protectors for our road warrior trips, plus it has a permanent place on one of our desks when we are not on the road.
Now for all of you detail minded readers, here are the complete features: