I have been eying on the Griffin PowerDock 5 since it was announced back in January 2013. But unfortunately it wasn’t released till last month (July 2013).

The Griffin PowerDock 5 is retailing for US$99 (S$126) directly from Griffin’s website. I doubt it will come to Singapore anytime soon. Griffin offers free shipping within the US and they do ship to Singapore directly and for the PowerDock 5, the cheapest shipping is about US$12 (S$15.30) without tracking. But I did not choose that option, instead I shipped it to HopShopGo, which is a freight forwarder and paid US$20.08 (S$25.50) for DHL Express shipping to Singapore.

Now comes the discount part, the coupon code GTSUPPORT15 (code valid till 31st December 2013) entitles you to have 15% discount storewide at store.griffintechnology.com and hence I paid only US$84.99 (S$108) for the PowerDock 5.

In total, I paid US$84.99 + US$20.08 = US$105.07 (S$133.60). I Placed order on the 16th July 2013, got delivered to HopShopGo on the 23rd July 2013 and I got it on 29th July 2013.

What so special about the Griffin PowerDock 5 is that it has 5 USB charging ports and EACH port is capable of producing up to 2.1 amps of current. That means that you can charge 5 iPads at the same time!

Griffin PowerDock 5 - Box Front
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Box Front
Griffin PowerDock 5 - Box Back
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Box Back
Griffin PowerDock 5 - Box Content
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Box Content
Griffin PowerDock 5 - Missing Interchangeable Plugs
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Missing Interchangeable Plugs

The box states that “Interchangeable plugs for use in US, EU, UK, Japan and other countries”, but those interchangeable plugs are not included in the box. I am guessing since my set is from US, they did not include it. If you look at another Griffin product which is sold in Singapore, the Griffin PowerDock Dual for iPad on Apple Online Store (Singapore), the box contents states “AC power supply with four international plug adapters”. I am again guessing that if the PowerDock 5 comes to Singapore eventually, it will include the international plug adapters.

Griffin PowerDock 5 - Base
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Base
Griffin PowerDock 5 - Seperator
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Seperator
Griffin PowerDock 5 - Base With Seperators
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Base With Seperators

Using the separators attached to the base, the PowerDock 5 holds your iPad up while charging.

Griffin PowerDock 5 - Base Bottom View
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Base Bottom View
Griffin PowerDock 5 - 5x 1.1A USB Ports
Griffin PowerDock 5 – 5x 2.1A USB Ports
Griffin PowerDock 5 - Cable Groove
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Cable Groove

There are grooves along the PowerDock 5 to secure your cables to the base. It seems that only the official Apple 30-pin/Lightning USB Cable fits the groove nicely. Personally, I am not using it because most of my cables are too thick for the groove. Even when I tried using the official Apple 30-pin/Lightning USB Cable, it fits nicely but it still comes off easily.

Griffin PowerDock 5 - Power Cable At The Bottom
Griffin PowerDock 5 – Power Cable At The Bottom
Griffin PowerDock 5 - On Top Bluelounge CableBox
Griffin PowerDock 5 – On Top Bluelounge CableBox

I love the PowerDock 5 just because of the ability to charge 5 iPads at the same time, but I wish it has better cable management built into it. I think Griffin should learn a thing or two from Bluelounge Refresh and Bluelounge The Sanctuary when it comes to cable management.

Right now I am using Bluelounge CableClip and cable ties to manage those long cables cables that are plugged to the PowerDock 5. It is still a little messy, but I guess sometimes we can’t have the best of both worlds.

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