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Solutions to the 12-inch MacBook’s single port begin hitting Kickstarter

infiniteusb-c

The radical approach taken by Apple in equipping the new 12-inch MacBook with just a single port for both power and connectivity makes the machine extremely sleek, but somewhat problematic to use when you want to connect multiple devices. Two Kickstarter projects aim to solve that.

First, InfiniteUSB, which already provides stackable cables for standard USB ports, has launched a USB-C version called, unsurprisingly, InfiniteUSB-C. Each cable has a combined USB-C plug and socket at one end, enabling you to piggy-back as many as you need, and either a Lightning, Micro USB or USB socket on the other end … 

stack

The colorful cables piggyback neatly, giving you all the connectivity you’re likely to need while on the move.

The project, which started with a $10k goal, had already raised over $160k at the time of writing, with five days to go. There are rewards available from $16, but some have just a few left, so you’ll need to be quick!

hydradock

If you want something more suited to office use, the HydraDock is a hub providing a total of 11 ports:

  • 1 — 3.5mm stereo headphone port
  • 1 — Gigabit Ethernet port
  • 1 — SDXC card slot
  • 1 — Mini DisplayPort (up to 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, w/HDCP)
  • 1 — HDMI (up to 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, w/HDCP)
  • 4 — USB 3.0 ports
  • 2 — USB-C ports (data only, no video)

At the time of writing, there were a handful of HydraDocks available at the super early bird price of $99, with plenty at the early bird level of $129. The project has only just launched, and is currently $2k towards its $35k goal.

We’ve of course already seen USB-C cables and adapters hit the market, along with external drives. We can expect much more to come as customers slowly take delivery of their shiny new MacBooks.

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Comments

  1. irelandjnr - 9 years ago

    Who charges their phone from their laptop? No one I know. Also, we sync with iCloud and share with AirDrop. Not that I’m arguing the MacBook shouldn’t have had two USBc ports. Cue the people saying it cannot have two with flimsy argument and version 2 or 3 have two anyway.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

      Me, when travelling – one less thing to carry if you charge your iPhone from your Mac

    • Being a college student i need a cable to connect my iPhone, iPad or whatever to sync my devices to my computer. We have WiFi but its not the best and the network is here is too big and too slow for my phone to find my computer or my computer to find my phone. I sometimes have a hard time just using AirPlay with my Apple TV unless my Apple TV is connected to Ethernet.
      I agree it could have more ports too, but i really like the first picture that shows the USB C to lighting with a spot open for another USB C device to plug it. It looks brilliant! If only i had a MacBook i would be backing that in a heart beat!

    • mpias3785 - 9 years ago

      I do. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and different playlists so I sync and charge from my MacBook Pro all the time.

    • hungarianhc - 9 years ago

      i do.

    • I do, in the morning. I seldom use the charger.

    • florinnica - 9 years ago

      I do. 95/100 times I use my Mac to charge my iPhone. I very rarely use the wall plug.

    • Chris Skinner - 9 years ago

      One of the things I’m most excited about with the New MacBook is the idea that I could carry ONE form of charger for absolutely everything, with just cables being the differences between what’s getting charged.

      If I have two “bricks” (or better yet, a multi-port brick like you can get for traditional USB stuff) and then carry an assortment of USB-C to Lightning, USB-C to Micro USB, and USB-C to USB-C cables, I’ll be able to charge anything in my bag.

      Add to the fact that Apple’s products use interchangeable mains plugs and I no longer need to carry outlet adapters when I travel internationally, I just switch to the plug for the country I’m going to and I’m golden.

    • Smigit - 9 years ago

      I do frequently, although I also have a dock by the bed that I use each night. I also sync via a cable quite often as I find it generally more reliable than the Wi-Fi sync, although I do have that enabled as well.

  2. mpias3785 - 9 years ago

    It’s interesting that people are coming up with solutions to problems which should not have existed in the first place. Definitely a sign of poor design.

    • chrisdunning - 9 years ago

      Or a sign of technology moving forward. Eventually all computers will have one or no ports. In the mean time, we still have plenty of options with loads of ports. And for those who want to move forward, but ocassionally want yo plug multiple devices in, these things exist.

    • Smigit - 9 years ago

      While I would have liked to have seen two ports, realistically there’d still be people out there who would want something like this even if an extra port was there. Add an external hard drive, a phone and a laptop power cable and you then need a third port had the system come with two.

      USB hubs in various form factors have been around as long as USB ports, and in most cases they probably were used on systems that had more than a single port.

      • mpias3785 - 9 years ago

        I’ve never had a problem with hubs, aside from USB 3.0 hubs which tend to be underpowered and unreliable due to the micro USB 3.0 connector usually used. But you got me thinking. Will Apple’s external SuperDrive work with this machine? I know that it doesn’t work with any Mac that already comes with an optical drive, but even if you have a Mac with no optical drive the SuperDrive will not work if connected to a hub.

  3. Graham J - 9 years ago

    The stacking one is what I thought of when I first heard rumours of a MB with one port. It’s a great idea Apple should have implemented on the charger.

  4. Martin Bogomolni - 9 years ago

    Hydradock is likely a scam. One of the people involved in the project has had a long history of scamming people for money, and not delivering product:

    http://www.macintouch.com/mactable.html

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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