Nomad

Perhaps best known for its excellent Stand for Apple Watch (reviewed here), Nomad Goods today unveiled Pod Pro — a more powerful sequel to its unique portable Pod charging dock for Apple Watch (reviewed here) — and Strap, a premium stitched leather strap similar to an Apple Watch Hermés band, but at a much more affordable price.

Pod Pro expands upon the Apple Watch-only Pod charging puck by boosting both power capacity and device compatibility. Now featuring a 6000mAh battery and an integrated Lightning cable, Pod Pro promises two full recharges of both an iPhone 6 and Apple Watch. Circular with a 98mm diameter, it winds an Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Cable underneath a space gray metal cap. It’s available for pre-order today at a discounted price of $79, going up to a regular price of $100 on October 15, and shipping October 30.

Strap uses impressively thick genuine Italian leather in only one size — 42mm — and one color, a handsome natural brown with beige contrast stitches. To match the color of your Apple Watch, you can choose from silver or PVD-treated space gray buckles, each made from stainless steel. It’s available for pre-order today at a reduced price of $119, with a full retail price of $150 starting on September 30. Strap ships on October 15. More pictures are below…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Nomad, maker of the beautiful Stand for Apple Watch and Pod portable charging station for Apple Watch, today announced Roadtrip, a unique combination of an iPhone car charger with a 3000mAh battery. Made from a mix of anodized aluminum and plastic, Roadtrip takes the shape of an elongated traditional USB car charger, packing both USB and USB-C ports alongside a four-LED battery power indicator on its face. Each of the USB ports promises 1.5-Amp output.

Roadtrip is designed for people who want to be ensured a full iPhone recharge whenever they leave their cars, regardless of whether they’ve had enough time to complete the charge during the drive. The power output and battery capacity are suited to iPhones, iPods, and Apple Watches rather than iPads, which have larger batteries and charge fastest with 2.1- or 2.4-Amp power.

Available for pre-order today through October 14th at a discounted price of $40, Nomad’s Roadtrip will sell for $60 starting on October 15th, and ship October 30th. Nomad offers free shipping on any order through its web site using coupon code SHIPUS at checkout. Additional images are below…

Expand
Expanding
Close

The first round of Apple Watch stands were just that, accessories designed to keep your Apple Watch from rubbing against your nightstand or desk. This month, we officially moved into the second wave — powered Apple Watch docks — with the release of Boostcase’s Bloc and Nomad’s Pod ($60). Boxy, flat, and long, Bloc was a clean design with questionable practicality, but Pod makes a lot more sense: like the Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Cable it holds inside, it’s a partially metal and partially plastic puck you can easily take anywhere and use to charge any Apple Watch. Having previously designed the beautiful Stand for Apple Watch, Nomad promises that the rechargeable 1800mAh battery inside Pod “keeps your watch powered all weekend.”

From my perspective, the Apple Watch’s single biggest issue is its one-day battery life, which has meant risking a dead watch while traveling or otherwise away from a power outlet. Although you could just carry around a device-agnostic USB battery, Pod solves the power problem at a more aggressive price point than Bloc, and in a convenient form factor that will appeal to a lot of people. You can choose from a silver and black version, as shown in the photos here, or a space gray and black version made to match darker Apple Watches. Read on for the details…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Before the Apple Watch was released, I wasn’t sure that it needed a dock or stand — the included charger would be enough, right? But after actually using the Watch, and noting that Apple included a dock with Edition models, I realized that these accessories had a functional purpose: they kept metal and metal-accented Apple Watch bands from rubbing against nightstands during charging. Some of the dock designs also looked really cool. When I compiled our guide to the best Apple Watch stands and docks, a few definitely looked like objects I’d want to keep on my nightstand, while others definitely did not.

From the first time I saw it, Nomad’s Stand for Apple Watch ($60) stood out as particularly compelling. I have a thing for futuristic accessories, though they rarely have the right combination of looks and pricing. Inexpensive ones too often look kitschy or geeky, while nicely designed ones tend to be unaffordable. Nomad has struck just the right balance, coming up with an elegant design at a reasonable price…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Lightning cables and battery packs are often so similar that I rarely have a strong preference for “nicer” alternatives over basic ones. But Nomad has been working to change that by creating practical charging accessories that you’ll actually want to carry around everywhere. Last year, it debuted the NomadKey ($25), which places a Lightning to USB cable on your keychain, as well as NomadPlus ($40), an iPhone battery pack that combines with Apple’s 5W USB Power Adapter to become an 1800mAh “anywhere” recharger.

Now it’s shipping the NomadClip ($40), which combines a super-sturdy carabiner clip with a Lightning cable. I’ll walk you through all three accessories below in this combined review.

Expand
Expanding
Close