wireless charging
Spoot: Spotted Early keeps wireless charging in one place: 2 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Peak Design's new chargers want you to stop settling for cheap plastic” and “The last-gen Kindle Paperwhite is still the smart buy at 30 percent off”. Peak Design finally got tired of the cheap plastic brick in your bag. Calling something "last-gen" usually means it's the awkward cousin at the family reunion. Spoot: Spotted Early New things, caught while they're still new and a little weird. Spoot finds fresh gadgets, clever inventions, crowdfunding campaigns,… The list below is every wireless charging story on Spoot: Spotted Early, newest first.
Peak Design's new chargers want you to stop settling for cheap plastic
Peak Design finally got tired of the cheap plastic brick in your bag. The same company that made you rethink how a backpack buckle should feel is now coming for your charger. Its new Wireless Kickstand Travel Battery costs $99.95 and wants to prove that even the stuff you plug in deserves better materials and smarter design. CEO Peter Dering says we accepted that everyday electronics should be disposable and just good enough, and he's clearly done accepting that. The battery includes a built-in kickstand, which is the kind of detail that makes you wonder why nobody thought of it sooner. Peak Design isn't the first to make a premium charger, but it might be the one that makes cheap plastic feel embarrassing.
The last-gen Kindle Paperwhite is still the smart buy at 30 percent off
Calling something "last-gen" usually means it's the awkward cousin at the family reunion. But the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite? It's the one you actually want to sit next to. The newer model opens books 30 percent faster and shaves off a millimeter, sure, but it also costs $50 more. Meanwhile, this one keeps the same glorious 300ppi screen, the auto-adjusting front light, and that IPX8 waterproofing that lets you read in the bath without fear. The Signature Edition, down to $169.99 from $249.99, adds wireless charging, 32GB of storage, and no lockscreen ads. The standard Paperwhite at $149.99 cuts too much. If you want the real deal without the premium tax, this is it. (And if you like smart buys that bite back, check out our piece on Gerber's dual-force pocket tool.)