Great new gadget here from San Francisco startup* Nomad (www.hellonomad.com) – it’s a portable USB cable for charging or syncing a smartphone/tablet that takes the form of either a credit card (the ChargeCard) or a key-fob (the ChargeKey). Both are flexible, lightweight and rubbery and can take power from any USB socket. And that’s it. There is a Lightning version for iOS devices (iPhone 5 onwards + iPad Air & Mini) and a Micro USB for Android devices, Blackberrys, Windows Phone, most smartphones and Kindle etc. Pricing is £20 in the UK and $29 in the US and it is available on Amazon, eBay and the company website.
* Nomad is the classic West Coast startup. Founder Noah Dentzel began work on the concept in the basement of his grandma’s house in 2012. By July of that year he was able to raise $161k in funding on Kickstarter (over 3x the goal of $50k). 2013 saw the company begin volume production, launch the Nomad brand and ChargeKey at TechCrunch Disrupt SF, raise another $170k in funding on Indiegogo and in February the company moved into new offics in San Francisco.
