Bluelounge Sanctuary ends cable clutter -- hands-on review

Every gadget lover inevitably faces the same problem: Your desk looks like a telco switching station because of all the cables you have to use to charge up your gear. For the neatness-obsessed, Bluelounge's Sanctuary is an awesome cable management system, easily the best charging solution I've ever tried.

Unlike most multi-product charging solutions (like the Chargepod), the Sanctuary hides  its cables completely out of sight. The only exposed cable is a single A/C cable and its power adapter plus the tiny tips of your device-specific connectors. All the rest is managed inside an attractive bin with a raised edge and a padded surface to cushion your precious gizmos. If you don't look closely you may not realize it's powered at all.

You needn't buy any extra tips or adapters to get going with the Sanctuary. Just pop the padded base off and you'll see a small transformer with 11 adapter cables running out from it. The 11 cables run the gamut of adapter standards for cell phones and other common gadgets, including connectors for mini/micro USB, Palm, RIM, LG, and the Apple iPod/iPhone. Two versions for Nokia and Samsung phones are included. There's even a (somewhat rare) connector for Sony Ericsson phones; you don't often see that right out of the box. Finally, there's a standard USB port so if you need to charge a device that isn't supported (like a PSP or Nintendo DS), you can always add your own USB cable to the mix, or buy one from Bluelounge ($6 each).

Ultimately, you just pull out the leads for the devices you own and replace the base, running the cables through the small gaps in said base. Put away all your other old power bricks and it's mission accomplished.

The Sanctuary looks good and works exactly as promised, and anyone can be up and running in a matter of minutes (the hardest part is actually getting the tape and plastic off the connector ends). My complaints are really minor: The cables are just a little too short, making it difficult to position two larger gadgets in the Sanctuary without a lot of tinkering, and the overall size of the Sanctuary is a little small for me: It's supposed to hold all your gear (even the non-powered stuff), but my headphone case and business cards just don't fit alongside two phones, keys, wallet, and a headset. I would love to see a somewhat larger unit available, even if it's just an option for those of us with bigger pockets.

Two colors are available (again, more would be great): White ($130) and dark wood ($150). I'm using the white, which doesn't really fit in with my office decor, but it would look swell in the kitchen. Definitely recommended.