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Don’t get me wrong – I am a fan of a great many things solar-powered, especially when it comes to being able to power gadgets we use regularly. And frankly, summer time is hitting, so making use of those rays makes sense. But I’m just not sold on the Suntable.
On the surface of things, the Suntable starts off really sharp. Take a small bistro-style table, put a bluetooth speaker into it, put a solar panel for it’s top, and then put in the capability for wired and wireless charging. So far, so good, right? I was on-board with it until I saw it right next to a pool.
You see, that wireless charging shelf? There’s no lip on it, nor is there a mention of any sort of anti-slip surface. AKA, one bump, and your phone goes flying – potentially into the pool. Then, as I started thinking about it more, how do you use a table? By putting stuff on top of it – which inherently blocks the solar panel, cutting the juice being supplied.
Now, I will say, the idea of a shelf under the tabletop to shade the objects that are charging, that is a good idea – keep it out of the direct sunlight while making the device accessible. And styling-wise, it does fit the modern aesthetic, if that’s how your place is done up. You see, this is positioned as an outdoors table (given the solar aspect) but I think this makes actually more sense as an indoors item, provided it can be positioned by a window.
And you know, that may be why the Suntable ultimately doesn’t do it for me – the style is just too plasticly modern. If they had built this into, say, a planked-style wooden table (with the solar panel, of course) then I could see it fitting into an outdoors patio a lot more. Perhaps it’s me who is wrong, though, and not the kids – the Suntable has smashed it’s funding goal. If you disagree with me, there are still earlybird spots left at $349. The campaign wraps up on June 10th, with delivery anticipated for August 2020. campaign page
