X

This tiny keychain square could be your smartphone's BFF

The K'isauve, now raising funds on Indiegogo, is like a portable annex and power plant for your phone, and it measures less than 2 inches square.

Michael Franco
Freelancer Michael Franco writes about the serious and silly sides of science and technology for CNET and other pixel and paper pubs. He's kept his fingers on the keyboard while owning a B&B in Amish country, managing an eco-resort in the Caribbean, sweating in Singapore, and rehydrating (with beer, of course) in Prague. E-mail Michael.
Michael Franco
2 min read

kisauve.jpg
The K'isauve is part battery, part USB drive and part sync cable. PKparis

K'isauve might have a cumbersome name (it means "which saves" in French), but the device is anything but. Measuring just 1.7 inches square and a half-inch thick, or 43x43x11mm, the little gizmo is small enough to put on a keychain, yet it packs Swiss Army Knife-like tricks into its small body.

On the underside of the square, two cables tuck neatly into grooves. Pop them out and one side goes into your mobile device (the K'isauve comes in a Lightning model for iOS and a Micro-USB model for Android devices) and the other plugs into a USB port. This lets you easily connect your phone to your computer to sync files or to a wall outlet to charge.

That, in and of itself, isn't very revolutionary. But the gizmo has more tricks up its square sleeves (which are made from high-impact plastic with a rubberized feel, according to the manufacturers).

For starters, it can act as a USB drive that both your phone and computer can access via an app as long as it's plugged in. (It's mysteriously called the PK Air App, which doesn't make sense, because the device needs to be synced via a cable.) So you can drop your movie or photo files onto the K'isauve and free up your phone's storage capacity, yet still watch them on the phone. The K'isauve is available for Android or iOS in 16GB, 32GB and 128GB capacities.

The K'isauve also can act as an emergency battery for your phone. All you need to do is make sure it's charged up (that takes 8 minutes) and then if your phone runs out of juice, the K'isauve will give it another 30 minutes of use.

There's a switch at the top that lets you choose between modes -- USB drive, link cable or battery pack -- and it has suction cups that attach to the back of your phone to keep everything nice and neat.

kisauve-cable.jpg
The K'isauve packs a lot into a small square device that can fit on your keychain. PKparis

The Indiegogo campaign to fund the K'isauve has just kicked off, which means you can still grab a 16GB Android version for the early-bird price of $39 (about £25, AU$50) or an iOS version with the same memory for $49 (about £30 or AU$65). From there, the prices go up for more memory. Shipping is an additional $10 outside the EU. The Paris-based inventors are seeking to raise $30,000 and expect to ship devices in August of this year.