Hands-on: Trident Valet Apple Watch dock is perfect for business travelers
While the Apple Watch has excellent battery life that will get you through more than a full day, when you travel you still need to charge it up every evening. Trident released a new accessory that is perfect for the road warrior, while also serving as a convenient platform to charge both your Apple Watch and iPhone by your bedside.
The Trident Valet luxury charging pedestal is available now for $69.99. It's available with a black, white, or cognac leather base. I was sent a black one to test out.
The Trident Valet is a multi-purpose device that is primarily designed for those who are on the go. It serves as a dock for your Apple Watch, a dock for your iPhone, and with its 2,600 mAh battery it also serves as a portable charger when you don't have an available power source.
Walk around the Valet
The Valet looks like a display watch case you might find in your local department store. There is a clear plastic top that flips up and back 180 degrees to lie flat on the table behind the base. A long hinge with metal pin is found at the back of the base to facilitate this movement.
A white plastic arm is angled back against a black felt surface above the base. The arm rotates forward so that you can position your Apple Watch properly. The black felt piece lifts out of the base to reveal a cable storage compartment above the integrated 2,600 mAh battery.
On the front of the pedestal you will find a power button with the Trident logo on it. Press this in and the Trident lights up along with the five LED indicator lights below it. These indicator lights show you the remaining charge on the battery.
There are full size USB and microUSB ports on the left side of the pedestal. The microUSB port is used with the included cable to charge up the 2,600 mAh battery and charge up the connected devices directly when connected. The full size USB port is available so you can attach your iPhone USB Lightning cable and charge up your iPhone at the same time as the Apple Watch.
The bottom is covered with foam so that the Valet stays in place on a table. The Valet is 4.05 x 3.1 x 4.04 inches and weighs in at 9.3 ounces.
Setting up the Valet
There is no included Apple Watch charging dock with the Trident Valet and no Lightning cable for your iPhone. You will need to buy another Apple Watch charging cable or use the one that came with your iPhone. I would love to have seen a short Lightning cable, about six inches, to make for a cleaner looking setup when charging the iPhone.
The first thing you need to do is to properly route your Apple Watch USB charging cable. I had to pull my cable out through the various openings a couple of times to get it right. Start with the black rubber insert found in the circular opening on the Apple Watch charging arm and then run the USB plug through this black rubber piece, the white circular ring, then the black felt base, and then wrap the cable around the frame piece under the black felt mount. You then plug this cable into the USB port found underneath the black felt mount piece.
Trident Valet Apple Watch charging pedestal image gallery
Usage experiences
If you have an Apple Watch Sport band, or other band that fully opens flat, you will have to close it so that the Apple Watch is formed as a circle. You can then place your Apple Watch over the white pedestal arm so that it charges. Your Apple Watch charging dock provides a magnetic connection to help you properly position your Apple Watch.
The Trident Valet clear plastic cover is designed with notches so that your iPhone sits perfectly at a secure angle for charging. Connect a USB Lightning cable and then charge up your iPhone while also charging up your Apple Watch. This is a great solution for mounting your Apple gear next your bed in a hotel.
You can also remove the clear top and use it as a separate iPhone stand. However, given the optimized design for the road warrior I kept the clear cover in place.
The Trident Valet is well designed and serves as a perfect accessory for the business traveler. It weighs in at just over half a pound and will be packed in my suitcase for future business trips.