If you’re still throwing your keys and wallet on a countertop when you get home, you’re going to appreciate the Pitaka MagHive. Not only is it an attractive central location for you to keep the things you can’t leave home without, it’s an intelligent hub the whole family can use.
The MagHive is a smart setup that can do everything from showing you the weather before you leave the house to giving you reminders as you come in or out the door; it gives you a way to track who is home or when they’ve left, and it wirelessly charges your Qi-enabled phone. All this is done with beautiful wooden hexagons that magnetically snap together, each having its own special purpose.
I received an early production three-piece MagHive kit; it is a current campaign on Kickstarter. Inside were the Display module, the Magnetic NFC module, the Magnetic Qi module, a USB charging cable, a USB wall charger, a magnetic MagTag keyring, a steel MagTag for wallet slab, and five strips of 3M double-sided tape.
Each wooden module measures about 5.75″ by 6.5″, and they are about 1/2″ thick. Available in walnut, beech, or the light maple I was sent, the MagHive has an aesthetically pleasing and organic look that belies its high-tech purpose.
Magnets hold the modules together, and magnetic pins connect the power from one module edge to the next.
Let’s start with the Display module. Embedded in its center is a 5″ high-resolution screen. This is where all of your programmed reminders — including voice and text messages — will pop up as you leave the house, as well as anything you’ve added to your to-do list.
Above the screen, there are three touch-sensitive buttons — Home, Power, and Back. Pressing them will activate the proper responses on the display. Under the display, there are three LEDs, two orange, and one green (green will glow when the MagHive is connected to power). Underneath, there are 10 circular cutouts over the speaker.
The other two modules are the Magnetic NFC module, which allows you to magnetically attach things like your wallet or keys (with their readable NFC tags), and Magnetic Qi charger. If you are using the Pitaka MagCase on your phone, then it will attach perfectly to the module and charge your Qi-enabled phone just by magnetically attaching it to the module.
