Skip to main content

Meet Boogli, a cute phone charger that looks like a monster

Have you ever looked at your phone charger and thought “Surely, there must be more?” The folks at Saforian think so, and they are out to change the way you power up your mobile device. Boogli is a cute little monster that plays the role of charging dock and interactive pal.

Boogli founder Todd Rice has 20 years of experience in the digital space. Along with user interface designer Greg Bosque, he set out to explore the possibilities of melding digital design with hardware products like this one.

Beyond its charging capabilities, Boogli can function as a night light and alarm clock. The accompanying app can also function as a music player. If you dock your phone into the monster’s outstretched arms, its animated mouth will appear on your screen and lip sync along with your music.

“Creating something simple is never easy.  There were so many directions that we could go in (and will), but we had to narrow it down to what this system would really be,” the company wrote on the Boogli homepage.

Bluetooth functionality enables your monster to light up when it senses your phone in its presence, which can be helpful. For example, if you walk into a dark room with your phone in your pocket, it will light up.

Boogli can repeat what you say and react to movement. The alarm clock, sounds, and other functions are customizable.

A variety of monsters will be available, each with its own sounds and personalities. To give the monsters a voice, sound designer Steve Bissinger Googled a list of emotions, then had a vocal actor record them with improvised monster sounds. Different sounds for the alarm, powering up, and powering down were also recorded.

Partnered with a team that includes Frédérick Alves-Cunha, an artist who worked on Despicable Me, Saforian has created a functioning prototype. As preproduction kicks into gear, the company is preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign.

Editors' Recommendations

Albert Khoury
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Al started his career at a downtown Manhattan publisher, and has since worked with digital and print publications. He's…
Lenovo’s cute Smart Clock 2 now comes with a wireless charger for your phone
lenovo smart clock 2 news charging dock

It was very easy to fall for Lenovo’s cute Smart Clock, the small-screen, Google Assistant-powered gadget perfect for the bedside table, and now Lenovo has brought out an updated sequel. It doesn’t just have a new design either, because the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 comes with an added feature: A wireless charging plinth for your phone, boosting its space-saving usefulness.

Previous

Read more
This is what a birthday party on the space station looks like
International Space Station

As if staying on the International Space Station (ISS) isn’t cool enough, some astronauts even get to enjoy their birthday there.

With the ISS constantly rotating its crew over the last 20 years, occasional birthdays aboard the orbiting outpost are inevitable, with the most recent one taking place just a couple of days ago.

Read more
This is what mealtime for 11 astronauts looks like on the space station
ISS

Eleven astronauts from the U.S., Russia, Japan, and France gather for dinner on the International Space Station on Sunday, April 25. NASA

It’s pretty crowded on the International Space Station (ISS) just now, with a total of 11 astronauts currently enjoying the comforts of the orbiting outpost some 250 miles above Earth.

Read more