Copernicus was kind enough to send me a Tech Tub to evaluate. I have liked the idea of the Tech Tub from the moment I first saw it. It is a basically an improved version of what some teachers have already done to manage small sets of devices. I have seen milk crates and dish drainers used in various combinations, and I'm sure there have been more unusual solutions too.
The Tech Tub keeps the spirit of these implementations, but improves on them in a few ways.
The Tech Tub is very light and easy to carry. I was actually a little surprised at how light it was when I first unpacked it and picked it up. Despite its light weight, it still feels durable. Obviously any tub or carrier is going to be heavier once loaded with devices, so there are cart options for the Tech Tub. The Tub has a lid that can be locked closed with a padlock, but it is well ventilated for devices that might get a little warm when charging. There is even a lockable metal bar that slides through the bottom of the tub. This is used either to secure the Tub to an optional cart, or to secure it to brackets on a table to prevent theft or accidents.
Overall, the Tech Tub is well designed, but I think there's still room for improvement.
I tested out the Tub with a set of iPads. There is plenty of room for the iPads, but it is almost too much room. They would "flop around" a little inside the Tub. Obviously the benefit to all that space is that the Tub is suitable for devices larger than iPads (such as Chromebooks). Not all sides that the devices come in contact with are padded, so there is a concern about impact damage if the Tub is dropped or roughly transported.
The Premium version of the tub comes with a power bar, but if you want to sync multiple devices via USB, you have to unplug them from the adapters and plug them into a USB hub (not included).
There are carts designed for 1, 2, or 4 Tubs. The Tubs open from the top, so the carts for multiple Tubs are all "double-wide". It is unfortunate that there isn't a single-wide, double-tall cart because storage space is often limited in schools with respect to square footage. I do understand the challenge in design here. The Tub opens from the top so you wouldn't be able to open the bottom Tub if stacked.
When it comes to price, I believe the Tech Tub is a pretty good deal for classrooms with 10 or fewer devices. When looking at the size and price of the 4 Tub cart ($1600), I think there are better options if all the devices are regularly used together as a class set. If sharing 20 devices among multiple classrooms, having four Tech Tubs on a cart is a good solution. The only downside is the inconvenience mentioned earlier about having to unplug the devices from power and into a USB hub to sync.
