This is an open letter to Steve Jobs.

Mr. Jobs,

I am wondering why Apple has yet to produce a power strip for its loyal customer base. I am a recent "switcher" - I now own a MacBook Pro , a Mac Mini x86, an iPod Nano , and an Airport Express. I own so many pieces of Apple Hardware that I do not have enough wall sockets to plug all of the requisite AC adaptors in to. Thus, I am forced to use a cheap, ugly, five-dollar power strip (or an expensive, ugly, hundred-dollar UPS) to power my beautiful, elegant, hardware.

When I bought the products you offer, I knowingly paid a premium for design and elegance. Why can't Jonathan Ive or David Kelley spend a week designing an Apple-branded power strip to make my experience more complete? All it would really take is a nice plastic shell and a glowing light. Sure, you would have to retool a manufacturing line or two in China - but I've heard from people in the know that the raw cost of a power strip is only a few dollars. You could easily sell such a power strip for $20 or more to people buying new, $2,000+ MacBooks. And if you're worried about SKU complications, skip retail and just sell them on the web. If it is not too risque, you could even call it the iStrip.

I am a fan of Apple, but I don't consider myself part of the "Cult of Mac". This is a serious product proposal. If Apple is interested in more than a quick buck (assuming a power strip is economically feasible), add surge protection and cable management. It has been suggested that liability might be an issue, but then that is the case for any electronic product. Belkin is privately held, but they seem to be doing fine selling power strips and iPod cases (among other products).

What do you think?

Thanks very much,

Jacob Scott