Originally Posted by Crevan 
Can anyone tell me if the bulky British plugs are in any way better than the standard European ones?
Yes, they are.
First of they move less in the socket.
Second, as mentioned, they have a fuse.
Third they have an earth pin which is slightly longer than the live and return, this means that the socket has a plastic guard which gets pushed down, revealing the sockets for the live and return. The insulation paint on the plug prevents you from ever been able to brush live as a result.
Not to mention our sockets are switched!
Now, onto this concept, i love the idea of a smaller plug. That is good.
However this one, not so. The slide locking mechanisim wouldn't be very good for high current usage. Also i imagine it to be fidly.
But my main concern is the idea of having the live so close to the earth. There is a reason why all the plugs around the world have a decent sized gap ya know! I can't see someone providing adiquate room for all the metal and plastic in something that slim.
Next you look at the concept charger idea, again, no thought given to how to actually make it work, look at how big the apple usb charger is, look at how big hers is.
All style, not very pratical, absolutely no substane. And thats not just the air.