I think it's a novel idea. Power adapters are definitely an area that we need improved. A heat-generating (therefore energy-wasting) "power brick" is going to be laughed at in 10 years because we'll have finally figured out a better solution. I think houses should have "smart plugs" that deliver only the amount of juice needed to power the devices plugged in... essentially, an adaptive power brick built into the wall. But that would be expensive until widely available.
I agree about the price... $20 is pure greed. I wish these companies would not try to make a get-rich-quick product. If they priced it for long-term success, they'd avoid the negative "sticker shock" reactions. But who knows... maybe their manufacturer is charging them $10 per unit to make? We don't know the back story.
