Third Rail Mobility has made an iPhone case that allows you to not only keep extra power around, but actually swap batteries when and as needed. The ability to change batteries is a feature Apple has never provided for the iPhone but something traditional smartphone users from other platforms have often depended on to have enough power with them on the go. While there are tons of places to recharge now, and a variety of battery cases, dongles and more, if you’re going to be away from power for a long period of time, swappable battery can still be the best solution. Thanks to Third Rail Mobility, it’s available for those who really want it for the iPhone now as well.

Check out the video above, shot live at CES 2012, to see it in action.

We had a chance to take a close look at the Eton Mobius battery case for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S here at CES 2012. This case not only features an 1800 mAh battery backup system but a solar charging panel on the back as well. Set your phone face down to gain a solar charge.

While Mophie and Incipio also make battery backup cases, Eton is unique in how they designed the case. Instead of having to force your phone into a slide case which may cause damage to the dock, the Mobius case slides to allow easy placement. Once your phone is in the case, snap the dock connector in place.

The Eton Mobius is currently available for $80 USD.

Hit-or-miss rumor site Digitimes is reporting that Apple plans on doubling the size of the battery in the the iPad 3, and moreover, that Apple will release it as soon as next month.

The battery capacity for the high-end version of Apple’s new iPad – due to be unveiled in January 2012 – will be increased to 14,000mAH compared to 6,500mAH used currently, according to industry sources.

As always, take these rumors with a Macworld|iWorld expo sized grain of salt. Digitimes‘ “sources” also mentioned that Apple will debut two separate models of the iPad, one for the high-end market and the other filling in the mid-range segment. While 7-inch iPad persist, keeping the iPad 2 around the way the previous year’s iPhone is usually kept around could be another alternative.

As to a January launch, that feels more like a rumor designed to hurt current iPad sales than anything fitting Apple’s previous release patterns. Curious how those keep popping up, isn’t it?

UPDATE: Jim Dalrymple from The Loop, whose sources are excellent, says there’s nothing to see here. No iPad 3 at Macworld or CES, and no Apple Televisions either. [The Loop]

Source: Digitimes

From the Forums is a great way to see what all of the current hot topics are on the TiPb forums. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now!

• Are you an webOS user looking to jump ship for iOS?

• What will the next iPhone be called?

• If you are running an iOS 5 beta, how is your battery life?

• Top 5 anticipated features of the next generation iPad.

See you in the forums!

Ever wanted to know the exact percentage of battery life that your iPhone has remaining, and wondered how to turn that on? Out of the box, the iPhone has a battery meter which is a graphical representation of a battery. As it is very small, it is hard to accurately tell how much battery life you have left. There is a way to make it much clearer, read on and we will show you how.

To turn on the battery percentage reading, follow these simple steps:-

• Click on Settings
• Click on General
• Click on Usage

• Turn on the toggle for Battery Percentage

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Wondering what’s the fastest way to charge iPad 2? Yes, it’s true — not all charging methods were created equal. If you’ve ever wanted to take your iPad out with you and only have a few minutes to spare before you have to leave this tip will help you get the most charge for of your device. Stick with us after the break to find out more!

The iPad 2 uses a lithium-polymer battery, which is also used in the iPhone, the Pod touch, and even Apple’s MacBook line of laptops. In the iPad 2′s case, the 25 watt hour lithium-polymer battery fills up most of the space inside, which is why it can last for 10 hours of surfing, listening to music or watching videos… provided it’s charged. Here’s how to get it that way as fast as possible.

10W USB Power Adapter

Apple includes a 10W USB to AC power adapter right in the iPad 2 box and this is the absolute fastest way to charge your iPad 2. Just plug your 30-pin Dock cable into your iPad, plug the USB connector into the adapter, and plug the adapter into a wall socket. Apple even sells an extended adapter if you need it.

USB Port

Because iPad 2 needs a lot of power, it will only trickle-charge in a standard USB port (i.e. charge very slowly). Sometimes one port might be better than another, for example many laptops have some USB ports that are independently powered and others that share power. Try different ports until you find the one that works best.

Some laptops, like Apple’s MacBook Air which was designed to power an external DVD drive over USB, or the brand new MacBook Pros, have higher power USB ports that could charge faster.If your laptop has a high power USB port, that’s what you’ll want to use.

Car Adapters

If your car has a USB or AC port, follow the directions above and charge away. If you have a standard car port/cigarette lighter port, you’ll need a car adapter. Not all car adapters support iPad so make sure you get one that states it works with iPad 2.

Battery packs

If you’re traveling a lot you might want to invest in a battery charger pack. For iPad 2, these are typically large packs that plug into the 30 pin Dock connector and transfer their charge to the iPad. Depending on the size of the battery pack, and they can offer anywhere from a partial to a full charge.

Check before you go

While iPads have up to a month of standby time that means the battery is still discharging over the course of that month. While no one here at TiPb can imagine going a few hours, much less a day or week without using our iPads, if you haven’t used yours in a while you’re going to want to check it well in advanced of leaving home. If it’s only got a little power left, charge at home with the AC adapter before you go!

Cycle the battery monthly

To give your iPad 2 battery the longest life possible you want to make sure you completely cycle it once a month. That means charging it to 100%, draining it down to 0 (until it automatically shuts off), and then charging it all the way to 100% again.

Hopefully this helps you keep your iPad charged. If you have any other tips on battery charging, let us know!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

So how’s your battery life with iOS 4.3? It never fails but every time Apple releases a new version of iOS for iPhone, iPod touch or iPad we here at TiPb inevitably get bombarded with email saying how it’s destroyed battery life — or made it better than ever. Equal parts really.

So, we want to know! Vote in the poll up top and give us the device and details in the comments below!

(And if you are having problems check out our previous tip on how to trouble shoot iOS battery-life issues.)

The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven’t already, head on over and register now!

• Most of you have your Verizon iPhone 4 in hands right about now so what are your thoughts? Happy? Not happy? Sound off with your very own review here!

• For myself battery life of my iPhone 4 is nothing short of spectacular, how long does your battery last?

• Whether you’ve just purchased a Verizon iPhone 4 or have had your device for a while now, if you are interested in the possibility of jailbreaking your device, this is the forum for you – Jailbreak and Unlock Forum.

• The rumors regarding an iPad 2 and 3 are running rampant as of late, what are you purchasing plans on these devices? Will hold off until the 3rd generation if it does get released as soon as September? Sound off in this thread.

See you in the forums!

The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven’t already, head on over and register now!

• Waiting for your Verizon iPhone 4 to be delivered? Well this is the thread to wait in with countless other Verizon customers!

• Hurry and visit our Verizon iPhone give-away thread for your last chance to win!

• This thread about battery management is a must read for anyone picking up a new iPhone 4, regardless of carrier. It contains some great tips to get the most our of your device.

• Sure iOS 5 is some ways off from being released but it’s never too early to speculate on it’s features and discuss what you want to see added!

See you in the forums!

The mophie juicepak plus for iPhone 4 is serious charging power for serious power users. If you’re on the go, if your iPhone can’t run down, won’t run down — if you need a case that can get you through twice the work and play, then here’s your solution. To see how it held up for me under the rigors of CES 2011, read on for the review after the break!

Trade shows are the ultimate test of any battery for me. I’m on the go for 18 hours a day and my iPhone 4 is my lifeline to the world. It keeps me in contact, it lets me help run TiPb, and on top of all of that it lets me shoot all the show video and photos you see here on the site. It’s bad enough AT&T hits my iPhone 4 battery like a freight train but the constant usage would run any device down. Enter the mophie juicepak plus.

Hardware

The mophie juicepak plus is all black, all soft-touch, and surprisingly solid. Mophie’s done a lot of engineering work to prevent breaks around the cutouts and increase protection and it shows. It is a slider case and there have been some worries about slider cases scratching the glass but I didn’t have any problems. (I also wipe down my iPhone before sliding.) Also, it sometimes takes a few, wiggling tries to get the iPhone dock port lined up and properly seated.

There are cutouts for the 3.5mm headset jack, rear camera and flash, and mute switch and extender buttons for sleep and volume. The cutouts are deep due to the size of the juicepak but didn’t interfere with usage. The button extenders are well built but if they weren’t set just right it would take a few presses to make them work.

The micro-USB charger is at the bottom right. Not using a dock cable to charge means you have to carry a separate micro-USB cable around with you, and doesn’t let you use your existing dock-compatible car or video cables while the mophie is on. Understandable given the size of a 30-pin dock port but still annoying at times.

On the handy side there’s a series of battery level lights so you can always tell how much of a charge your mophie is packing with the touch of a button

Usage

The juicepack plus is the bigger, badder charging solution in mophie’s stable. It weighs more than the juicepak air but it also provides more power. More than double the power. That’s twice the talking, twice the surfing, twice the tweeting, twice the recording, twice the watching, and twice the getting stuff done. Phew!

In my CES tests those results weren’t just marketing. It’s really tough to judge consistently since usage patterns always vary but when I slapped on the juicepak air I could pretty much go as long as I had on the iPhone-only charge. (I carried a juicepak air with me as well — them were long days!)

When you charge the mophie via micro-USB it passes the charge on to the iPhone as well, so at night you can charge them both without having to plug in multiple charges for each one, or get up and switch.

Conclusion

The mophie juicepak plus ads bulk, no doubt about it. It makes your iPhone 4 bigger and heavier but that’s the price of power. And the plus packs a ton of power. If you’re away from a charger for a significant period of time the juicepak makes the difference between getting your work done and carrying around a dead brick for the rest of the day. That’s an easy tradeoff to make.

Get your mophie juicepak plus for iPhone 4 now from the TiPb iPhone 4 Accessory Store…

Pros

• Convenient case form factor
• Complete re-charge for iPhone
• Pass-through recharge for simultaneous charge
• Solid construction

Cons

• Button extenders can be finicky
• Uses Micro-USB so not compatible with dock accessories
• Big charge means big case

TiPb review rating

Photos

The Griffin TuneJuice 2 Back-up Battery for iPhone is a battery charger for iPhone or iPad touch (or traditional iPds) that, instead of being rechargeable, uses AAA batteries. That means to use of the TuneJuice you do not have to constantly find an outlet and make sure you recharge it before your iPhone. You can just throw in fresh batteries and get going. So if you are traveling for a long period of time and worry that you may need to keep a few items charged then this is the charger for you.

To find out more follow us after the break!

The Griffin TuneJuice 2 is made to give you power when you will be without an outlet for a extended period of time. If you are planning a camping trip but still want to have your iPhone working throughout, and don’t mind packing a bunch of AAA batteries, this is perfect.

The main unit slides open to allow you to insert the batteries then you just plug the 30 pin connector to your iPhone or iPod. I do find the 30 pin connector a bit odd. It’s long enough to be in the way but not long enough to be able to keep the TuneJuice in your pocket or purse and use your iPhone while charging. If anyone knows how this short cord is helpful let me know in the comments!

In terms of power the Griffin TuneJuice for your iPhone will give you up to 14 additional hours of audio and up to 2 hours of additional video play. I was hoping that it would give me more power but to get that you need to carry extra batteries with you.

The Griffin TuneJuice 2 Back-up Battery for iPhone is available from the TiPb iPhone accessory store.

Pros

• Use of batteries eliminates the need to charge charger
• Can recharge phone multiple times by adding fresh batteries
• First set of batteries included
• Very inexpensive

Cons

• cumbersome
• 30 pin dock cord of unusual length
• Needs batteries
• Not iPhone 3G compatible

TiPb Rating

The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven’t already head on over and register now!

• How many of you purchased an iPhone only to replace your PC with a shiny new MacBook or iMac? I know I fell into that trap back in 2007…

• If your iPhone is jailbroken and you have the need to customize your SMS tones this is a thread for you: Custom SMS tones for free!

• NAVIGON MyRegion Promo Code Give Away! The title says it all…

• This is a must read: iPhone and iPod touch battery management.

See you in the forums!

iFixit has performed their traditional tear-down of new Apple gear, this time taking the iPad apart piece by gloriously crafted piece, and here’s what they found:

The iPad’s battery has 5.5x the capacity of the battery in the iPhone! The iPad actually has two batteries wired in parallel, for a total of 24.8 Watt-hours. On average, the iPad sips just 2.5 Watts. That’s 1/5 the power of a compact fluorescent bulb!

The rear case is machined from a single billet of aluminum, increasing weight but greatly improving the rigidity of the device.

The empty void in the upper right corner is where the cellular communications board would go in the 3G iPad.

The A4 is a Package-on-Package (PoP), with at least three layers of circuitry layered on top of each other. A4 is packaged just like the iPhone processors, microprocessor in one package and two memory modules in the other package. They’re all sandwiched together in a very nice and thin PoP.

The iPad RAM is INSIDE the A4 processor package. Confirming this took quite a bit of sleuthing: we had to partner with Chipworks to X-ray the processor. The X-ray revealed two layers of RAM. In addition to the ARM processor, the A4 package contains two stacked Samsung dies.

We will be releasing a detailed analysis of the A4 in conjunction with Chipworks in a few days.

The rumored slot for a camera is actually taken up by the ambient light sensor.

The glass panel is quite thick: about 1.18 mm, compared to the iPhone’s 1.02 mm thick glass. This is necessitated by the panel’s large size.

The touch circuit design is more similar to the old 2G and early 3G iPhones than the current 3GS. Chipworks informed us that “there is so much room in the iPad that Apple didn’t need to use small chips, just the right ones and cheap ones.”

Disappointingly, especially for those hoping for iPhone 4.0 multitasking miracles, Furbo.org tests show iPad is using the same 256MB of RAM as the iPhone 3GS. We were hoping for me — as in double. If true, there are other ways to handle the demands of multiple apps, but there’s no such thing as too much RAM when we’re still talking MBs…

Yes, you read the title correctly. According to Apple’s web site, If your iPad battery fails Apple doesn’t want to bother opening the device to replace it — they would rather ship you a completely new (no word on whether it’s a refurb?) iPad to replace the faulty one within a weeks time period. Of course there is a fee involved – $99, plus $6.95 shipping.

If your iPad requires service due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee. Note: Your iPad is not eligible for Battery Replacement Service if the product has been damaged, for example, as result of an accident, liquid contact, disassembly, unauthorized service or unauthorized modifications, or if the product is not operating correctly as a result of a component failure. Please review Apple’s Repair Terms and Conditions for further details.

While we don’t expect there to be major battery issues, some of us just may end up with bum batteries so it’s probably a pretty good idea to get into the habit of backing up your iPad on a consistent basis in case you fall victim. That is if you want to secure all of your data (because if one day the battery dies, kiss your data goodbye).

Until Apple clarifies whether or not they’ll be sending out refurbished iPad’s I’m not so hot on this idea. Perhaps I’m being too picky but I’d rather bring my iPad into the store and have them swap the battery out while I wait and go home with my original device then and there and not have to wait a week for a refurb to be delivered. Also, we’re assuming the $99 doesn’t apply if you’re still within the 1 year warranty to 2 years of AppleCare, but again we’re waiting on confirmation.

Enough about how I feel, what do you think?

[Via Engadget]

The HyperMac Nano by HyperShop is an external battery for iPhone and iPod with a built in charging cable. It’s highly portable, looks and feels great, and is made of 1800mAh lithium ion which provides up 1.5 times full recharge of the iPhone.

To learn more and get details about the give-away, follow us after the break!

The design of the HyperMac Nano is very slick and reminds me a cigarette lighter. With dimensions of only 3.4″ x 1.5″ x 0.55″, the battery will fit easily into your jeans or jacket pocket for easy portability. The rounded edges of the aluminum casing also feels nicely in your hands. The HyperMac comes in 9 stylish colors; yes, the same 9 colors available for the iPod nano.

What makes the HyperMac Nano unique to other external batteries is the built in charging cable. Underneath the cap you will find both male and female 30-pin sockets plugged into each other. The cap also conveniently snaps magnetically to the bottom of the battery so you don’t lose it when the battery is in use.

To charge the HyperMac Nano, just plug your iPhone cable into the female socket; and to charge your iPhone, plug the male socket into your iPhone. When the HyperMac Nano is plugged into a power source, a blue light will indicate that it is charging and a green light will mean the charge is complete.

When on the go, I found the HyperMac Nano more convenient than an extended battery because it did not increase the length of my iPhone. I could easily fit them together in my jacket pocket without fear of them falling out because the short cable is long enough to rest the battery behind my iPhone and so nothing sticks out of my pocket.

In conclusion, I found the HyperMac Nano to be a great and stylish way to give my iPhone some extra juice.

Now for the give-away! Just leave a comment below and let us know why HyperMac Nano will be a great addition to you life. We’ll pick one of you randomly and send you a silver HyperMac Nano. (The exact one you’ll receive is this reviewed unit). You need a valid email address and a US shipping address to enter. The contest starts now and ends Sunday, March 14, 2010.

The Griffin PowerJolt Reserve Backup Battery [$34.95 - TiPb Store Link] is one nifty little iPhone/iPod touch accessory, One of the biggest gripes people have with Apple’s iPhone is the lack of a removable battery. Sure you have some other battery charging options but if you don’t wish to be bothered carrying around cords or bulky cases then the PowerJolt Reserve just may be for you. Get the full rundown after the break!

I’ve been using the Griffin PowerJolt Reserve for iPhone & iPod for a little over a month now and it has turned into one of those things I need to carry around with me whenever I leave the house. You simply plug it into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter or 12 volt power outlet which then allows you to plug in your standard iPhone USB charging cord to charge your device while on the road.

A simple car charger alone would be on the boring side, what makes this accessory so special is that it also happens to have a built in rechargeable battery attached to it which you can carry with you in your pocket for backup power wherever you go. While it takes only a short time to fully charge, the backup battery will provide you with a 50% charge on your device. I was hoping to get a bit more but beggars can’t be choosers and I’ve learned that it’s usually all I need. Some more great features are as follows:

• Charges any iPhone and iPod touch.
• Charge your device the same time you are charging the backup battery.
• The battery connects to the charger magnetically so it is a breeze to attach and detach.

The Griffin PowerJolt Reserve Backup Battery for your iPhone or iPod touch [$34.95 - TiPb Store Link] is a must have accessory for any road warrior who needs that extra juice to make it through the day. With the PowerJolt you will never have to worry about battery life again and even better there will not be any need to carry your charger with you everywhere you go as it provides instant power on demand.

So you say you have some time to kill before the big Apple Keynote today? Why not spend it chatting in our forums! All you need to do is register and you are on your way. Once registered be sure to check out some of the following threads!

• Everyone is expecting iPhone OS 4.0 to be shown off today, feel free to discuss that in this thread right here: Discuss the iPhone OS 4.0 software.
• With the rumors flying regarding the iPhone on Verizon be sure to check out our forum dedicated to carrier talk: iPhone Plans and Carriers.
• Currently on Windows 7 and having difficulties with your iPhone? This is the thread for you: Official Windows 7 iPhone Help.
• Time after time folks complain about their iPhone battery life, check out the following thread to get some tips that just might help your device survive the day: iPhone Battery Tips.

See you on the forums!

Are you looking for some good iPhone conversation? From the Forums is a great way to see what all of the current hot topics are on the TiPb forums. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now.

First topic up for today, App Store Genius and how is it working for you? Rene doesn’t seem to be having the best of luck with his Genius, for me it started out pretty so-so but it seems the more I delete the more accurate it seems to get. Perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me, how is it working for you?

iPhone OS 3.1.2 was released yesterday and we are assuming most of you jumped right in and updated your phones. Cdudek was wondering, how is your battery life on the 3.1.2 software? Anyone notice a significant change for the better or for the worse? Check the thread out to see results from other forum members and while you are there, post your own.

This next thread for today comes to us from naviwilliams and he offers up a question that we hear quite often – do you leave Wi-Fi on or off? It is a fact that using Wi-Fi over 3G will save you a decent amount of battery life so I have a tendency to leave it on since Wi-Fi is available to me at work and at home. How about you?

Last up for today is one of my personal favorite forums to check out – the iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock forum. This is the place to check out if you are interested in jailbreaking or unlocking your device. Most of the time you can find the answers to your questions within minutes.

See you on the forums!

The weekend is finally here, so you might as well spend some time relaxing in TiPb forums. In order to reply to any of the following threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you haven’t already, head on over and register now.

So you say you are currently running the iPhone 3.0 software and you decided to jailbreak. Well TiPb needs your help on this one, we need to know what you’re current favorite iPhone 3.0 compatible jailbreak applications are. Thanks for the help in advance!

This thread was started by Jason McConnell, and Jason wants to know how just how warm does your iPhone get? Seems as if his is getting so hot that he can not even hold the phone up to his ear to make a call. Our advice to anyone who has had this issue, perform a restore and if the problem persists make an appointment at your local Apple store to get your phone exchanged for a new one. Anyone else having overheating issues?

It’s no secret that most of you visiting TiPb have purchased Apple’s latest and greatest, iPhone 3GS. Well one of the nicest updates to the iPhone is the update to the camera. Stop by the thread, iPhone 3GS Photos, and you guessed it – post some of your best photos you’ve taken!

Last up for today we have a great battery tips thread. So many people out there have questions regarding battery life, charging, care, etc… the list goes on. This is your one stop thread to get all the information you possibly can regarding your iPhones battery.

See you on the forums!

Back when Apple re-introduced Push Notification at the iPhone 3.0 Sneak Preview Event, Scott Forstall claimed that, unlike background multitasking that could cause an 80% drop in battery life, Push Notification would only cause a 20% drop. While some debated the truth (or truthiness) of his claims, it did set the expectation that users running Push Notification-enabled apps would see lower battery life, and gave an indicator of just how much less.

So, while it too a while, now that we finally have Push Notification, and some of the more popular messengers and games are implemented it, how’s your battery life doing?

Are you seeing a hit compared to your pre-Push Notification days, and if so, is it in the 20% range? Let us know which iPhone you have, how often you’re getting Push Notifications, and how your battery is holding up!

It’s that time again — time for us to pick out some of the hot topics on TiPb’s forums. In order for you to reply to any of the following threads please be sure to register. It’s a painless process that will only take a moment of your time.

Todays first thread in the spotlight was started by Ivoryplum, what would you like to see in the iPhone 3.1 software? We already got word two days ago that the 3.1 beta has been made available to developers and along with some of the new features that are included in the release. What else would you like to see added and/or corrected in the 3.1 software?

By now, chances are you already own a iPhone 3GS – how is it holding up? Do you have any hardware related issues similar to those good folks over at PreCentral.net? If so, stop by the following thread and share your troubles with us: iPhone 3GS Bugs/Issues. Luckily for all of us here at TiPb, we have zero issues.

This next thread was started by rrrl17, while a new iPhone has just been released it’s never too early to start discussing the next generation! What do you expect from the next generation of iPhone? Will Rene’s dream of an iPhone HD finally come true?!

Our last thread of the day comes to us from Joey Neat and he wants to know about battery life on the iPhone 3GS? So far TiPb can’t complain too much, it pretty much appears to be what we expected. And for those of you really think it is lacking in battery power, hopefully the 3.1 software will give you a little bit of a boost.

See you on the forums!

Entering this contest counts as an entry in TiPb’s Birthday Bash grand-prize draw for an Unlocked ColorWare iPhone 3G!

Courtesy of TiPb’s iPhone Store, our first accessory give-away is the mophie Juice Pack 3G! Designed to more than double the time you can Rock, Talk, Surf and Send with your iPhone 3G. The Juice Pack is a rechargeable lithium polymer battery in the form of a non-slip, soft grip case. It extends the time that you can use your iPhone 3G in these ways (additional hours):

• Standby Time – Up to 350 hours
• Talk Time – Up to 6 hours on 3G | Up to 12 hours on 2G
• Internet Use – Up to 6 hours on 3G | Up to 7 hours on Wi-Fi
• Audio Playback – Up to 28 hours
• Video Playback – Up to 8 hours

What do you have to do to win one? Simple: tell us why you need one. Get on over to the forums, in the Win a mophie Juice Pack Battery Pack/Case for iPhone 3G thread and tell us what makes your day so long, so intense, so iPhone battery-draining that you need a mophie Juice Pack 3G to help get you through it? Give us your best iPhone Road Warrior story!

• One entry per person
• Contest ends tomorrow, Friday May 8, and 12pm EDT
• Need a real US shipping address to win (no international shipping, sorry!)

There were complaints about battery life with iPhone OS 2.1, but many on the various internet channels seemed to think OS 2.2 fixed that up rather nicely. Reports since iPhone OS 2.2.1 have varied more widely. Some seem to think it’s fine while others, including well know tech pundit Leo Laporte, keep saying they’re getting worse battery life since the last update.

What’s happening with your iPhone? The same? Better? Worse? Can you make it through a day? And what’s with the up and down between firmware? Is Apple playing some high-stakes balancing game between battery life and signal reception?

The Seidio Innocell External Battery Pack for iPhone 3G is the latest accessory to try an mitigate the lack of a user-changeable battery. Unlike cases that strap on to your iPhone, or dongles that plug in to the bottom, the Seidio Innocell, available for $39.95 from the TiPb Store, tries to find a compromise between the capacity and convenience: a good bit of power in a form factor that’s fairly small and unobtrusive.

How does it do? Find out after the break!

What’s in the Box

The Seidio Innocell External Battery Pack for iPhone 3G is no frills in terms of both price and accoutrements. What you get is a small, light bit of plastic with a dock plug that looks pretty much like the bottom third of the iPhone. It would be nice if it included a USB or AC adapter plug. However, since unlike some other solutions, the Seidio Innocell actually contains a dock input of its own, allowing for seamless charging with existing iPhone cables, it’s an understandable cost saving message.

Even the device itself is bare-bones: it’s got a light to show when it’s charging (red), when it’s charged (green), and when it’s giving over that charge to your iPhone (blue). In a bonus bit of design good-thinking, the Seidio Innocell includes a built-in speaker channel to make sure sound isn’t distorted if you want to use your iPhone while you’re recharging it.

How it Works

Simplicity, thy name is Seidio Innocell. Just plug the unit into the bottom of your iPhone and it begins to charge. That’s it.

Because Seidio took pains to make the Innocell look cosmetically like the iPhone — it’s literally made like an extension of the device itself, faux chrome-trim included — it’s easier to use it with your iPhone on-the-go than something like the RichardSolo. The trade-off is lower capacity, of course, with the small, inexpensive Seidio Innocell providing just enough juice to recharge your iPhone 50%.

In my tests, however, the Seidio slightly over-performed. From less than a quarter left, the Seidio re-charged my iPhone to just below full. Since it’s my understanding that the final 15% is the most charge-intensive, the performance was impressive.

Final Thoughts

It’s light to the point of feeling a un-real (what you want in a carry-around), re-charges your iPhone 50% plus (what might not be enough for hard-core conference/event goers), and does a pretty good job of walking the middle ground between case and dongle.

The one complaint I have is the lack of a dock-lock. While the design and fit is excellent, if I have to use it on-the-go, I want the security of knowing it’s not detaching unless I detach it.

Pros

• Simple and easy to use
• Over-performed in my tests
• Uses standard dock port to charge
• Low price-point

Cons

• May not provide enough charge for super-users
• Should lock to dock connector

TiPb Rating

Apple patents are strange and mysterious things. Like sums over futures, they give us a peek at thousands of strands of potentiality, but no clue about eventuality. In other words, Apple patents tons of stuff, most of which we never see in actual consumer products. Some of these, however, are pretty interesting looking. The Register says:

One of the applications describes a “host machine” – looking much like an iMac in the accompanying drawings – that has battery-charging slots built into its body.

A second describes how the host machine could communicate wirelessly with mobile devices to monitor their battery power, notify users when it was time for a charge, and talk with other host machines about the state of the batteries it’s servicing.

A third describes a “intelligent universal rechargeable batteries” with pop-off end-caps that allow “battery chemicals” to be swapped out when they’ve reached the end of their productive lives.

The Black&Decker approach of one-battery-to-charge-them-all seems so un-Apple, but it would be convenient to a large segment of handy consumers. TiPb also recalls a previous patent that showed a MacBook docking into an iMac, so why not go from broke, Apple, and give us the iPhone to MacBook to iMac “Russian Doll” gadget? Check out the full article, linked above, for all the details, and let us know which, if any, tempt you.

(Thanks to Phil, news editor over at sibling site WMExperts for the tip!)

The iPhone doesn’t have a user-changeable battery. To some that was a non-starter. To others, that was a call to action. Enter the iPhone external battery charger. We’ve seen them in several forms now, from built-in cases like the Mophie Juice Pack to plug-in units like the RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone.

TiPb had a chance to meet with the very gracious Richard Thalheimer at Macworld, who shared his enthusiasm for the RichardSolo 1800 and asked us to give it a try. Seeing as how, between email, twitter, blogging, texting, and calling, I was draining our iPhones near dry, I was more than happy to.

So how did it do? Read on after the break!

What’s in the Box

The RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone comes with the battery charger itself, which is shaped roughly like smaller, thinner version of the iPhone, and includes a locking dock connecter (yes!), charging light, and two buttons which activate the laser pointer and the LED flashlight.

Yep, it’s a multi-tasker, and while I haven’t yet found a use for the extra features, it is kind of reassuring to know they exist in case I ever need to find my keys in a dark room, or simply annoy a friend.

Also included is a retractable mini-USB to USB cable for charging with adapters for both an AC outlet and a car charger. Since the purpose of RichardSolo 1800 is to keep you juiced up on the go, it’s nice to have multiple options for charging the 1800 itself. However, while USB is a standard, I can’t help but think if the RichardSolo 1800 itself used a dock connector for charging, just like the iPhone, that AC adapter and car charger could do double duty charging the iPhone as well. (Note: you can work around this by plugging the iPhone into the RichardSolo, and the RichardSolo into the USB cable, so it’s a small niggle).

Lastly, the box includes braces for both the iPhone 3G and the original iPhone 2G. If you’re ever in a pinch and need to use your iPhone while charging it with the RichardSolo 1800, the brace will help keep everything more stable. It’s not as solid as a case-form external battery charger, of course, but if you’re careful, it’s usable enough.

How it Works

To charge the RichardSolo, you plug it into the retractable USB cable, and plug that into a handy USB socket — or into either of the adapters mentioned above. RichardSolo recommends you charge the 1800 for a minimum of 5 hours, twice, to get maximum initial capacity. That’s probably a fair indication of ongoing best practices as well.

Once the RichardSolo 1800 is charged, you plug it into the iPhone and move that charge on over! Thankfully, the 1800 will “lock” onto the iPhone dock, and requires you to pinch two buttons on the side to release it — a nice feature to prevent unintentional disconnection. Since the 1800 charges through a dock connector, you could theoretically use it to charge the iPod touch — or any other iPod — as well, though I personally haven’t tried that out yet.

From nearly dead to fully charged, it took somewhere between 1:30 and 1:45 to completely recharge my iPhone, and the 1800 still had power left to spare.

Final Thoughts

Is it unwieldily? Sure, hanging even a slim battery sized object off the bottom of your iPhone can be annoying, but what’s more annoying is running out of power halfway through a conference, nary a port or outlet in sight. So it comes down to a choice, something less obtrusive like the aforementioned Mophie Juice Pack, which only works on the iPhone 3G, or the RichardSolo 1800, which isn’t as elegant but can be used on all iPhones and iPods alike?

Pros

• Can charge any iPhone or iPod
• Slim profile makes it highly portable
• Includes USB, AC, and car charging options
• Built in flash and flippin’ laser beam!

Cons

• Dongle-like solution less ideal for using-while-charging

TiPb Rating

How is your battery life doing after upgrading to firmware 2.1? Hopefully better than mine!

I thought everything was going great after I updated Friday morning. Well I had a full charge late in the afternoon and left for work. A half hour later I noticed my iPhone was a bit warm without even using it. I Looked at my battery life and I was at 50% or so! Safe to say the phone was dead not long after.

So after a full night on the charger last night I thought everything should be good today. Well I was wrong. 2 hours of standby and a 5 minute phone call later, and my iPhone looked like the above picture. Actually that is exactly how it looked! What has really got me stumped is that I checked the usage meter and it said I used 1 hour and 56 minutes! A 5 minute phone call turned into that somehow? The time since last full charge was at 2 hours, which was correct.

I did a full restore without using a back up file after this, charged my phone and while the battery did seem to last longer, the battery meter is way off still. The “force quit” did not work, nor did any soft resets.

There is a thread over at Macrumors and Apple Discussions showing others are having this exact same issue, so that leads me to believe that my iPhone is not the issue but rather a issue with the 2.1 firmware in combination with something else? MobileMe possibly?

Turning off Push… my usage meter goes back to normal. Now I’m turning push on for mail only. We’ll see if it messes it up again.

If anyone has had issues like this please chime in.

UPDATE: I am happy to report that ever since I shut off push for contacts and calendars my iPhone is now working like it should. Just woke up and checked the phone, I almost have a full charge and it says I have used 1 hour and 16 minutes and time since last full charge is 10 hours. Which is correct. So it is a issue with mobileme push for sure. Whether it is getting stuck or whatever, if you are having battery issues and use mobileme or exchange try turning off push completely. Then, if it is the issue, slowly turn back on the email push feature and test it out. Then contacts and calendars…

“Inside Steve’s Brain” author Leander Kahney of Wired magazine is reporting a programmer source inside a major software house has revealed that the next generation iPhone 3G will thinner — we’re talking Paris Hilton thinner — by a whopping 22%.

Not only that, it will sport better battery life than the already impressive 8 hours talk time of the first gen model, and twice the NAND flash capacity, topping out at 32GB. (Paving the way for 64GB iPod Touch’s?)

Still not enough, echoing Kevin Rose (historically not the most reliable of iPhone prognosticators), Kahney thinks the phone may be heavily carrier subsidized — down to the $200 level in some cases — in an effort to put the hurt on Blackberry.

Okay, fess up, who left the rumor mill jacked up to max?!

Read

Steve Jobs was asked at “Mum is no longer the word” press event why there was no 3G on the iPhone. His response was telling; it’s important enough that I transcribed the money quote of his response:

“We’ve got to see the battery life for 3G get back up into the five-plus hour range, before it’s really suitable for [the iPhone]. I think we’ll see that hopefully late next year. But right now, you make a really big tradeoff to go to 3G, and that’s really bad battery life.”

I think it’s safe to say that by “late next year,” he doesn’t mean January or something. Some analysts were predicting a 3G iPhone would be announced at today’s UK media event. I bet those same analysts are thinking “Perhaps he’ll announce some new hardware at Apple Expo Paris next week….”

Upsides:

• Safari: The web browser is great. I haven’t missed flash yet, and the fact that YouTube is built-in more or less means that I’m not too broken-hearted about Flash. Maybe we’ll see it in an update, maybe we won’t. If we don’t, I hope they give me the ability to turn it off.

Downsides

• Web Applications and built-in apps in general: Most applications that Apple has included are great: Text, Calendar (mostly, see below), Photos, Camera, YouTube, Maps, Weather, Clock. I found Notes and Stocks to be underwhelming (and as of this writing, undeserving of the front screen), plus there’s an entire empty row sitting there waiting eagerly to have application buttons stuffed in. You can’t replace this kind of immediacy with web services — I don’t want to open Safari, create a new window, or find it with a bunch of button presses in my bookmarks. I want it there, on the main screen.
• To Do: Implement To Do: The sync doesn’t bring over to-dos from iCal, which is going to be a big hullaballoo. On the flip side of events, it doesn’t sync notes from the notes app back to the computer, so there’s no way to back them up either. I’m guessing something will happen here once Leopard comes out, or that we’ll see some updates here, but this aspect is very disappointing; the omission of this is actually downright weird. Any fans of GTD will have to use a web app for To-Dos as of this writing.
• Activation: When I first installed the iPhone to my computer, it took a while to activate. The system failed on me. I was nervous of a double-billing situation, but I resubmitted my information anyway. The activation system found my info and to my relief I had already been accepted. Other folks in our organization were not so lucky; Chris Kingree at our warehouse had to wait 60 hours (!) for his activation to go through.
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR: So what? there are *no* supported profiles for interfacing with a computer. None! That includes DUN, AVRCP, OBEX, the whole shebang. This means you can’t use the unlimited internet on your computer; nor can you sync your iPhone via Bluetooth. A2DP seems to be unimplemented as well. This one is downright weird to me; if I was assigning a score to this review, they’d lose some serious points here.
• Preferences: They don’t allow you to set too many preferences. Granted, this keeps things simple to support and you’re never in a situation where you’re not sure where the preferences are (they’re right there in the Settings app). But if you don’t like the default SMS message alert, tough! You can’t change it. You can disable it, but not change it.
• Ringtones: Apple has included ringtones on the iPhone, and some of them are pretty good. Thank you for the effort, Apple, but I would prefer to be able to use my own. I’d love to be able to blare video game sounds from Galaga or the theremin-like intro from Dr. Who whenever someone calls me, but that functionality is not with us. I’m guessing they just haven’t finished it yet, or don’t have legal agreements with labels yet in place.
• AT&T / EDGE: If you’re a technophile, you expected this here, and I am not willing to disappoint. EDGE brings me back to dialup days. AT&T’s coverage in my area is adequate, but it’s nothing to praise. I dropped two calls on the first day of use. AT&T’s commercials about dropped calls are like salt to my wounds now.
• Filesystem and Mass Storage: The iPhone doesn’t show up as a mass storage device when you plug it in to a computer, nor is its filesystem browseable. I can’t peer around on the inside, much with things, see how it works, and the like. It’s essentially a black box, which is annoying. This doesn’t bother me too much, but nor does it make a lot of sense. I didn’t think I’d still have a use for memory cards once the iPhone came out. This one doesn’t bother me too much.

All in all, what Apple has completed is mighty. That’s not to say that there aren’t missing pieces; there are serious missing pieces from the iPhone. Still, for an entry to the smartphone market, or mobile phone market in general, it’s a very impressive device. I’m glad I bought it; I’d recommend it to anyone while making note of the above caveats, it’s the most fun I’ve had with a phone in a long time, and I haven’t even installed any games on it yet. Oh wait, that’s still a sore spot.

• talk time: 8 hours (+3)
• standby: 250 hours (not disclosed)
• internet use: 6 hours (+1)
• video playback: 7 hrs (+2
• audio playback: 24 hrs (+8)

Apple has also replaced the plastic screen cover with a higher quality glass cover, which should mightily improve scratch resistance of the screen. [via]