- September 7, 2010 3:13 pm
iPhone 4 power users have probably discovered by now that carrying around a power cord is a good idea if they want to make it past the afternoon with a usable phone. As great as the iPhone’s battery is and as optimized as iOS is regarding conserving battery life, it’s still not that great. And, without a user replaceable battery, quick battery swaps with a backup are a no go.
But thanks to the folks at Mophie, iPhone users can once again carry on into the latter half of the day with the new iPhone 4 compatible Mophie Juice Pack Air.
Packed inside the thin case is a 1500mAh battery giving iPhone 4 users several more hours of legitimate, usable runtime — not just standby time. If I had an iPhone 4, I’d have a Juice Pack Air. The only thing that may cause apprehension for some is the $80 price tag. Yeah, it’s a lot for a relatively tiny external battery. But you have to look at the other side of the coin — the case is small and looks great on the phone. Such goals aren’t the easiest of things when it comes to external batteries.
What do the iPhone 4 readers out there think? Check out the Juice Pack Air on Mophie’s site.
In a move that shouldn’t surprise many, it has come to light that Apple is finally unleashing the legal hounds on several iPhone/iPod/iPad accessory manufacturers for producing “sub-par” quality accessories. One example given by the lawsuit cites a case where an iPod user bought a third party battery charger from one of the defendants only to have the charger worsen his battery life. So far, there are over 20 different defendants named in the lawsuit.
As many of us have experienced over the years, getting that extra $5-$10 of an accessory doesn’t always lead to “value”. You know how it is — you get what you pay for. In Apple’s case, their accessories tend to be higher priced. But part of that is because Apple requires a 20-25% royalty on any products that are “officially licensed” with Apple’s seal of approval. Naturally, that cost gets passed along to consumers.
Regardless of how many companies are found guilty in this initial lawsuit, Apple’s gadgets are a hot ticket item world wide, with knock-off companies and accessory companies alike churning out new products faster than you can blink an eye.
It just goes to show that Apple’s own motto — “Our way or the high way” — is practiced in everything they do. Though in this case, they at least have some consumer interests at heart. No one wants a shoddy case…
Need something a little “different” for your next iPhone case? The buck stops here as they’d say. The Retro Cassette Tape iPhone case is not only a handy case, but an excellent testament to your ultra nerdy ways.
iPhone docks and cases are a dime a dozen. It takes an increasing amount of creativity and uniqueness to even get me to notice a “new” case/dock these days. The iRetrophone Dock is one such dock.
Calling all accessory hounds and gadget geeks: Proporta is giving away money! Well, not exactly actual dollar bills. They are giving it away in the form of discounts for Gadgetsteria readers. For the next few weeks, any and all purchases made through Proporta with the coupon code of “STERIA15″ being entered at checkout will allow you to walk away 15% richer than you would have been otherwise. So go ahead, spend a little.
Follow the link immediately below or click on the banner further down on the sidebar. Happy shopping.
Proporta
If you’re an iPhone user, you’ve no doubt run into a frantically flashing battery meter at least once or twice. With all the features (and hardware) packed under the iPhone 3G/S’s hood, it certainly takes it’s toll. Countless add-on batteries and battery cases have flooded the market since the inception of the iPhone. Some are better than others. How does the latest contender, the MiLi Power Skin fair?
One of the immediate issues that early adopters of the iPad realized from day 1 was that charging over standard USB ports was proving hit and miss and that their iPads either weren’t charging, or not charging fast enough in the case of heavy use while plugged in to some computers. The problem lies with the fact that the iPad simply draws too much power for your common USB port to handle. If you find yourself in this position, Scosche has just the thing for you.
The company is releasing a dual port USB charger titled the reVIVE II featuring a standard 1 amp (for iPhone) USB port and a second, beefier 2.1 amp (for iPad) USB port thereby eliminating your iPad charging woes when not near a wall outlet.
Users concerned about mixing and matching the lower/higher powered ports and their gadgets have nothing to worry about. An iPad plugged into the 1 amp port will simply charge slower and any other normal gadget plugged into the higher powered 2.1 amp port will still charge at their standard rate.
Look for this dual port, iPad happiness to drop this summer for $44.99. Anyone biting?
Scosche
Press Release
Scosche Announces revive II — Dual USB Chargers Feature iPad-optimized USB power port
Chargers feature dual USB ports to power iPad and another USB powered device at home or in the car
Innovative chargers join iPad accessory line that already includes kickBACK case and stand and five earphone models
Oxnard, CA, – April 07, 2010 – Scosche Industries, an award-winning innovator of iPod, iPhone and now iPad accessories, is proud to announce two new additions to its quickly expanding iPad accessory line – reVIVE II Dual USB Chargers for home and car. Each of the two reVIVE II chargers features a 2.1 Amp (iPad) and 1 Amp (iPhone or any other USB powered devices) port so iPad users can power their new iPad and another handheld device simultaneously from one wall outlet or car power port. According to Pew Researche’s Internet and the American Life the average consumer owns between 3 and 4 gadgets, which makes the additional USB port on both reVIVE II models a welcome addition for most consumers.
“The new chargers and kickBACK P1 case are just the tip of the iceberg for our iPad accessory line,” said Kas Alves, executive vice president of Scosche Industries. “We will be announcing several industry first products via our Twitter and Facebook pages in the coming weeks, so become a follower and fan today so you don’t miss anything.”
Should users confuse the two USB ports the iPad will charge slower in the 1A port and other devices will simply charge at the same rate in the 2.1A port – no devices would be damaged by mistakenly plugging the wrong device into the wrong port and the ports are clearly labeled to help avoid any confusion.
The reVIVE II chargers will retail for $24.99 (car) and $29.99 (home) and are available now for pre-order on scosche.com and in shipping late spring.
The two chargers join the much-anticipated kickBACK P1 for iPad, which will be available for preorder on Scosche.com for $44.99 and shipping early summer. The shatterproof polycarbonate and rubber hybrid case provides superior protection for Apple’s new iPad tablet. The case’s patent pending locking kickstand enables both vertical and horizontal viewing and has a low angle setting for the optimal typing position.
Scosche’s IDR655m, IDR355m, IDR355md and HP155m earphones with tapLINE II controls are also all iPad compatible and available now at www.scosche.com.
For additional information or images please contact PR representative Mark Olson at 305 -576-1171, or [email protected]
About Scosche Industries:
Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2010, Scosche Industries is an award-winning innovator of iPhone, iPod & iPad accessories. Scosche is founded on its commitment to quality, value and customer service. With over 70 patents and countless industry awards it is easy to see that Scosche is consistently at the forefront of technology and innovation. Scosche Industries is the parent company of several distinct brands including: Scosche, REALM, EFX, BlueFusion and Accumat. Founded in 1980, Scosche is still 100% family owned and operated with over 120 great people along side them. For more information visit our website at www.scosche.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
- February 17, 2010 8:11 am
The fast paced way of life demands more and more from us each and every day. It seems society as a whole tries to cram in just one more thing into whatever spare seconds we have. When it gets down to it, some people may not even have time to type out full words and sentences, resorting to characteristic text message language such as LOL and BTW among others. Even then, some people are finding themselves strapped for time. For those individuals, I have the tool just for them — the LOL Keyboard.
Essentially, the LOL Keyboard is nothing more than a keyboard with popular super short hand messages routed to function keys — areas that would normally hold, chat, email, internet keys and the like are now filled with L8R, LOL, THX, and more. Need the full list of shortcuts?
- ASAP, BRB, BTW, CYA, FYI, HOAS, HRU, IMO, LOL, THX, TTYL
Besides the handy function keys, the keyboard can also be switched to and from QWERTY mode and alphabetical mode at the push of a button. I’m sure the teens of the world are all giggly giggly goo right now. Parents? Modern convenience or the ultimate downfall of man and beginning spiral into extinction?
Consumerist > Kotaku
- February 15, 2010 12:56 pm
Bobble heads they are not. Light they do not shine. These seemingly clever gadgets appear to at first be another geeky lamp. Upon closer inspection however, you’ll quickly notice they are in fact speakers. What’s different from normal Star Wars themed gimmicky gadgets is that these actually look really well done. That is of course based on physical looks alone.
How do they actually sound? That is another story — one that I cannot answer unfortunately. And without a spec sheet to run through speaker specs, I’m going to have to advise holding off for now. That is of course if you can contain yourself and keep that credit card in your wallet. Otherwise, by all means take the plunge and let us know how it goes.
Any Star Wars fans getting excited, or is it too gimmicky for ya?
[Product Page: Funko]
Nerd Approved > Fanboy
