Power Gear

Proven True! Lightning Doesn’t Strike the Same Place Twice

photo credit: Kuzeytac You know the old saying that lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice? Well, now I have definitive proof that this is absolutely true. Yup, Lightning Does Not Strike The Same Place Twice! Years ago our house in the mountains suffered a direct lightning strike. How do I know that is the case? I know because it was the middle of the afternoon on Saturday and a huge storm front was coming through. Our golden retriever (she was still with us) and I were taking an afternoon siesta in the den; I LOVE afternoon naps when a…

Reviews

iPhone Accessory Review: QYG-Power iPhone 4 Power Pack from USB Fever

I’m taking a day trip to Florida today to visit some folks who spend the winter down there. It’s going to be a long day that begins with a 6am flight (the alarm will go off before 4am), and, if everything goes according to plan will end when I get home at about midnight. Among the items coming south are both my iPhone and the MyTouch 4G I’m reviewing. I wanted to have some extra juice with me since I’ll be using my iPhone as my camera. I have a number of other external power options that I could use…

Reviews

The Mili Power King P18 External Battery Review

Word spread yesterday that Apple might be looking to radically change the makeup of the batteries they use and, if this rumor bears fruit, have batteries in their devices that last much much longer. Just imagine how great it would be to have an iPhone that gets a few DAYS of runtime!? Unfortunately it is just a rumor. Moreover, while such advances would be great they do nothing for us as we sit her using the current devices available to us. For that we need external batteries and, as the saying goes, bigger is better. We’ve looked at a few…

Events

En Route to Mobile World Congress: Swiss Air Gets It!

There’s nothing like boarding an international flight with the worry of whether or not your battery will die become you are done working, or if you’ll luck out and have a charging port under your seat. Swiss Air takes a proactive approach and sticks a USB charging port at eye level; its the perfect solution for people traveling with Mobile devices!

Reviews

Review: Kensington PowerLift Back-Up Battery, Dock and Stand

One of the small, but impressive, accessories we say at CES was the Kensington PowerLift Back-Up Battery, Dock and Stand. The diminutive accessory serves a dual purpose by letting you use your iPhone (or iPod touch) hands free AND giving you just enough extra battery power to help you avoid running out of juice mid-day. Here’s a look… From Kensington: Converts for in-hand use The Kensington PowerLift™ Back-Up Battery, Dock and Stand gives your iPhone hours of extra power, converts for in-hand use and offers a hands-free stand. The 1200 mAh battery pack provides rapid charging while the kickstand flips…

Reviews

iPhone 4 Accessory Review: Tekkeon myPower Extended Battery Case

There are plenty of companies that make extended batteries for iPhones; after all the iPhone’s battery life is notoriously bad, especially when running WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G at the same time. Everyone who owns an iPhone becomes a master of battery management by necessity, and after their first bad experience of having a low battery at a critical time, many will invest in at least one extended battery or extra charging cable. One of the most unobtrusive ways to maintain a charge is to keep the iPhone in an extended battery case, and while there are plenty of extended battery…

Reviews

HTC EVO 4G Battery Review: Monaco Extended High Capacity 3500mAh

When I first got my EVO 4G I was thrilled. I’ve become a big fan of the Android OS and have always held a special place in my heart for any hardware HTC produces. What immediately did not thrill me though was the EVO’s battery. In simplest terms, it sucked! I thought the battery on the iPhone 3Gs was bad, well the EVO’s is worse. After conditioning the battery and making some modifications to my phone’s settings I was able to greatly increase the amount of power I’m getting off each charge but on heavy usage days I’m unable to…

News & Features

Gear Diary 2010 Gear of the Year and Predictions for 2011

The past year has seen interesting developments in the gear we all use: the term iOS replaced iPhone OS as the OS that started on iPhone was also on the new iPad when it took the world and Gear Diary writers by storm, Android phones blossomed and became real competitors to the iPhone, and the iPad got its first real competition in the Samsung Galaxy Tab just a few months before 2010 drew to a close. While there’s much more that happened in the past year, I thought let’s ask the following questions of the Gear Diary Team. 1. What was your…

Reviews

Case-Mate Fuel Lite & Max Review: Packing Serious Power for the Power User

I think those of us Gear Diary writers who own the iPhone 4 have been pretty impressed with its battery life. Unlike the iPhone 3G or 3Gs, on most days we’re able to make it through an entire day without a recharge. However, on days when we’re out and about for extended periods of time or just really relying on our phones recharging sometime during the day becomes a necessity. And for us specifically CES is fast approaching and that’s one week where an extra battery, or two, or three, for your phone becomes a must have. Case-Mate recently released…

Reviews

Review: Charge All Of Your Devices At Once With Arctic C2 USB Charger

I do not know about you, but I have collected quite the array of USB devices. From iPhones and iPads to battery chargers, it seems that my life is constantly filled with charging via a USB cable. For a while I did have a wall adapter with a USB port that I could use to charge some devices, but only one at a time, which was not working. One day, my wife said, “look at all this junk we have sitting here waiting to charge, and you only have one plug?” After explaining that none of it was junk, I…

News & Features

Tekkeon Releases myPower, the First iPhone 4 Extended Battery Case with Swappable Batteries

Using an extended battery which also serves as an iPhone case is a great way to keep your phone going all day, and it’s nothing new. But Tekkeon is introducing a new twist — swappable battery packs available in either 1200 mAh (the Ultra Slim) or 2200 mAh (the Ultra Power). So here’s how it works: the myPower Extended Battery Case comes with an Ultra Slim extended battery, and you can order extra batteries in either the Slim or the Power size; rather than remove the case when its extended battery loses its charge, you just swap out the depleted…

Reviews

Review: Duracell myGrid Charging Pad

Our world seems to become continually more mobile. With all of these mobile gadgets comes a need to charge and charge often. Unfortunately, devices have not adopted a standard for charger connectors so that leaves many of us with a ton of plugs throughout the house. We have a vase on the kitchen counter near a set of wall plugs that holds all of the various charging cords while keeping them hidden. Basically, I throw the rats next of wires in the vase so my wife does not kill me due to the mess. Duracell has released an interesting product…

Reviews

iPhone/iPad Accessory Review: Mophie Juice Pack™ Powerstation

I’m sitting in my parked 2003 Subaru Outback recording this review of the mophie juicepack powerstation using Dragon Dictation. Normally I don’t write reviews while sitting in a parked car but I’m making an exception this time since my car decided not to cooperate this afternoon. I was driving home from an appointment when the car began to buck. I barely had time to get the car pulled over to a side street before it all but died. I called AAA and I figured it would be a good time to catch up on some phone calls and maybe even…

Reviews

iPhone Accessory Review: Magellan ToughCase for iPhone 3G/3GS and iPod Touch

I’ll admit it. I’m tough on my electronic devices – especially my phones. After a couple of years with me the cases are usually scuffed and marked. Amazingly, I’ve been lucky and not had major problems with screen scratches (even though I do NOT use screen protectors). I think my phones survive, however, because I always make sure I use some kind of protective case as a daily driver. When Magellan offered us the opportunity to review their ToughCase, it seemed right up my smartphone-abuse-laden alley. Not only did it offer a strong rigid case, but also GPS signal improvement,…

Reviews

CableJive Dock Stubz Review

CableJive is out with their newest offering, the Dock Stubz. The Dock Stubz is a pass-through charging adapter for the iPhone, iPad and iPod. The short, stubby adapter lets your charge and sync your iDevice while it’s safely inside any protective case. No more having to remove your iPhone from that OtterBox Defender when you want to plug into the Apple dock. It also includes special charger conversion which lets your device work with older speakers and docking stations. Say goodbye that annoying “this device is not compatible……” pop up message” that pops up when you try to use your…

News & Features

Save Money On Your Electric Bill With Hamster Power!

This is a pretty brilliant idea. I don’t have a hamster, and if I did I think my dog would treat it much like he does his stuffed hamsters, so this wouldn’t last long in my house. However, imagine the possibilities…if you had several hamsters, could you power a MacBook? Has anyone checked in with PETA? Most importantly, would you try this with your hamster?

Reviews

Kensington Pocket Battery for Smartphones Review

Smartphones are all the rage these days. Everyone uses them as more then just a plain old phone. We browse the web, stream media, play our music, check our e-mail, take pictures, check social networks and oh, yeah, use it as a phone. Battery technology in these phones have not really progressed to the point where you can make it the whole day. Especially if you are using it as something other then just a plain phone. If you are away from an outlet at anytime, well, you will likely run out of juice at any time unless you have…

Reviews

Charge Your Mobile Devices with the Power of the Sun

External batteries are great, but they’re only as good as the mAhs they possess; once you deplete them, until you find yourself near a charging source they become useless. The Monaco Mobile Power Solar Charger from Wireless Ground takes care of that problem by harnessing the power of the sun to recharge itself. You can use the battery to recharge you device and then recharge the battery on to go so it’s ready to be used again. In addition to the battery itself you’ll also get some tips to charge with. The Monaco comes with a USB out cable which…

Reviews

Battizer Review: Charges your Batteries and Helps Save the Planet

If you’re like me and never replace your batteries until it’s too late, then this product might be for you. If you have kids, lots of remotes, RC cars or anything that takes AAA and AA batteries, then the Battizer could prove to be a great investment. My home theater remotes, thermostat batteries, and Wii controllers are the items which to die at the most inconvenient times., so instead of saving money by going to the Costco, Sam’s Club or BJ’s and buying a bulk pack of AAs, I usually run to the convenience store and spend $6 on a…

Reviews

Uniden Wireless Power Charging System Review

Though I’ve never had the opportunity to use a Palm Pre, one thing I know I would like from it is the optional Touchstone charger. The ability to just put down the phone and have it start charging, then pick it up when a you want to use it without having to disconnect cables is a great idea. When I was offered to try Uniden’s new wireless charging system I was looking forward to seeing how handy it really is. The Uniden Wireless Power kit consists of two components: the wireless base, and the adaptors that link the base to…

News & Features

Good-bye Case-Mate Hug Wireless Charging System for the iPhone; We Hardly Knew You!

I had to check the calendar to make sure it wasn’t April 1st when Dan forwarded a message from Case-Mate’s PR to me… Happy Friday! I know that you covered the case-mate Hug for the iPhone so I wanted to give you some news on its availability to consumers. Case-mate is proud to deliver innovative, self-expressive products to the marketplace every day. We strive to make each and every product fit into our overall strategy and vision. The case-mate Hug for the Apple iPhone 3G and Apple iPhone 3GS is a product we launched with success – sales and product…

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