The Wrist Band Portable Battery makes you look like a dork

Posted in Chargers by Conner Flynn on January 18th, 2009

The Wrist Band Portable BatteryMeet the dorkiest looking wrist accessory ever. You might think this is a cool cyberpunk bracelet thing. Actually, it’s the ultimate way to charge your batteries and look like a loser at the same time. If you don’t believe me, then by all means, check out the product site. There you can find pictures of people wearing and using this device.

It’s sad that it looks like such a train-wreck, because it’s a convenient way to charge up all your gadgets on the go. It uses a rechargeable li-on battery and comes with 8 different types of power connectors that will work with major brand mobile phones, the PSP and Nintendo DS. To recharge the portable battery, it takes about 5 hours. When used as a direct power source, it’ll give you 3 hours of talk time or 8 hours on your MP3 player.

MacBook Pro battery replacement details

Posted in MacBook by Conner Flynn on January 14th, 2009

MacBook Pro battery replacement detailsThe battery in Apple’s new 17″ MacBook Pro is pretty amazing. With a single charge it can power the notebook for about eight hours while using the NVIDIA 9400M graphics processor or seven hours while the 9600M GT chip is at work. Also, it has a charge cycle life of 1,000 charges which is a quantum leap ahead of a standard laptop battery.

But no matter how good the specs are, it’s bound to have problems. Most likely problems will occur after the one-year battery warranty has expired. This one can’t be replaced by end-users, so what happens if it dies after the five-year lifespan and you want to swap it out for a new one ? (Even though chances are you’ll have a new notebook by then)

Apple intros new 17-inch Macbook, 8hrs battery, thinner

Posted in Apple by Conner Flynn on January 6th, 2009

17-inch unibody MacBook Pro with internal battery rumored for MacworldAs expected, Apple has announced its 17″ MacBook Pro that has had the intertubez all abuzz prior to Macworld. It is 0.98″ thin and tips the scales at just 6.6 pounds. Now that’s not the lightest ever, but it is a 17-inch laptop. But it is the lightest and thinnest 17″ notebook in the world though.

Some features include: 17″ LED backlit display 1,920 × 1,200 resolution 700:1 contrast ratio 60% greater color gamut compared to its predecessor, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz Dual Core processor, 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 RAM and a 320GB hard drive. You also have the choice of a $50 anti-glare option if you want. There’s a trio of USB 2.0 ports on the left, a Mini DisplayPort, FireWire 800, digital audio in/out and an ExpressCard slot and all the other features you love.

17-inch unibody MacBook Pro with internal battery rumored for Macworld

Posted in MacWorld 2009 by Conner Flynn on January 4th, 2009

17-inch unibody MacBook Pro with internal battery rumored for Macworld9to5Mac is reporting that a unibody, 17-inch MacBook Pro will be announced at Macworld. It would follow in the footsteps of the previously released unibody 13 and 15-inch models. The rumor has been independently confirmed by Apple Insider as well.

The news isn’t isn’t all that surprising. But what is surprising is that this model is expected to have a slim, extended-life, and a very non-removable battery built in. Obviously that’s disappointing. Non-removable batteries are pretty damn lame. Way to go Apple.

Student increases iPhone battery life by 12x

Posted in iPhone by Conner Flynn on December 25th, 2008

Student increases iPhone battery life by 12xA PhD student at Carleton University in Canada, Atif Shamin, has out-thought Apple by inventing a ‘transmitter system on-package’ that significantly extends the battery life of mobile devices. It all has to do with the connection between the circuit board and the antenna.

Instead of using wire, he designed a high frequency micro-transmitter and receiver that avoids the usual loss of power through a wire. That’s a significant breakthrough in energy efficiency in mobile devices. He created a module that replaces all of the wires connecting a phone’s electrical circuits and the antennae, making them all communicate wirelessly.

Aftermarket battery gives Eee netbook a big ol’ butt

Posted in Accessories by Shane McGlaun on December 16th, 2008

Giant Asus Eee BatteryWhen I think of a netbook, I envision a small, lightweight machine offering lower levels of performance in exchange for longer battery life and a lower purchase price. Most of us expect the same things. Some people aren’t happy with the battery life of the Eee netbooks and look to the aftermarket for more run time.

A new battery for the Eee 1000H and the 901 is now available that is in simple terms insanely ugly. The battery is wider than the netbook itself and features 10-cells to provide power for the little rig.

HP officially becomes first to use Boston-Power Sonata battery

Posted in Batteries by Shane McGlaun on December 10th, 2008

HP Boston-Power BatteryThe battery is one of the key points of improvement technology wise for a range of devices from electric cars to our notebooks and cell phones. As battery technology improves, we can get longer runtime from our gadgets and smaller, more attractive designs as batteries take up less space.

Boston-Power announced its Sonata battery technology a while back that promises to deliver like-new performance for up to three years and recharge much faster than comparable batteries available today. The biggest claim that has notebook user excited about Sonata batteries is that they can recharge to 80% of the full capacity in only 30 minutes.

iPhone 3G Incase Power Slider doubles the battery, lets you sync

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on November 17th, 2008

iPhone 3G Incase Power Slider doubles the battery, lets you syncIncase is at it again. Their latest iPhone offering, The Power Slider, will double your iPhone’s power for up to 5 hours of talk time on the 3G network and 10 hours on 2G. It will increase your audio playback time to 26 hours, and give you video playback time to 7 hours.

Pretty nifty. But that isn’t all. With this device, you can now sync with the iPhone still in the case, which is pretty convenient. Amazingly it doesn’t make your iPhone look too bad, though it does fatten it some. We’ve seen much worse. No word on price yet, but it should be available on November 28.

iPhone Hand Grip charger makes you work for a full battery

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on November 17th, 2008

iPhone Hand Grip charger makes you work for a full batterySometimes going green can be a real pain. Take this green concept for instance. This iPhone hand grip charger will give you Hulk hands before you even get a full battery. Great for a hand workout, but you’d have to be pretty dedicated to your iPhone to stick with it.

This concept is called “You can work it out” and it was designed by Mac Funamizu, who must have huge beefy clown hands and an always working iPhone. Apple should offer some accessories like this ala Wii Fit. Various exercise gadgets to power up Apple products owned by the obese. It would be green and lean. That’s the slogan right there.

Panasonic iPhone charger

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on November 13th, 2008

Panasonic iPhone chargerWith the Panasonic Pocket Power phone charger, you can have instant power for your iPhone anytime you need it. Just insert a few AA batteries inside, connect the Pocket Power phone charger to your handset and let it charge for awhile. Then you’ll have a few more hours of jibber-jabber time. It doesn’t just charge your iPhone, it will also charge your iPod touch and a bunch of other devices. The Pocket Power will retail for $36.45. It’s practical and convenient.

Febot concept recharges AA batteries using wind

Posted in Batteries by Conner Flynn on November 10th, 2008

Febot concept recharges AA batteries using windChances are you have quite a few spent AA batteries lying around. Probably because you played with your WowWee robots too much. Well, here’s an interesting concept for quick and easy re-charging of all your AA batteries.

The Febot is a design by Ji-yun Kim, Soon-young Yang and Hwan-ju Jeon out of Korea. It would be suction mounted to your window so it can catch the breeze and recharge your single AA inside. A pretty interesting solution. I have a feeling it may take a while though, unless you are in a hurricane.

RichardSolo 1800 Smart Backup Battery

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on November 7th, 2008

RichardSolo 1800 Smart Backup BatteryChances are your iPhone or iPod touch runs out of juice at inconvenient times. With the RichardSolo 1800 Smart Backup Battery, you can have 50% more battery capacity compared to the company’s earlier iPod and iPhone-ready battery packs. It also has some new features.

Each $70 purchase comes with a dual USB car charger, a wall charger and retractable USB cable. You’ll also get a laser pointer and a small flashlight located at the bottom. The 1800mAh battery capacity is enough to juice up your exhausted iPhone once, an iPhone 3G more than once and a majority of iPods a couple times over. The plastic reinforcement helps make sure the battery doesn’t snap off whle in use.

Ultra Motor A2B electric bike coming soon

Posted in Personal Transport by Shane McGlaun on August 13th, 2008

Ultra Motor A2B BikeI know several people from big cities like New York and Chicago who don’t own cars. They don’t own cars because they don’t want the expense of parking or the hassle of trying to find parking coupled with the massive amount of traffic the cities have. That leaves them with the options of public transport, walking, or riding a bike.

Public transport like a city bus works okay, but you never know who you will have to sit by. Riding a bike or walking is all fine and dandy, as long as you don’t get sweaty by the time you get to the office. For the sweaty types that are looking for something that doesn’t require as much effort as biking or walking to work, and still doesn’t mean they have to sit next to Mr. Stinky on the subway, the Ultra Motor A2B electric bike is available.

iPhone 3G solar charging case

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on August 5th, 2008

iPhone 3G solar charging case
The iPhone 3G does a whole lot more than its predecessor, and that means that the battery is going to drain much faster. All of those cool new apps will also suck up the juice. The iPhone 3G Solar Charging Case will offer some protection for your iPhone 3G and also has a built-in solar panel that will collect the sun’s rays and turn them into electricity.

Power is stored in a 1,500mAh battery that will give your phone a full charge. Recharge time is about 3 hours. It may not be the most beautiful of iPhone cases, but it’s a good option for those who are thinking green with their gadgets. The price is $54, while the sun’s rays are free.

iPhone Power Station gives you more sweet iJuice

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on July 26th, 2008

iPhone Power Station
The iPhone power station from Brando elongates your iPhone much like the iPhoneneck, while at the same time giving you some emergency juice should your battery get low. The LED blink lights look pretty neat, with an arrow pointing to your phone, just in case you can’t figure out where it goes for some reason.

No info on how much of a charge it gives your iPhone, but I’m guessing not much since they mention “1000mAh”. It will cost you $25.





Other blogs from the Topic Soup Network that you might like:

PopTherapy.com - A therapeutic guide to popular culture

WeathyReader.com - Where reading pays off.

HealthyReader.com web site

Botropolis.com web site