MWSF09 Best in Show: FastMac iV
Summary: Nothing will tap an iPhone battery faster than a day at Macworld Expo. The constant barrage of data traffic in the form of texts, email, Web, GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi will drain the battery before you make it to Dim Sum for lunch.
Nothing will tap an iPhone battery faster than a day at Macworld Expo. The constant barrage of data traffic in the form of texts, email, Web, GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi will drain the battery before you make it to Dim Sum for lunch.
An external battery pack is easily one of the most practical accessories for the traveling iPhone and my favorite is the iV from FastMac ($79). The iV is a sled-type battery pack that packs 3100 mAh – the highest capacity in its category. By comparison Richard Solo and Mophie's Juice Pack top out at 1800 mAh, while the InCase Power Slider is 1330 mAh.
In addition to being able to fully charge an iPhone more than twice, the iV doesn't obscure the camera and has pass-throughs for the speaker and microphone. It's also dockable in the Apple dock and comes with a super-bright LED flashlight for finding your keys or for taking pictures in low light. The icing on the cake is the extra USB port that allows you to easily charge a Bluetooth headset without tying up another port on my MacBook.
Extremely well done and a O'Grady Best in Show award for 2009.
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Talkback
Cost of FastMac iV for 3G
RE: MWSF09 Best in Show: FastMac iV
offer the functionality of sending it in when a new iPhone
comes out to be retooled for that - the battery component
can attach to a different shell (at a discount to a full priced
product). It amazes me how little marketing these guys do
compared to the Mophie, etc. They would corner the market
if people knew more about them. I love mine! Being able to
charge other USB devices in the field with it is seriously the
icing on the cake.
RE: MWSF09 Best in Show: FastMac iV
The fact that it fits into Apple's iPhone dock is a great feature that all other iPhone batteries lack. The extra USB port could be used to charge up a friend's iPod (or iPhone, giving two iPhones a charge simultaneously), just like the battery boosters that are simply little blicks with a dock connector on top. Alternately you oculd even charge a non-iPhone phone, provided you have the appropriate cable.
Finally, a trick I just discovered:
If you have an iPhone video out cable, connecting it to the passthrough dock connector won't work. I expect that this would be the case for all battery packs that have a passthrough dock connector. So when playing video on an external display you'd have to take the iPhone out of the iV and wouldn't be getting the advantage of the battery. *However,* all you need to do once you take the iPhone out of the iV is plug the USB tail on the video out cable into the extra USB port on the back of the iV! Presto! Extended life for playing video on an external display without needing to also have a power adapter and find an extra wall socket!
RE: MWSF09 Best in Show: FastMac iV
RE: MWSF09 Best in Show: FastMac iV
By way of <a rel="follow" href="http://women-ru.com/">russian brides</a> plus <a rel="follow" href="http://bookville.info">steel buildings</a> since might link to <a rel="follow" href="http://seo38.com/">that</a> | <a rel="follow" href="http://discoveralternatives.org/">this site</a> | <a rel="follow" href="http://americanconflicts.us/">here</a> | <a rel="follow" href="http://coloradosuicide.com/">here</a>
RE: MWSF09 Best in Show: FastMac iV
<a href="http://www.vinfotech.com/web_2.0/social-network-design.htm">Social Network Design</a>