Hardware

Mophie has been making battery-cases for smartphones for years now, focusing on the iPhone and iPod touch; its line-up for Android phones is a lot smaller, with device-specific models only for the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S III (though the company offers generic portable batteries, too). The concept is straightforward, being a hard case that’s enlarged to accommodate a rechargeable power pack, that can be used to top up the internal battery in your phone.

For the HTC One, that means a 2.88 x 6.06 x 0.67 inch soft-touch plastic sled which adds 3.12 ounces to the weight of the phone (to compare, the One alone is 2.69 x 5.41 x 0.37 inches and 5.05 ounces). Black and silver versions will eventually be offered, to match the two finishes of the One itself, though only the black Juice Pack was available in time for our review.

More on the HTC One in our full review

Inside, there’s a 2,500 mAh battery, 200 mAh larger than the One’s own battery, charged from a standard microUSB port on the bottom of the case. That simultaneously charges the One, too, thanks to a pass-through microUSB connection which is plugged in when you slide the phone inside. It’s a snug fit, involving pulling off the Mophie’s top cap, slotting the One into the groove, and gently pushing it all the way into place; once the case is closed up again, there’s no wiggle or movement.

Although the sides and rear of the One are covered up, you still get access to all the ports and buttons. Pass-through controls for the power/standby key on top and the volume keys on the side are included – slightly oversized, which works well with gloved fingers, and the power button is IR-transparent so you can use the HTC TV remote control app still – and there’s a hole for the headphone socket too. The cut-out is big enough for most jacks, though if you’re using a set of headphones with an oversized plug, you might find the case gets in the way.

On the back, there’s a big cut-out for the UltraPixel camera and LED flash, along with a hole for the rear microphone. Flanking the microUSB port on the bottom edge are four connectors for a docking station (which we didn’t have to test). The only controls are a button to show battery status – using a row of four white LEDs – on the lower back of the Mophie, with a switch to turn on or off the flow of juice.

Usability and Performance

Make no mistake, once the One is in the Juice Pack you’re left with a big device. It’s almost comically large, in fact: the bowed back panel fills your palm, and while the soft-touch finish is pleasant to touch, the Juice Pack does make the One feel somewhat like the digital signature gadgets couriers tend to carry. If you’re in the habit of dropping your phone in your front jeans pocket, or your inside jacket pocket, you’ll immediately notice the difference.

It also feels like Mophie missed an opportunity to build some extra functionality into that expanse of plastic. HTC’s BoomSound speakers are usefully left exposed, for instance, and so a kickstand would have been an neat addition to prop the One up for hands-free video use.

Still, the Juice Pack certainly does what it promises to. Mophie recommends waiting until your One is at around 20-percent, and then flicking the switch to take the phone back up to around 80-percent; it takes more power to recharge a completely flat battery, or to top-up a battery until it’s entirely full. In our testing the Juice Pack took roughly around the same amount of time to recharge the One as the HTC adapter would.

In theory, you should be able to get a full recharge out of a single blast of the Juice Pack. In practice, following Mophie’s guidelines means it’s more like you’re doing a couple of periodic top-ups rather than going from zero to full. Still, with judicious control of the power switch and typical use of the One, we saw runtimes just short of the Mophie’s maximum 100-percent improvement.

Value

At $99.95, the Juice Pack isn’t the cheapest case or the cheapest external battery. If protection is what you’re after, there are far more form-fitting soft or hard cases on the market, priced from around $10; HTC’s own Double Dip Hard Shell for the One is $24.99, for instance.

Meanwhile, if you’re willing to sacrifice the integration, there are portable batteries with far more capacity than the Juice Pack provides. HTC offers the External Battery Bank (BB G600), for instance, a $50 block roughly akin to an oversized Zippo, and which – with 6,000 mAh to play with – could recharge your One twice before it needed topping up itself.

Then there’s the lifespan of the Juice Pack itself. Mophie rates the case for “over 500 full cycles” of 0-percent to 100-percent, after which point the battery inside “may provide less than 75-percent of the original capacity.” To be fair, that’s par for the course for any Li-Poly rechargeable battery, but it could mean that one day you’re carrying a heavy case that doesn’t really deliver in terms of a lasting charge. Whether that comes before the average two-year agreement is up, and you’re already thinking of getting a new phone, will depend on how much you use it.

Wrap-Up

There are cheaper ways to protect and charge your phone. A separate case and external battery will generally provide more runtime and a more easily pocketed handset. On the flip side, the best portable battery is the one you have on you when you’re running low on power, and the converged solution Mophie offers scores highly on that measure.

For some, the extra bulk the Juice Pack adds will be a deal-breaker. Certainly, it makes the One a big device, but if you’re a power-user the promise of up to double the runtime is a huge advantage, and we can’t really fault Mophie’s design for accommodating the One’s controls and features.

Given the HTC One’s battery is non-removable, the Mophie promises to answer one of the biggest criticisms potential owners have of the phone (we only wish it added a microSD card reader, too). Like other Juice Packs, the One variant has pass-through USB for charging both phone and case, as well as synchronizing your phone with your computer, and an LED indicator row on the lower back to show the case’s remaining charge.

There’s also a standby-switch which, if flicked on, saves the Mophie’s power until you specifically want it; otherwise, the phone will run on its own battery. You still get access to the camera and – thanks to pass-through keys – the buttons for volume, power, and such. Mophie has even considered the IR blaster HTC built into the power button, which still works even with the Juice Pack in place.

Of course, the downside of strapping an extra battery to your phone is added bulk, and the Juice Pack does indeed add some heft to the svelte One. Together, they measure in at 2.88 x 6.06 x 0.76 inches, and the Mophie adds 5.05oz, effectively doubling the weight of the phone.

That may be easy to overlook if it means you can keep using your One, however. We found that Zoe photography – HTC’s mixture of burst-stills and short HD video clips – was particularly power-hungry in our review of the phone, and as such keen shutterbugs hoping to get the most out of the phone’s UltraPixel camera may well be the obvious target for Mophie’s new accessory. It’s shipping now in black, priced at $99.95, while the silver version will follow on in mid-May.

[via Android Community]

In the future you’ll see this device with HTC-compatible microUSB connectors as well as Apple 30-pin connectors for iPhone and iPods and iPads before this current generation, but for now, it’s all about microUSB for everyone else and Lightning for the iPhone 5. With this device you’ll find an extremely light and smooth battery pack with a rubbery, flexible bottom tail that reaches down and back up to your iPhone.

The back of this pack is covered with suction cups so it can easily attach to your iPhone without effort, the whole thing ending up being short enough for you to be able to work with your back-facing camera with ease. This pack contains 2000mAh of battery power and has a set of 4 LED lights near the top above a button you can press to see how much juice you’ve got left for the day. With the iPhone 5 already giving me nearly a full-day’s juice each average weekday, this pack is more than enough to suffice for the rest.

You’ll be re-charging the pack with an included microUSB cord that you’ll connect to your computer’s USB port (or a wall converter if you’ve got one handy). The whole pack will cost you a cool $79.99 USD if you’re getting the Apple Lightning connector version or $69.99 for the microUSB edition, and they’re available in two colors for now (black and white) with more iterations coming in the near future. Red and Pink on the way – time for a belated Valentine’s Day gift!

We’ve seen powered Backpacks before that pack internal batteries to charge our favorite smartphones, tablets, and more, but this is made to handle any and all situations. With nearly enough pockets to store your entire office, an awesome industrial design, and 3 USB cables to handle a wide array of devices you’ll never be without juice.

TYLT’s new Erergi Backpack rocks a 10,050 mAh battery that’s built in, and will be able to charge your average smartphone almost each day of the week, depending on size. They’ve equipped this backpack with an array of compartments to store everything, and they’ve also got a place specifically for your tablet.

You can charge a single device, or up to three simultaneously. It sports three USB ports on the side and enough cables to access the nearly 10 different compartments. Every area of the backpack can be provided with juice to charge devices, but it comes with 3 cables already routed for your convenience. The TYLT Energi Backpack can be charged back up via micro-USB, as well as a full USB 2.0 port on the side for easy recharging on the go. It’s currently available for $169.

The new product is called the Portable Battery Pack and has an integrated 5200 mAh rechargeable battery tucked away inside the bag. The battery allows you to recharge your devices on the go without having access to an outlet. Inside the bag is a Power Bank where the battery resides and a Cable Rack System.

The Cable Rack System offers four removable devices that you can coil cables around. The battery pack itself has four USB ports allowing you to charge four gadgets at the same time. The battery itself can connect to a wall outlet allowing you to charge the battery when near an outlet and your devices.

The bag is only 7 mm thick making it easy to take with you on the go. The battery will work with any USB gadgets, including smartphones, tablets, portable speakers, and even electric toothbrushes. The Portable Charging Station is available now for $159.99.

ZAGG has unveiled three new lithium polymer external batteries to help keep your gadgets charged. The new batteries include the ZAGGsparq 1220, 3100, and 6000. The 3100 and 6000 units both feature Hypercharge Technology promising to allow your gadgets charge up to four times faster than using a standard USB charger.

All the batteries have a standard USB port and have built-in prongs for plugging the battery directly into the wall. Having integrated prongs means that you don’t need a USB port to charge the external battery, and you don’t have to keep up with an external power adapter. The difference between the three batteries comes in capacity.

The 1220 has a 1200 mAh 1A power source and sells for $39.99. The 3100 has an internal battery with 3100 mAh of juice and can charge a smartphone fully two times and sells for $69.99. The 6000 has 6000 mAh of power, two USB ports, and sells for $99.99.

The external batteries use Sony’s thin “laminate” technology, which involves laminating battery components together in order to cut down on weight and materials. It also results in super-thin batteries. The company’s 7000 mAh model will be just a half-inch thick, and will measure 2.8-inches by 5.1-inches, making it a perfect device to easily slip in and out of a pocket.

Sony is marketing these new external batteries as being roughly the same size as smartphones and tablets, making the two easier to store together. They’ll even have a smaller model that will hold 3500 mAh, as well as small cylinder-shaped 2000 mAh batteries. We’re not sure exactly what size the cylinder batteries will be, but you can be sure that they’ll be pretty small.

If you’re wondering how much juice these batteries will supply to your mobile devices, the iPhone 5 is said to have a 1440 mAh battery and Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has a 2100 mAh battery, so expect to get at least a full charge and then some out of the cheapest external battery models. Sony says the 3500 mAh version can be reused around 500 times and can charge a typical smartphone in about 130 minutes. The batteries can be recharged in 8 hours by USB and 4 hours by a wall outlet.

These external batteries will be available in Japan first starting October 13, with more models to arrive on November 14. Prices will range from 2,300 yen ($30) to 7,000 yen ($90) depending on the capacity. Sony will launch the batteries globally, but launch dates and prices have yet to be determined.

[via TechHive]

The battery pack, which doubles as a case for the phone, features a 2,000mAh battery that should provide up to 8 hours additional talk time using 3G, 7 hours of browsing, 44 hours of audio playback, and 11 hours of video playback. The top and bottom caps come with a “snap” design so you can easily access the 30-pin dock connector, although there’s a pass-through USB cable included so you don’t have to remove the phone from the case.

On top of that, there’s a standy and charging switch so you can choose when to utilize the extra power, and the 4 LEDs will indicate how much power is remaining in the case. What about added thickness? The case itself is 0.71-inches thick, and weighs 2.5 ounces, but that’s better than lugging around a charger or additional external battery pack.

Starting from today the case is now available at Apple’s retail stores in addition to the online store, or you can pick it up from Mophie’s own store. Whatever you choose, expect to pay around $99.95.

Energizer’s new universal multi-port charger shown below comes in multiple sizes, but we were taking a look at the 5,000 mAh model that will be priced at $75.99. This will charge that smartphone of yours completely dead to 100% almost 4 times, or more if you’re one of those “I’m halfway empty, time to charge” type of people. It has dual USB ports for charging multiple devices at once, and one offers a higher output for tablet support.

Energizer’s equipped the top with 3 blue LED’s that double as charging and battery status indicator lights. One tap will give you a battery status report, and long press powers on the device for charging. Then from there the LED’s will show charging status as your battery fills up. This is nothing new, we’ve seen similar products many times before but another affordable and portable battery pack is always welcome in my travel bag.

The blue magnetic cable clips shown in the pictures is also a nice touch although makes the device appear more bulky than it really is. They they help keep that cable clutter to a minimum. Again these come in multiple sizes and the 5,000 mAh model shown here will retail starting this month for $75.99 for those interested in a little extra juice for their gadgets.

The all new Digipower Chargecard will power your Android or micro-USB smartphone for hours, or give you an extra charge when you’re in need — without hurting your wallet. When we say the ChargeCard won’t hurt your wallet you can see what we mean from the pictures. Not only is it extremely small and portable being barely bigger than a credit card — small enough to fit in your wallet, but it also won’t break the bank either as they’re only asking $29 for this neat little battery pack.

The tiny and portable ChargeCard is actually a 680 mAh rechargeable battery and takes about 45 minutes to fully charge, from their you can power your smartphone for hours, or about 1/3rd a full charge. It’s not the biggest battery pack in terms of charging capacity, but the small size and price makes up for the difference. They claim it will give you a full hour of talk time, but for someone just using their phone through the day it should give you at least a few more solid hours of usage.

Check for these to hit stores such as RadioShack sometime this month or early June.

These batteries are able to power up your MacBook, your iPad, your iPhone, and whatever other USB-powered devices you’ve got on hand. They’re made specifically for every different Apple mobile product under the sun, again moving in a way so very similar to the design language of the Mac that they’re using the same white font for the device itself. This name in batteries has been around long enough to be winning awards for best-in-show back in 2010, and with “military grade” lithium ion batteries on the inside with 1,000 charges in the barrel and a built-in short circuit, temperature, and overcharging set of protections, why not?

Inside each box you’re going to get the battery itself, a 12-15V DC auto/airline adapter to connect to Apple’s unit, and an AC power supply 100-240V to charge the battery itself. You get some printed documentation as well, and the only drawback here seems to be that you’ll need your own MacBook MagSafe cord to actually connect to your MacBook – but you’ve got that, right? Of course you do! All four HyperJuice external batteries are currently available straight from their site for between $169.95 and $449.95 – buy em up!

Announced late last year many still haven’t seen or heard of such a device so we figured a few quick photos would give you a good idea of what to expect. This pocket projector is basically an iPhone 4/4S battery-equipped case featuring TI’s DLP Pico projector technology. It will extend the battery life almost double offering a 2,100 mAh battery, and also doubles as a case — just a bit fat and not very ergonomic.

The Brookstone projector case/sleeve only outputs around 15 lumens but being able to project an image up to 50″ in size is quite impressive for its size. 15 lumens might not be as bright as many pico projectors but they aren’t attached to a smartphone either. The projector isn’t anything professional but for the quick video playback or low-key presentation this would be perfect. In real world situations the built-in battery should give you more than double the battery life — but while projecting pictures and movies you’ll have around 3 hours to work with.

Just recently launched by Brookstone this can be yours for the low low price of $229 by clicking here.

Hardware

Batteries are seldom aesthetically pleasing, and Duracell has opted for subtle rather than trying to make its portable rechargeable stand out. A black 4.0 x 2.25 x 0.75 inch box, Duracell offers a number of different wall plug adapters (such as UK and European plugs) that snap onto the back but can be removed – and the port covered with a blanking plate – for easier transportation. Of course, if you leave the plug section at home, you can’t then rejuice the charger itself later on.

On the front there’s a battery-shaped button with three green LEDs, showing charge status. Press it, and they briefly show how much power is left. Along the edge are two USB ports, allowing the Duracell to power two devices simultaneously. High-current USB devices – over 1A, Duracell says – should only be used one at a time.

Inside there’s a 1,800 mAh lithium-ion battery good, Duracell reckons, for another five hours of talktime on your smartphone. A full recharge of the portable charger itself took us less than two hours.

Performance

The Duracell’s usefulness depends greatly on what sort of gadgets you want to use it with. We were able to partly recharge a Galaxy Nexus – the HSPA+ model with a 1,750 mAh battery – to 70-80 percent, certainly enough to take us through into the following day if used for the overnight charge.

However, a more demanding device, such as a tablet, presents more of a challenge. We plugged in an iPad and the Duracell managed to get the slate to 11-percent before it ceased recharging. It’s worth noting that the portable charger itself still had some juice left at that point – we topped off the Galaxy Nexus by 12-percent before the Duracell was actually flat – simply not enough to make any difference to the iPad.

Wrap-Up

With a £39.99 including tax RRP ($63) in the UK, the Duracell 5 Hour Portable Charger is a tough sell. Thanks to a street price closer to £25 ($39) it’s a more realistic accessory, and could be a good stocking-filler for the gadget hound in your home or office this holiday season.

Of course, Duracell isn’t the first to offer a portable charger, and it’s worth noting that other manufacturers offer bigger batteries – some as much as 7,000 mAh – for a similar price. The compromise is generally on physical size: the bigger the battery, the bigger the device you’ll have to accommodate.

Smartphone owners frustrated by underwhelming talktime will likely find plenty of affordable appeal in the Duracell. Those with a broader range of gadgets, like power-hungry tablets, should probably opt for a bigger model or simply taking the AC adapter with them.

The Mophie Juice Pack Plus Outdoor Edition bundle features a case with a special orange and gray color and comes with a one-year subscription for the Mophie Outdoor GPS app that covers the continental US and Hawaii. You also get a one-year subscription to the Mophie Outdoor Edition website, which helps you plan your trips. After the first year’s complimentary subscription, the service costs $19.99 a year.

The case incorporates a 2,000mAh battery that is said to more than double your iPhone’s normal battery life. This means potentially adding up to six hours of GPS usage, up to 8 hours of 3G talk time, up to 7 hours of 3G internet use, or up to 11 hours of video playback. A toggle switch allows you to put the case on standby so that you only use the Juice Pack Plus battery when you need to. And it features four LED indicators to keep you informed of battery levels.

The Outdoor Edition bundle is available now for $119.95 from Mophie’s product page. If you already have the Mophie Juice Pack Plus regular editions and would like to use the Mophie Outdoor app, you can download it from iTunes for $29.99.

The only downside to having a battery that has a USB port is that you need to take your charge cables with you to charge. According to Scosche, a dead iPhone 4 can be charged 2.6 times on a fully charged goBAT II. The battery has enough oomph to charge the iPad more than halfway as well.

One of the USB ports on the device has 2.1 amps and the other is a 1-amp port. The time to charge the battery inside the sleek little goBAT II is 6-8 hours. You can order one up right now directly from Scosche for $89.99.

This kit also charges phones via their micro and mini USB ports. The “energi to go” battery pack will give around 14 hours of extra talk time on your device and should give you enough time to find a power outlet to charge up your device. Another useful feature is a LED indicator built-in to let its user know when the external pack is almost out of juice.

Hardware

The key difference between the Juice Pack Air and the Plus version is the battery: 1,500 mAh in the Air, versus 2,000 mAh in the Plus. For that Mophie charge $20 extra, bringing the Juice Pack Plus to $99.95. In comparison, the iPhone 4′s own battery is 1,420 mAh, and while the fourth-gen smartphone generally manages longer runtimes than its predecessors, the tactile charms of iOS often mean users run the phone down well before the end of the day.

Despite the larger capacity battery, the Juice Pack Plus measures and weighs exactly the same as the Air: 5.07 x 2.51 x 0.68 inches and 2.5 oz. Yes, it adds some bulk to the iPhone 4, but it’s minimal in practice, and the curved, soft-touch rubber back panel actually makes the Apple smartphone more comfortable to hold.

Around the case there are cutouts for the volume buttons, ringer switch, headphone socket and sleep/power button, as well as a hole at the back for the camera and flash. While there’s no docking connector cutout – the bottom edge of the Juice Pack Plus has a button and four LEDs to show battery status – you do get a microUSB port for recharging both the phone and the Juice Pack, as well as sync’ing with iTunes. A physical power switch on the bottom corner rounds out the main controls.

The iPhone 4′s speaker on the bottom edge of the handset gets a “virtual speaker box”, basically redirecting audio out the front of the case. As on the Air, it does make for louder music playback. Build quality in general is high, and while there’s no fascia protection (bar a slightly raised rim around the edge, holding the touchscreen off the table if placed face-down) the rest of the case is sturdy and feels well constructed.

Performance

Mophie claim the Juice Pack Plus is capable of boosting iPhone 4 talktime by up to 8hrs on a 3G network or up to 16hrs on a 2G network. Alternatively, you should see up to 7hrs extra 3G browsing time or 11hrs WiFi browsing. Audio playback is boosted by up to 44hrs, or video playback by up to 11hrs. Those numbers all exceed Apple’s estimates for the iPhone 4′s own battery, usually by at least an hour, suggesting you can more than double usage with the Plus in place.

As with the Air, the Juice Pack Plus can work in two ways. With the Mophie switched off, you can use your iPhone 4′s own power until it’s close to expiring, and then turn on the Juice Pack to recharge the handset as if plugged into the mains. Alternatively, you can turn the Mophie on straight away and rely on its external power initially, leaving the iPhone 4′s internal battery for when the Juice Pack Plus runs out.

Though we tried both approaches, the overall result was the same. With normal use we managed two days with no downtime – several hours longer than the Air had managed to prolong the iPhone 4. Of course, with some judicious use of the Juice Pack Plus’ power switch, we were able to prolong the power on offer through into a third day.

Wrap-Up

Barring the extra $20, we can’t see any reason why iPhone 4 owners would opt for the Air over the Mophie Juice Pack Plus. With no bulk or weight compromise, you’re getting several hours extra use together with the same protection for the smartphone. Equally appealing to power-users and those making trips during which time they’d rather not concern themselves with toting an AC adapter and finding somewhere to plug in, the Mophie Juice Pack Plus is perhaps the company’s best model to date.

On the back there are twin 9V DC outputs, and you can daisy-chain multiple effects units together and power them all from a single Pedal Juice box. Sanyo claims that, unlike 9V batteries which lose voltage quickly, the Pedal Juice provides stable voltage across its full charge, making it more cost-effective in the long-run.

You’re not just limited to pedals, either; the Pedal Juice will also power synths and even external speakers, though you’ll get a lot less than 50hrs runtime from them. It’s available now, priced at $149.99.

The small battery pack is about the size of the iPhone and has a 1A USB charge port on the bottom that will work with all sorts of devices like GPS, PDAs, mobile phones, and it should support the iPad as well. When you plug in a GPS device Cooler Master claims you get about 6 hours of extra run time. Smartphones get another eight hours of use and iPods can go an extra 48 hours.

The device is very slim and portable and the internal 5.5Whr battery can be recharged up to 300 times with 85% of its total capacity remaining. Recharging of the battery inside the device is done with a mini USB port from your computer or a wall AC outlet with an adapter. Pricing and availability are unknown.

The Jump Start Slim Battery Pack is a quarter of an inch thick, and only weighs two ounces. Basically, that’s small enough to forget that you’re even carrying it with you. DigiPower says that they’ll sell this little guy for only $29.95, and the battery inside of it will be of the 1100mAh variety.

But, the big question: how much extra time will it get us in our gadgets? Well, DigiPower suggests that if you use it with your 3G-enabled smartphone, you’ll get about 3 hours of extra talk time. As for video playback, that will get you about 7 hours, and music a powerful 21 additional hours. If you need to know how much life is left in your external charger, you’ll get to use the 3 LEDs to judge where the life of your Battery Pack is. There’s an on/off button, too. It will work just fine with a multitude of USB connectors, so if you’ve got several devices that use both micro and mini USB, you will be good to go. At the time of this writing, there wasn’t any mention of the Battery Pack wasn’t listed on their site, but we’re sure that will change in due time.

[via I4U]

There’s also a 1,840mAh battery in there too, which Magellan reckon is sufficient to double your iPhone’s runtimes, while the SiRFstar III GPS chipset is accurate down to three meters.  It’s not just usable with the company’s own RoadMate software, either; just about any GPS app in the App Store should get the positioning boost.

You can’t exactly call the ToughCase slick or minimal, but there’s full access to all the regular iPhone/iPod touch controls together with indicators showing its own battery status.  A mounting clip on the back lets it be easily used with Magellan’s various in-car, bike and other mounts.  It’ll work with the iPhone 3G and 3GS (though not the iPhone 4) together with the iPod touch 2nd- and 3rd-generation, and is available now priced at $199.99.

Press Release:

Magellan GPS Launches Rugged, Waterproof ToughCase for iPhone and iPod touch

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (June 29, 2010) – Magellan GPS today launched the ToughCase, a refined yet rugged protective case, giving iPhone and iPod touch waterproof capabilities, ideal for outdoor enthusiasts and outdoor professionals.

Available worldwide, featuring built-in GPS, ToughCase enhances the accuracy of location-based and GPS applications for iPhone 3G and iPod touch, while protecting the device and providing unmatched accessibility to all iPhone and iPod touch features.

“The ToughCase is the ideal solution for all outdoor users. From kayakers to golfers, mountain bikers to construction workers, it provides a level of protection and performance previously unavailable in other cases,” said Justin Doucette, Director of Product Marketing for Magellan GPS. “The ToughCase protects against harmful elements such as dust, rain, mud, water and snow.”

The unique case design allows 100 percent access to Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface, allowing users to receive and place calls while the device is protected. The ToughCase meets IPX-7 waterproof standards, enabling the device to be submerged at a depth of 1-meter for up to 30 minutes. The integrated 1840 mAh battery will double the life of the device based on normal usage and the built-in high sensitivity SiRFstar III GPS chipset delivers up to 3 meters of accuracy.

The ToughCase is compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (second and third generation). The ToughCase will be available at MagellanGPS.com and Apple Stores at www.apple.com. The ToughCase retails at an MSRP of USD $199.99.

ToughCase extends Magellan’s comprehensive solutions for iPhone and iPod touch, which include the Magellan RoadMate turn-by-turn navigation app and the Magellan Premium Car Kit – an innovative 3-in-1 vehicle mount for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and second and third generation iPod touch enhancing their performance as a hands-free navigation solution.

The Magellan RoadMate turn-by-turn navigation app is available for $49.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

About MiTAC Digital Corporation

MiTAC Digital Corp. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MiTAC International Corporation and promotes and sells products and services under the Magellan brand name. Magellan assists people to travel, work and play with leading portable navigation and positioning solutions across multiple consumer markets. Recognized as an industry innovator, the company is the producer of the award-winning Magellan RoadMate series of portable car navigation, outdoor and mobile navigation devices. MiTAC Digital Corp. is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information on Magellan, visit http://www.magellangps.com.

The device is called the Power Skin and claims to be the world’s thinnest external battery and protective case for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The case has a pass through USB port for charging the case and the phone at the same time. It also has a 1200 mAh battery with double the capacity of the iPhone battery alone.

The Power Skin also comes in eight different two tone color combos. Along with the Power Skin, the company has also unveiled a new charger called the PocketPal. It claims to be the world’s smallest mobile phone charger and has a folding plug for easy carrying. The device sells for $19.95 alone with the Power Skin retailing for $69.95. A combo kit with both devices sells for $79.95.

Once the 1,500mAh battery is charged, Scosche reckon you’ll have enough to rejuice a normal cellphone twice; it also comes with adapter tips for Blackberry, iPhone, iPod and PSP.  If you want to use it as a regular external battery then you can recharge it via a USB connection, too, though then the environment will cry.  It’s on sale now for $29.99.

Press Release:

Scosche Launches solBAT II – Solar Powered Back up Battery and Charging Device

solBAT II is available now

Oxnard, CA – February 3, 2009 – Scosche Industries, an award-winning innovator of iPod and iPhone accessories, announces the availability of its solBAT II – solar powered charger and battery backup. The solBAT II works with almost any handheld device that can be charged via a USB cable and feature’s a simple two light indicator that lets users know when the solBAT II it is charging from the sun or a USB cable (red), and when it is passing that stored energy to a handheld (green) like a Blackberry, iPhone, iPod, or PSP.

“The solBAT II is a great way to charge your devices using the free, renewable power of the sun,” said Kas Alves, executive vice president of Scosche Industries. “It is the perfect accessory for powering outdoor adventures or can keep your iPhone topped off while you watch your favorite movie on a long flight.”

The solBAT II’s lithium ion battery has a capacity of 1500mA and an output of 5V, allowing it to charge USB powered devices at the same rate as a wall charger. The solBAT II features a windshield mount and a universal carabineer mount making it easy to soak up the sun’s clean energy. When fully powered a solBAT II will charge a typical cellular up to two times, making it a great battery backup to keep in the car or a bag in case of emergency when traveling.

Recently Scosche partnered with Business Mobility Systems to provide volunteering doctors in Haiti with a means of communication. With the power grid in Port-AU-Prince out of commission the doctors used the solBAT II’s to keep their smartphones powered up.

“With all the different technologies we used to make this communication solution work, one of the most important aspects or components were the solBAT II solar powered backup batteries,” said Art Hale Chief Technology Officer, Business Mobility Systems.

The solBAT is available now on Scosche.com and at select retail locations throughout the US for $29.99. For additional information and to order the solBAT II now please visit www.scosche.com.

The ZAGGsparq is a small external battery measuring 3.5 x 3.5 x 1 inches and weighing in at 0.54 pounds. The battery inside the case is a 6,000 mAh lithium polymer unit promising enough juice to charge your iPhone fully four times.

Two USB ports are built into the device allowing multiple gadgets to get power at the same time. Power output is 1000mA at 5V on both USB ports. Four LED lights show the charge remaining in the battery. The ZAGGsparq will sell for $129.99 normally but is available for $99.99 during the introductory period. The device is not shipping just yet and an exact ship date is unknown.

If the Duracell Smart Power kit looks familiar, then it’s probably because you’ve seen WildCharge’s conductive charging system. Duracell have seemingly licensed the WildCharge setup – which uses a base-station pad laced with power strips, and a selection of cases and adapters with studded contacts – and thrown in not only a selection of device-specific “Power Sleeve” cases (or “skins” as WildCharge calls them) but a few extra things that better align with the company’s own range.

These include a conductive-charging flashlight, a rechargeable battery charger and a number of portable power packs that can be used to top up standard NiMH cells, phones and PMPs. Most of these come with a USB to mini-USB adapter. Meanwhile there are the same Power Clip adapters – which bridge the conductive charger to the power port of BlackBerry, Motorola and Nokia phones, together with anything that hooks up via USB or mini-USB – and cases for the iPhone 3G/3GS, iPod touch 2G, BlackBerry Curve 8300 and Pearl 8100 smartphones.

One instant frustration is the lack of a micro-USB adapter anywhere in the box. With many manufacturers not only making the switch from proprietary connectors to USB, but to micro-USB specifically for its compact size, it seems strange that Duracell have made mini-USB their smallest plug. It’s nothing an adapter can’t address, but if you’ve picked up the myGrid starter kit for $79.99 it would be nice if it were compatible with a pretty mainstream port from the get-go.

Otherwise, the system works pretty much as we expected from our time with the WildCharge pad. Phones in the Power Sleeve or hooked up to a compact Power Clip attachment charged just as they would if using their regular, wired adapter, only without needing to do anything but drop them – studded contacts down – onto the myGrid base. You can charge as many devices simultaneously as you can feasibly fit onto that base, and we found no real disparity in how long our test phones took on the myGrid versus the wired route.

Duracell also threw in a couple of their other power products, which either charge up standard AA or AAA NiMH batteries, or supply juice directly from their own internal power-pack. Duracell supplied us with the Instant Charger ($29.99), a slim candybar-sized Li-Ion battery (that unfortunately doesn’t charge from the myGrid base) that offers up to 35hrs of top-up power to any mobile device with a USB or mini-USB connector, but they also offer the Pocket Charger ($19.99), an even smaller version with a flip-out mini-USB connector intended to add up to 60-percent more talktime to a cellphone, and the Powerhouse Charger ($49.99), a bigger external battery.

They also sent us the GoMobile ($29.99), an AA/AAA NiMH charger that takes up to four batteries at once; there are also four batteries in the pack. A smaller version, the GoEasy ($12.99), is also on offer, which takes two batteries at a time. Finally, they threw in an LED flashlight for us to test out the batteries, which worked as you’d expect an LED flashlight to do.

Perhaps the biggest complement for the Duracell system is that it’s easy to forget you’re using it. Dropping your device onto the charging pad is certainly quicker than fiddling with a cable, especially when you’re using one of the more integrated kits such as the iPhone 3GS case. The Power Clips – though useful in that they add myGrid compatibility with a far larger range of gadgets – are a less aesthetically pleasing solution, especially if the limited articulation of the connector – it rotates, but doesn’t bend or flex – means the conductive charge section won’t sit flat against whichever device you’re using it with.

Meanwhile the battery charger and the external power pack are no different from their non-Duracell counterparts, at least in terms of general use. It would be handy to be able to top up the Instant Charger from the same base station as your smartphone, though we can’t really say the same for the battery charger.  After all, with a footprint around the size of an iPhone it occupies a fair chunk of space and does just as well with a standard AC plug.

In the end, we feel the same about Duracell’s myGrid conductive charging system as we do WildCharge’s; namely, that we want to see far more device-specific cases on offer. The Power Clips do the job, certainly, but they lack finesse and feel like a workaround in order to tick compatibility boxes. As for the rechargeable booster batteries, as anybody who has cursed their iPhone for prematurely expiring after a particularly heavy day’s use will know, sometimes a shot of external juice feels heaven-sent. It’s worth noting, though, that the included USB and mini-USB connectors with the three booster batteries won’t be enough to hook up to your Apple device without another adapter.

A gimmick, then, but a potentially useful one. We assume Duracell are waiting on WildCharge to produce cases for a broader range of devices; if you’re an iPhone or iPod touch user (or a Pearl/Curve owner, for that matter) and you constantly forget to plug in your device, then the myGrid may be your salvation. Considering the $34.99 price for the Power Clips and adapters, though, anyone else could do well to wait for a dedicated rather than workaround option.

For the user who can’t remove the battery on their laptop there are external batteries like the new Tekkeon myPower All. The external batteries are designed to recharge from the company’s line of solar chargers available in 12 to 62 watt modules.

The myPower All external batteries are able to connect to laptops, portable DVD players, video recorders, cameras, MP3 players and more. The battery packs have adjustable regulated power making them work with many different laptops and other devices and they include multiple adapters for compatibility with other systems. The battery packs connect to Tekkeon solar chargers through the DC input port or through the 3-pin solar port with the Sunbooster smart 3-pin adapter. The external battery and the solar charger together weigh less than five pounds.

A new external battery from LaptopBatteryExpress has been unveiled that promises enough tips to work with almost 10,000 different laptop models. The battery ships with seven different tips and will provide an additional three to four hours of runtime for your laptop.

The battery also has an external USB port for charging devices like your iPod or mobile phone. The battery has a charging voltage of 15V to 25V and can output DC 5.2V, 16V, and 19V with a total output power of 60W. Capacity for the battery is 6600mAh and it measures 9 x 4.9 x 0.59 inches and weighs 1.7 pounds. The battery is available now for $179.99.