Join me for a first look at Cricket’s newest mobile broadband device: the Crosswave. It’s tiny, and it’s extremely portable. Will it live up to my expectations? We’ll find out once I get a chance to put it through its paces in the coming weeks.
If you’re an active and on-the-go iPhone 4 user, making sure your battery is always charged is a necessity. Having to make an important phone call, play that song, or send that last minute email or text message only to be greeted by a black screen is extremely frustrating. Sure, using a car charger can certainly help guarantee you make it through your day. But, what if you’re away from your car?
This is where the Exolife iPhone 4 Rechargeable Battery Case from Exogear makes itself known as the “Johnny on the spot” of charging solutions. The Exolife is always with you and your phone because it doubles as a protective case. This ensures that you will never be without your phone due to battery drain. In our testing, we found that the Exolife’s 1500mAh battery adds anywhere from 2-3 times the battery life to your iPhone 4, (which has a 1420mAh battery).
Previous generations of this type of rechargeable battery case design led to greatly impaired reception and signal quality. Exogear remedies this issue with their patented Exoclear technology, that guarantees no signal loss or degradation of any kind caused by the Exolife case. This was a huge problem with competitors’ solutions for the iPhone 3G and 3Gs, so this is a great relief.
The case is a two-piece system that consists of the base for the phone to slide into and a snap on bumper-like trim piece to keep your phone both secure and protected. While the extra built-in battery does add bulk to your phone (to be expected), Exogear claims that it is the thinnest and lightest solution available.
Overall, we strongly recommend the Exolife case for your iPhone 4. With it’s tank-like build and negligible addition in weight, it is something that we’ll be using each and every day.
The Exolife Rechargeable Battery Case can be purchased at Exogear for $89.95 and is occasionally offered at lower prices on Amazon
I bought another 13.3″ MacBook Pro over the weekend, and since we now have 2 in our house, I decided that I really needed a way to distinguish between the two. I’ve always been a fan of carbon fiber, and I knew SGP was a good brand to use for Apple accessories. I found this SGP carbon skin for my MBP for $21.99 from sgpstore.com and it was on its way.
This video shows the installation process. I gotta say that I really love this skin; it gives a nice feel to my Mac, and it looks excellent. I wasn’t crazy about the way they cut the corners to fit the contour, so I improvised: I used some of the extra material from the outside envelope to cut some pieces to cover the corners. I think it turned out very well!
Here’s a shot of the corner pieces after installation:
I also found a great use for the carbon Apple cutout – it fits nicely on my Mac Mini!
Have you ever been out far away from a power source with a fading battery in your favorite gadget? Wish there was a solution to this? Sure, many gadgets and smartphones allow you to swap batteries, but buying a spare battery for every device can get expensive, and it’s bulky to carry around a bunch of spare equipment.
PhoneSuit has the solution: The Primo Battery Cube. You may remember I reviewed a similar product back in February which was designed specifically for iDevices. The Battery Cube offers very similar functionality with a lot more versatility. Instead of the proprietary Apple connector, this compact package offers both mini and micro USB connectors for maximum compatibility.
The package itself is pretty neat. It’s 1.5″ in both length and width, and 3/4″ thick. On the front, it has a small mirror which hides 4 charging indicator arrows. The side houses two DC-in ports (both mini and micro USB). This offers nice charging flexibility. On the bottom, a small rubber flap covers two charging ports which ratchet out into position. This allows you to connect the Cube to your device and move it to a comfortable position while using it.
Here are the rest of the highlights:
I tested the Cube on several of my gadgets including my Nexus One, my Sansa Clip, and a couple of bluetooth headsets with excellent results. Although I have a spare N1 battery, sometimes I just need a quick 20% bump to make it the rest of the day. This is the perfect thing to throw in your bag and have the peace of mind that you won’t run out of juice.
At $39.95 and available directly from PhoneSuit.com, it’s a little pricey compared to just buying a spare battery for one device. The beauty of this Cube is in the flexibility it offers. It’s definitely a welcome addition to my gadget bag.
Today PhoneSuit announced the Primo Battery Cube, an innovative micro battery pack aimed at smartphone users who need an ultraportable charging solution for their mini/micro USB devices. The device itself measures 1.5″ square, and packs an impressive 1000mAh battery.
Here are the highlights:
The Cube Works With:
The Cube is available for preorder from PhoneSuit’s website for $39.99, and will be shipping on July 12th.
The folks at ZAGG sent me a LEATHERskin for my Nexus One. I show you how to install it and how it fits in the home and car dock.
A huge thanks to ZAGG for sending the Simulcast crew some samples of this cool product to try out on our devices.