After a few hours of heavy use, the iPhone 3G S battery really gets spanked! The only way to make it through a long day is with external power – which is no problem as long as you’re by an outlet or USB port. If you aren’t deskbound, an external battery pack is the best way to go. I’ve been using the Mophie Air, and I love it; but even so, I’ve had days when it just couldn’t take me all the way through. USB Fever has two iPhone external battery holsters that are worth a look if you have little time or opportunity to recharge throughout the day…

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced to voluntary recalls.

The first involves two Halloween themed flashlights which were sold at Target stores between August 2009 – September 2009.

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Here is some important information if you own a Belkin surge protector.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Belkin, has announced a voluntary recall of their SurgeMaster surge protectors.  The recall effects an estimated 67,000+ units.

The model numbers effected are F9G930-10, F9G930V10, F9G930-10-W and F9G930-10-SN.   All were manufactured in 2003.

Some units have been reported to experience cracking in the plug assembly which could lead to a potential shock hazard.  Consumers are asked to please stop using this product immediately.

For more information contact Belkin toll-free at 800-952-1465 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or visit the Belkin web site at www.belkin.com/recall.

I love innovative solutions that let you charge portable electronics at home and on the go without having to deal with a scrambled assortment of cords, adapters etc. The newest comes from Technocel.

Their new PowerPak replace an assortment of chargers and cords with a single universal solution that safely powers USB devices when at home, in the car, and anywhere else you might roam. Then, if you find your device running low on power the PowerPak’s built-in battery reserve can be used when outlets aren’t available. Now that’s what I call a useful combo.

The PowerPak will be available November 1, 2009 for an MSRP of $49.99 on Technocel.com.

Full Press Release Follows…

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We’ve mentioned WildCharge – the company that allows you to use inductive charging with nearly any mobile phone or other power hungry gadget – before on Gear Diary, but tonight I realized we hadn’t given any coverage to Powermat, another company with a similar premise (but a better looking design).

What premise would that be? Why the one that says plugging your devices in to charge them is so passé; the idea that all you should have to do is lay your gadget on a mat to charge it, even if the trade-off is having to keep your phone in a special case so that you don’t have to fumble with cables. Using this system is definitely a convenience thing, but if you’ve ever fumbled in the dark to stick a charger jack into the bottom of your device only to have to turn on a light in frustration, or if you are tired of traveling with multiple cables, then you might appreciate this way of doing things.

Let’s peek at the company’s offerings, shall we?

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Mophie, the company known for it uber-popular external batteries the Juice Pack and the Juice Pack air, has released some new charging accessories which work with USB compatible devices.

Three of the new items stand out:

The Low Profile USB Car Charger, which sells for $14.95, is very slim and should remain relatively unnoticeable in your car’s dash.

The Hybrid Wall and Car Charger, which sells for $24.95, combines a car charger along with a standard wall charger.  The wall charger’s prongs rotate 270 degrees to ensure you’ll be able to plug it in anywhere.

And finally, the Dual USB Wall Charger, which to me looks the coolest, allows you to charge two USB compatible devices simultaneously. It sells for $19.95

You can check out all the new devices on the Mophie web site.

I’ve tried a few external batteries for my iPhone 3Gs, but none of them have stuck.  The cases type (Mophie Jucie Pack Air, Incase Power Slider) are nice but I prefer to use a regular case most of the time and the case batteries result in a much larger phone profile.  The other choice, external batteries which plug into the bottom of the phone, are usually bulky or have an awkward connector.

The iON Power Pack from FSP Direct solves many of my external battery pet peeves.  It features a 1500 mAh battery in a super slim credit card sized shape.  It not only works to recharge my iPhone and iPod while on the go, but it comes with adapters which allow it to be used with most any electronic device that use less than 5v of power.

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iON, one of the industry’s largest maker of batteries and power supplies has recently released a new product.

The Universal Power Bank is a ultra slim, credit card sized, 1500 mAh external battery for use with the iPhone or iPod.  The battery comes with its own carrying case and includes a LED indicator so you’ll know just how much power it has remaining.

External batteries are great to carry for emergencies, or just times when you know you’ll be away from your charger for a long time, but they are often bulky.  Not the case with the iON.

The Power Bank sells for $29.99 and can be ordered here.

Dexim has just announced a new foldable and portable dock for the iPod and iPhone. While that wouldn’t ordinarily be news in and of itself, this particular dock happens to also include a 2000 mAh extended battery that can extend talk time up to eight hours, video time up to 15 hours, or audio time up to 80 hours.

There are three different packages available, including a double dock pack so you can either carry a spare or give one to your significant other.

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This universal cell phone charger will power dozens of different models of phones. It most decidedly doesn’t power the iPhone – or anything Apple for that matter (aka iPod, Touch, Shuffle). What it does provide is a cheap source of power for BlackBerry, Motorola, Jabra headsets. For only $2.99 how can you go wrong? Check the web site for a complete list of compatible phones. Obtaining the net price of $2.99 requires filing a $10 rebate form (good through 9/8/09).

Aluratek Universal Cellular Charging Kit via LogicBuy

All of you frequent international travelers will no doubt eye this item with interest: USB Fever has an extended iPhone 3G / 3Gs battery which has a dual SIM adapter. Many people who travel regularly to the same international destination will keep a SIM for each country, which helps them save on data and voice charges; being able to keep both SIMs in the same device means easy swapping between the two.  The added benefit of having an external 1900 mAh battery means that your iPhone charge might last through several travel days.

From the USB Fever site:

Features:
- One iPhone (3G / 3G s) with 2 SIM Cards (see note below)
- No need to cut your SIMCARD
- STK Menu
- Unique design
- Portable power pack (Enough Power to hold your iPhone for days while you are traveling)
- Access to all ports of your iPhone 3G / 3Gs
- As a protective case to your iPhone 3G / 3Gs (made with sam material used in iPhone, scratch proof)
- Perfect integration, almost no seams, no longer bulky
- To Sync with your PC / Mac even when the battery is on
- No need to take off the battery even you need to Sync your iPhone 3G / 3Gs
- To control when to have Data HotSync and when to charge
- USB Cable for charging (hidden USB Cable for your data connection and charging anytime,anywhere, and always with you)
- LED Power Indicator

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I’ve mentioned several times how much I love the idea of convergence devices.

From my iPhone, to my clock radio, to my USB hub/dock I’m all about getting the most function out of every device I own.

The Voltaic line of gear bags not only will carry all of your gadgets around town for you it’ll charge them too.

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Goodness gracious is this 3800 mAh extended battery for the Palm Pre a train wreck. Honestly – who uses this honking slab of electrodes. I guess if you’re looking to build your biceps it could be a good thing but otherwise it just seems like an awkward admission that maybe the Pre has the grandaddy of all battery life problems?

Pre Thinking

Jealous of the Palm Touchstone that enables the new Palm Pre to charge simply by placing it on a charging Touchstone base without a need to plug in a cable? Been wishing that your iPhone 3G S would charge in a similar manner? Inductive charging has been around for a while and the main problem has been that device manufacturers must include the option with their devices. Since most phones are sold at the cheapest price possible – to date few manufacturers have opted to include an inductive charging option like the Palm Pre. Now there’s an option for iPhone users and it’s slated to ship in July from Wildcharge as a $34.99 skin ($49.99 charging base sold separately) that allows all models of iPhone to charge just by being placed on the charger pad. The manufacturer claims that charging time with their Wildcharge is equal to the time that would be required by traditional cabled charging methods.

The WildCharger™ pad is flat and thin with a conductive surface. Once a cell phone or other electronic device that is enabled with WildCharge technology is placed on the pad – anywhere on the pad and at any orientation – it will instantaneously receive power from the pad. It is that simple. And charging speed is the same as if the device is plugged to the wall!

WildCharge via Ubergizmo

Among the good news with the upcoming iPhone 3GS is the additional battery life of anywhere between 10 and 20%. That will be a welcome addition as the iPhone 3G was, at best, problematic with regard to battery life.  At the same time, however, even with 10 to 20% of additional run-time there is no question I’ll be burning through my iPhone’s battery long before the day is through. (Yes, I use it that much.) Thankfully, there are a host of extra battery options available and every one, while designed for the iPhone 3G, will continue to work with the iPhone 3GS.

One of the newest is also one of the more unusual. The Fuel from Case-Mate is a form-fitting battery pack, rather than taking a  “piggyback” approach functions as a hip holster while delivering 2300 milliamps of additional power to the device. That translates to 2.5 times the runtime for the iPhone 3G!!!

Let’s take a look…

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