HyperMac external battery powers MacBooks for 32 hours
By Nilay Patel 
posted May 4th 2009 12:59PM
posted May 4th 2009 12:59PM
posted May 4th 2009 12:59PM
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It powers a macbook? or a macbook air? :p
Kangbp.nyc, you're not imagining all of the possible situations where this could be handy.
In my case, I have a MacBook Pro and I mostly use it plugged in on my desk or on my lap in bed. Sometimes, I'll go someplace with just a second battery and/or with a power adapter. Usually when I'm traveling by plane, I'll bring both. My normal use is normal laptop use for it.
However, I also have a 26' sailboat. I've been known to stay on it for only a day or for a couple of weeks. My ability to generate power on the sailboat is limited, so I have a huge ass, and barely portable battery that I take ashore and charge when I can. This allows me to use my MacBook Pro (and other devices) for days when there's no outlet to connect to. I've also used this at different events or when there have been blackouts.
Really, I can't imagine not having the flexibility of both being very portable with just the MacBook Pro, and having the ability to run for days when I have my huge ass battery pack.
If I'm being a MacTard, please tell me a better way of doing this...not that having a Mac versus PC has anything to do with this.
Dude can I go sailing on your boat with you? I'll bring all the batteries for laptops and gadgets we need!
Scratch that, maybe just some women and alcohol.
What about photographers/videographers working in rural areas who could really use a 32 hour battery pack? Any of you whiney dumbwads think of that?
Yes, this is actually useful, unlike HD video on SLR's.
Yes, I always wanted to carry with me a car battery to brake my back.
PC =! Windows
32 hours of battery life is quite impressive for a Mac Book Air. Using simple math would show that the price is a bargain. Of course there is the obvious sad reality with this product.
"...Of course there is the obvious sad reality with this product"
Which is that you don't have one?
I don't understand all of the negative comments here. Sure, with some spare wire, duck tape, and a case of rechargeable D batteries you could build some gizmo with the same specs, funny thing is that it would probably cost you about the same. Honestly though, look at what you are getting with this product. Metal casing, battery meter, USB and DC power outlets, and it all weighs less than a pound (60Wh model). That's 200 bucks well spent if you ask me. I'd just toss this thing in my backpack and never have to worry about any of my gadgets running out of juice again, cellphone, camera, laptop, pda, whatever. on the flip side I could buy a power sleeve for my iPhone, a second battery for my MBP, and then some other external battery option for my iPods. In the end that would cost me even more and be less effective than this single product. It's either what you are looking for, or it's not, but personally I think this is great product at a reasonable price.
lol iPod Flea anyone?
@cloud858rk: =! != !=
(i.e. "equals exclamation" is not the same as "exclamation equals")
I accept that you could be trying for a bit of Yoda-speak, as in "PC equals not Windows" but then it'd be more correct to have it as "Windows, PC equals not" or "Windows, PC =!"
impressive
How did they get around the MagSafe patent thing? I've never seen a third-party MagSafe compatible power accessory before. These guys are either gonna get sued out of existence or they're not going to be the only guys making accessories like this.
I want a car charger - an inverter is a clunky, messy solution (DC to AC to DC? Haha.)
MagSafe is patented, but the connector on the AC power brick itself is not. Some accessories attach to the "peg" on the brick (where you can switch between the "duck" plug or the cord plug.)
The only use I could think of for this would be camping or sailing, where you have no hope of getting to a power outlet. Otherwise, it's not something the average user would need.
And hey, Mac bashers-- I'm on a MacBook but I run Vista Home Premium as my main OS. Why? Because the MacBook gets a 5.0 Windows Experience Index score in Vista, while most other PC laptops get something in the range of 3.0 to 3.9 --- Why would I want a cheap-ass notebook that doesn't even run the OS it's designed for as well as the MacBook does? The MacBook is the same price or cheaper than the few, rare laptops that manage a 5.0 Windows Experience Index, and it has a better build design and warranty.
Go ahead. Pop over to Best Buy and check the WEI of every laptop in the PC department. I bet you won't find a single one that tops 5.0 WEI, and costs less than $1200. The only one I could find that was close was a Toshiba (4.9 WEI) that cost $750. The few that had a 5.0 or higher were Sony Vaio laptops that cost $1500 or more.
Even PC magazines and blogs have said that the Mac is the best Vista PC you'll find.
I could see this being useful in outdoorsy situations..
I bought one of these and it wouldn't recharge after one use. What a joke.
I have a Honda EU2000 inverter generator, a 800 amp deep cell battery and and a $30 inverter. I can run for weeks on a couple gallons of gas. Takes 2 hours to charge the battery that will run most laptops 48 hours. All this for under $1200. And....I can run the furnace, a couple tv's and a computer if the power goes out in my house. Granted it doesn't all fit in a backpack, but much more useful for MY money.