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Bracketron Xventure Xolar 3000: Power your iPhone with the sun
External battery packs are wonderful for giving your iPhone a boost when it's running low, but what about those situations where you're nowhere near a wall outlet to plug the battery pack in to top it off? Fortunately, Bracketron thought of those situations and is now selling the US$49.95 Xventure Xolar 3000, a 3000 mAh external battery pack that also features a solar panel to charge the battery. Specifications Capacity: 3000 mAh Weight: 3.9 ounces (110.6 grams) Dimensions: 4.5 x 2.5 x .5 inches (114.3 x 63.5 x 12.7 mm) Solar: 5 volts at 0.8 W Input DC: 4.5 - 6 volts at approx. 1 A Output DC: 5 volts at 1 or 2 A, 9 volts at 1 A Charge time: Solar only - 9 hours, AC/DC - 3 hours Design Highlights Take a nice compact external battery pack, add a solar panel, and you have the Xolar 3000. All "the business" is on one end of the pack -- there's a mini-USB plug (an odd choice since most of the world has already switched to the micro-USB standard) for those times when you can plug into your local AC for a charge, a USB port for sending power to your iPhone, a power button for turning on the output, and a host of LEDs to tell you charging status and the output amperage. The pack itself is an unassuming, solid black matte plastic unit with a thin white line around the center. Functionality Highlights Plugging the Xolar 3000 into a USB port for an initial charge, four red LEDs showed that the battery was almost topped off. Once all four LEDs were steady red, I knew the pack was ready to go. A small blue LED under a screen-printed sun icon lets you know when the incoming light level is sufficient to be charging the Xolar 3000. The brighter that LED is, the more intense the light it's receiving. To use the pack, just use your handy Apple cable to connect the Xolar 3000 to your iPhone. A green LED turns on, indicating that your phone is receiving 5 volts at 1 A. Note that the 2 A current is not enough to charge an iPad or iPad mini; this is strictly a battery pack for smartphones. Conclusion Anyone who spends a lot of time in the outdoors will appreciate the small size and solar panel of the Xolar 3000. It rocks good capacity with the ability to be topped off almost anywhere, and at a relatively inexpensive price tag for a solar unit. Rating: 3-1/2 stars out of 4 stars possible Giveaway Planning on doing some backpacking this summer, or spending some time at the beach? TUAW and Bracketron want to make sure that your iPhone stays charged, and as long as the sun is out, your Xventure Xolar 3000 battery pack will be getting juice. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before June 9, 2014 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected in a random drawing and will receive a Bracketron Xventure Xolar 3000 external solar battery pack valued at $49.95 Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Bracketron TruRunner: Protecting you and your iPhone during workouts
Runners have options when it comes to carrying their iPhones along for a brisk run, with things like armbands and good old fanny packs being popular solutions. Bracketron will begin selling the TruRunner lightweight pack (US$19.95) in May, so we took a pre-release model of this new runner's friend for a quick spin around the neighborhood. Design Highlights Unlike traditional fanny packs, the TruRunner is made of elastic materials that not only allow the "pack" to expand to fit your electronics, keys and wallet, but hold those items in place so that they're not bouncing around. Likewise, the strap is also elastic, allowing for a comfortable fit and ensuring that the pack isn't going to get loose and drop off of your body. Perhaps the best feature, however, is the reflective tab on one side of the pack. While the rest of the TruRunner is flat black, the small tab glows brightly when a light is shined upon it. This is a handy helper for those nighttime runs. A single snap buckle on the front of the TruRunner makes putting the pack on and removing it a piece of cake. There's a waterproof lining on the inside of the pack itself to keep sweat and rain from infiltrating your electronics, and the zipper closing the pack is also waterproof. The entire TruRunner weighs just 2.2 ounces (62.3 grams), so it's not going to weigh you down. Functionality Highlights I took the TruRunner for a spin during one of my daily hikes and found the pack to be a nice fit for my iPhone in its Mophie Juice Pack, an ID, and a couple of keys. The TruRunner's elastic band and an adjustment buckle made it easy to fit the pack to my middle-age physique, and it was just very comfortable. I initially had some concerns that the lack of padding in the TruRunner pack would make the iPhone feel like a knife to my kidneys, but that concern went away the minute I put the pack on. The comfort level and the fact that the pack didn't jostle around with every step made the TruRunner a real winner. To top it off, the TruRunner is just big enough to carry your necessities, but won't be an embarrassment like those mammoth fanny packs that hang like a second stomach off of fat sweaty tourists at the beach in summer. Conclusion Need a comfortable, sweat-and-rainproof way of carrying your iPhone during runs, hikes, or workouts? Bracketron's TruRunner fits the bill. Rating: 4 stars out of 4 stars possible
Bracketron Power Dock Pro Flex keeps iPhone secured and powered in your car
When it comes to car mounts for the iPhone and iPod touch, there are a lot of 'em available. I personally despise windshield suction-cup mounts, as every one I've tried has fallen off my windshield as soon as it heats up in the strong Colorado sun. When I saw Bracketron's new Universal USB Power Dock Pro Flex (US$34.95), I decided to give it a try -- it avoids the suction cup failure mode by running a 'stalk' up from the AC adapter port in the car's console. My car mount woes are further aggravated by the fact that I use a mophie juice pack air battery case on my iPhone 4S. Many of the car mounts I've tested have required a bare iPhone, so I've had to remove the case every time I want to put the phone into a mount. Not so with Power Dock Pro Flex. It's adjustable, and I'm able to easily get iPhone and case into the mount. However, there's one little fly in the ointment; the arms on the case that hold the phone in place end up covering the charging port for the juice pack air so that I can't charge it. I was able to resolve that problem by placing the iPhone into the mount upside-down! It's not the recommended way and definitely not suggested if you're putting an iPhone (with or without case) into the Power Dock Pro Flex and planning on charging it through the Dock connector. The Power Dock Pro Flex is designed to be universal, meaning that it works with a variety of smartphones. That's why it doesn't come with a Apple Dock connector cable; you'll have to supply your own. It does come with a USB to micro-USB cable, which works flawlessly to keep the juice pack air charged. The mount plugs directly into a standard 12V power port in a car and has a flexible arm that ends in a ball-mounted holder for the phone. The part of the mount that's plugged into your power port has an LED to indicate that you have power, and the aforementioned USB port. Bracketron uses a feature called "power grip arms" that insures that the plug is going to stay put in that 12V power port. For those of you who might be wondering, I do NOT look at the phone when I'm driving -- that's what voice directions are for, so it makes no difference if my iPhone is within my field of vision or not. I'm pretty happy with the Power Dock Pro Flex, and it's reasonably priced. It keeps an iPhone in an accessory case securely held in my car while providing a way to charge it, and that's all I need. It's also a perfect fit for those who may have several people with different smartphones who want to use the same mount in one car.
Bracketron unveils its iRoom iDock Touchcode in-wall iPad mount at CES 2012
Remember the iRoom iDock motorized in-wall iPad dock announced back in September? It's okay if you don't, because it's CES time, people, and Bracketron's back with a new version called the Touchcode. This fresh model still securely mounts your Apple tablet in any wall like its elder, but adds an LED-lit keypad on the side that lets you designate a four digit code to deny access to any ne'er-do-wells around. The new model can still be mounted in landscape or portrait mode like the old, but it's got power over Ethernet and USB connections for further connectivity. It's only available from Bracketron direct, but the company's not saying how much it'll set you back, nor do we know when the Touchcode will be available for purchase. What we can offer is full PR after the break.
Bracketron GreenZero chargers keep vampires from sucking your power
Only you can prevent vampire power: when gadgets are left plugged into a wall outlet, most chargers still unnecessarily suck up a fair amount of juice, a wasteful and inefficient process. To save on your electric bill and leave some extra energy for everybody else, Bracketron's introduced a new lineup of eco-friendly chargers that keep those nasty vampires away by detecting when a device is at full charge and shutting off the incoming power. The Mushroom GreenZero charger won't start doing its thing until you push the large green button (seen above) with your hand or foot; the Stone GreenZero ultimately does the same thing but in a more travel-friendly package. Lastly, the Stone Battery is an external 1,000mAh power source that also shuts off once the device is fully charged. All of the options are compatible with iPhones and devices with micro-USB ports. This isn't anything we haven't seen before, but we always welcome healthy competition in this field. All of the products will be ready for distribution to retailers by March 2012. Instead of siding with Team Edward or Jacob, how about coming together and joining Team Green? Check out the presser for the details.
iPad cases and stands: The few, the proud, the innovative
The flow of new iPad cases and stands continues unabated here at TUAW Labs, where I'm making room for the next round of goodies by boxing up what I've reviewed over the past few months and shipping it to NYC for the Engadget meetup. In order to get a few more into the box, I'm taking a look at the G-Form Extreme Sleeve 2 (US$69.95), Bracketron iTilt stand ($19.95), and ZooGue Case Genius for iPad 2 ($49.99). The nice thing about these three iPad accessories is that they all have something innovative and unique to make them stand out from the crowd. G-Form Extreme Sleeve 2 The first thing I have to say about the G-Form Extreme Sleeve 2 is that it is, at least to my eyes, butt-ugly. The second thing is that despite the looks, it's probably one of the best protective sleeves that I've seen for the iPad. As you can see from the photo below, the Extreme Sleeve 2 comes in a eye-jarringly bright yellow with a flexible armor that would be more at home on a Navy SEAL than an iPad. Fortunately for those of us with sensitive eyes, G-Form also makes the Extreme Sleeve 2 in a more sedate black. It's the armor that counts here, though, and this would be perfect for carrying an iPad or iPad 2 around to construction sites, campsites, college dorms, kindergartens, or other potential disaster areas where a broken iPad is just a slip away. The Extreme Sleeve 2 uses a material called PORON XRD that stiffens and absorbs energy from impacts to protect your iPad. This material is also water-resistant, and it's surprisingly lightweight. How good is the protection? Well, answer this question -- will your iPad sleeve protect your iPad against the impact of a 12-lb. bowling ball being dropped from a three-foot height? If you're going for sleek style, look elsewhere, but if you want to protect your iPad, the G-Form Extreme Sleeve 2 is probably right for you. Bracketron iTilt I wrote about this product a little over a week ago, but I wanted to bring it up again. Why? Because it's rare to find a product that is both inexpensive and does one job very well. For $20, you're getting a very adjustable and sturdy iPad stand that folds flat for transport. For those of us who like our Smart Covers and don't want to have buy some expensive, fancy case with a folding leg that pops out of the back, this is perfect for using the iPad hands-free. I just wish the iTilt had one feature built into it -- a Google+ "plus" button or a Facebook "Like" button. ZooGue Case Genius for iPad 2 I've been a big fan of ZooGue's iPad cases since Macworld Expo 2011, when the company seemed to be giving them away to everyone in sight. Frankly, they did a good job of marketing the case by doing so, as they made it easy for a lot of the Apple press to get their hands on one of the most versatile iPad cases on the market. The second-generation (perhaps third?) Case Genius is now available for iPad 2, and it still beats most of the competition in terms of being able to do a lot of tasks very well. Want a portfolio case that adjusts to a huge range of angles? It'll do that. Want a case with a hand strap so you can carry the iPad around while you do your rounds in the hospital? Yep, the Case Genius can do it. How about a case that you can strap to the car headrest so the kids can watch a movie while you're driving? Case Genius does it. The Velcro-covered leather case has improved as time has gone by, and the company obviously responds positively to owner comments. The ZooGue Case Genius for iPad 2 definitely wins the prize for "iPad case most likely to be used everywhere in your life." Conclusion I was pleasantly surprised with all three of these iPad accessories, since all of them bring something unique and innovative to the table. The ZooGue Case Genius is priced less than other cases or stands that have much less capability, the Bracketron iTilt takes up very little space when folded and is actually reasonably priced, and the G-Force Extreme Sleeve 2 can literally take a pounding. Stay tuned to TUAW this weekend for several reviews of other innovative accessories for iOS devices.
Bracketron iTilt: An inexpensive iPad stand that gets the job done
Since the debut of the iPad last year the TUAW blogger team has seen just about every type of iPad stand, from a cardboard tape roll with a slot on the cheap end of the spectrum to the heavy and somewhat expensive Stabile PRO stand on the opposite end. Now a new entrant, Bracketron (which sounds vaguely like it should be an NCAA basketball bracket picker app) has come out with an inexpensive and very functional iPad stand called the iTilt. The US$19.95 iTilt isn't the most beautiful iPad stand I've ever seen, but it does what it's supposed to do: hold up an iPad in a variety of positions so you can use it. You can use the iTilt with just about any case installed on your iPad or iPad 2, so if you've purchased that $260 Vaja iVolution Top Crystal case with the embedded Swarovski crystals, you still have a stand that will work for you. The stand is dead simple in design, and strangely enough it resembles this LEGO-based iPad stand.There's a fold-out plastic piece with grooves cut into it that sits flat on the table, and a hinged metal piece fits into the grooves to adjust the angle of the stand. To carry it in a backpack for school or a briefcase for the office, it folds flat. The iTilt isn't fancy, but it gets the job done. I'll take inexpensive functionality over pricey glitz any day. You can pick up an iTilt at an amazing array of retailers, including Best Buy, Target, and most office supply stores.
