HyperJuice
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Hands on with HyperJuice: to-go power with built-in plug, multiple ports
HyperJuice offers a portable battery pack that you can haul around, plug into any wall socket, and use to charge two items at once (even two iPads at once!) with its dual USB ports. Shipping in a variety of eye-catching colors, as well as the basic black you see in the image at the top of this post, HyperJuice retails for US$129.95 (10.4Ah) and $159.95 (15.6Ah). I was able to test out one of the lower capacity units and can report that it seems to work as advertised. Port access was just fine and the items charged as promised. I only had two complaints about the unit. First, it weighs a bit -- about the weight of an iPad. It's perfect for bringing along in a car, or maybe a briefcase, but it weighed down my backpack mostly because I had to bring it and the iPad along together. If you have ever carried two iPads in your backpack, you know that it really starts to drag after a while. And, before you guys who carry MacBook Pros around start pointing out that you're the real men of portable computing, I grant you the point. Just be aware, we're not talking about something on the level of portable keychain charger here, either in price or lightness. My second complaint was about the plug. Yes, it slid in and out beautifully to provide on-demand charging, but unless you have a vertical wall port to plug into, it's wobbly. I tried charging it in a normal power strip and it didn't go well. The unit flopped around. Vertical charging stabilizes the unit against a wall, without the flopping issues. I'm unable to relate how well the charger works over the long term in a preliminary hands-on although I'd imagine it functions like any other external battery pack. I really did like several things about this unit. First, that it can handle the monster demands from not just one iPad recharging but two! That's pretty awesome. Second, the product felt nicely made, especially the shiny metal encasing. The white plastic bits looked as if they might scuff a bit over time, but they're solid enough that it seems like you'll be able to clean them without too much trouble. All in all, this isn't a cheap product to purchase, but it delivers the kind of power-to-go that many of us on-the-go iOS users are looking for.
Sanho HyperJuice Plug solves the multiple iPad owner's power conundrum
One for fun, the other for work? If that's how you roll with your iPads, then you might be well trained in the art of battery juggling. If, however, you're not, or you just like to keep things tip-top at all times, then makers of fine accessories, Sanho, have the product for you. The company claims the HyperJuice Plug is the world's first 15,600 mAh portable battery pack that can recharge a brace of iPads at the same time -- complete with retractable wall plug for convenience. It's not just Apple's slates, of course, with pretty much all USB gadgets being able to mainline the 15 watts (sharable over two ports) of juice. The HyperJuice Plug launched this week at the Singapore PC show, and lands in six "juicy" colors, yours from an equally juiced up $129. Update: As some of you have pointed out $129 is the price for the 10,400mAh version, with the 15,600mAh device costing $159
Magic Box MagSafe mod kit brings the external battery back to your Mac (some assembly required)
It ain't exactly soldering guns at dawn, but it looks like HyperMac is going through a few somersaults to ensure that its products stay on the market without offending the legal team at Apple. First there was the HyperJuice auto / airline adapter, and now the Magic Box takes things to an even more invasive level. First step: cut the power cord of your Mac's MagSafe power adapter in half. Second step: feed the cable that you cut in half into the MagicBox... and you now have your very own HyperMac battery pack for those extra-long liveblogging sessions. Seems dead simple, right? And for the time being, the company is throwing in a free car charger to sweeten the deal. Available for $50 in March.
HyperMac offers DIY solutions after Apple lawsuit
HyperMac's portable charging systems are back on the market with a revamped product line that does not violate Apple's patents. HyperMac was faced with a patent lawsuit from Apple over the company's charging cables, which used Apple's MagSafe and 30-pin connectors. The company stopped selling the infringing cables on November 2, while continuing to produce its line of HyperJuice batteries. Without the cables to connect to your laptop, though, the batteries were more or less useless. Sanho Corporation, the company behind HyperMac, was back at CES 2011 and showed off two new DIY power cable systems that skirt Apple's patents. One system uses Apple's MagSafe Airline adapter and a special plug provided by HyperMac to daisy chain a HyperJuice battery to your Apple laptop. While easy to implement, this setup powers your Apple notebook but does not recharge your battery. A second solution, detailed by Ars but not on HyperMac's website yet, requires the user to splice the cable on their MacBook power adapter. HyperMac provides the appropriate connectors to let users attach this modified cable to a HyperJuice battery or to the original Apple power adapter. These modifications require minimal technical skill and do not require any soldering. Though not as easy as the Airline adapter method, this latter solution does provide users with the ability to charge their battery from a HyperJuice battery while on the go. [Via Ars Technica]
HyperMac responds with vengeance, and non-patent infringing adapter
You may remember back in September the sad story of an Apple filed patent-infringement lawsuit that HyperMac and their beloved HyperMac batteries found themselves at the end of. The big whigs in Cupertino accussed HyperMac of using their patented MagSafe power connector and 30-pin iPhone / iPod dock connectors without the proper licensing agreements. Well, HyperMac has responded with a clever yet uninvasive way to avoid future legal ramification and still satisfy a power hungry family of MacBooks and their equally demanding users. HyperMac has now included a new Auto / Airline Adapter with their newly renamed HyperJuice external batteries which connects to a Magsafe Airline Adapter that you can legally purchase from Apple for $49. It is still the same old HyperMac battery we know and love, but with a juicier name and new connection. Update: HyperMac has also included a law abiding MagSafe Cable DIY kit with their HyperJuice external batteries. The kit is made up of two connectors, one male, one female, both connecting to the MacBook Power Adapter cable. Check the break for the official diagram of these connectors.
HyperMac to return as HyperJuice
As of tomorrow, November 2nd, HyperMac will stop selling MagSafe-Compatible charging cables, in compliance with a lawsuit filed by Apple. Now, the company has announced its intentions to re-brand itself "HyperJuice," though what that will entail other than a name change is unknown. Daniel Chin, President of Sanho Corporation, told Engadget that the soon-to-be HyperJuice is in "comprehensive licensing negotiations" with Apple over a "wide array of technologies and issues." HyperMac has produced a number of small, portable batteries that can provide power to a variety of Apple portable devices. When connected to a MacBook Pro with their MagSafe-like connector, the "MBP-PRO," the external batteries could be used to charge the computer's internal battery. Apple objected to sales of the devices, saying they violated patents related to MagSafe cables and other cables using a 30-pin connection. If you want one, you've got to act fast as sales will end at midnight, 00:00 U.S. Pacific Time. Good luck to the team at Sanho Corporation.
HyperMac to become HyperJuice in response to hyperactive Apple legal team
Apple legal has been abnormally busy over the last year as it engaged a who's who of cellphone makers and government agencies. They've also come down hard on Sanho Corporation's HyperMac subsidiary for using MagSafe and iPod connectors without approval. In response, HyperMac announced that it would stop selling MagSafe cables thereby rendering its HyperMac lineup useless for charging the non-removable batteries in Apple's MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro (although they can still charge USB connected devices like the iPad and iPhone). Now Daniel Chin, President of Sanho Corporation, is informing us that they'll be changing the HyperMac name to "HyperJuice" as part of its ongoing "comprehensive licensing negotiations" with Apple said to cover a "wide array of technologies and issues." He also reminded us that you only have a few hours left to snag a HyperMac with the all important MagSafe cable as sales will be suspended as of midnight tonight -- 00:00 US Pacific Time. Hey, with few alternatives, you might as well go down swinging selling.
