GumPlus
Latest
Just Mobile talks about working with Apple and why it manufactures in Taiwan exclusively
For the average Joe that have managed to stay out of the Apple circle, the Just Mobile brand might not immediately ring a bell, but chances are you would've come across one of its peripheral designs at some point. The only problem is unless you knew the company in the first place, you'd easily assume that the aluminum or even plastic knock-offs are just based on generic designs, because there are simply too many of them. It's no wonder Just Mobile co-founders Nils Gustafsson and Erich Huang take imitations of all forms very personally (especially the ones they and their lawyers see at CES), but fortunately, we were spared from prolonged ranting when we visited the duo's office in Taichung, Taiwan recently. What we were treated to instead was an insight into how an accessory maker works with Apple and why Just Mobile manufactures exclusively in Taiwan, as well as getting a preview of the upcoming AluRack, HeadStand and AluBase that are due out this month.
JustMobile Gum Plus packs a lot of power in a small package
There are a lot of external battery packs available for iPhones, but how about one that can recharge your iPhone up to four times? The US$69.95 JustMobile Gum Plus is an attractive and powerful little battery pack, holding a whopping 4400 mAh of power in its aluminum case and charging just about anything with an output current of about 1 amp. As a comparison, the NewerTech NuPower Charge + Sync contains only about 1400 mAh of power, and can only trickle out about 650 mA of output current. The Mophie Juice Pack Air my iPhone is currently wearing only has a 1500 mAh battery in its lovely red shell. The Gum Plus probably received its name because it looks like a large silver piece of gum. The battery pack comes with two cables -- a USB to Dock Connector cable and a USB to mini-USB cable for charging the pack. This worked great; I was able to use the standard Apple iPhone AC Adapter to charge the Gum Plus, so I wouldn't have to carry yet another power brick with me on trips. The Gum Plus comes with a little carrying bag so it won't get scratched, and it has five green LEDs that are used to let you know the current capacity of the battery and when the device is charging your toys. So, just how long will 4400 mAh of power last? JustMobile says that you'd be able to get an extra 38 hours of talk, 90 hours of music or 26 hours of video on your iPhone before you'd need to plug the Gum Plus back into the wall. Can it charge an iPad? Although it's not certified to do so, my iPad responded happily to the Gum Plus, and I was able to watch it go from a 71 percent charge up to 100 percent in about an hour and still have power to spare. The Gum Plus won a prestigious red dot design award for 2010, an honor it shares with the Apple Magic Mouse, the iMac and the iPad. We'll be giving away our review Gum Plus, so be sure to look for that giveaway post in the near future. Check out a short Gum Plus video from JustMobile on the next page.
