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Mophie Juice Packs for iPhone 4, iPad en route to Apple Store
We have some details for you on Mophie's upcoming Juice Pack Universal line. Ready? Okay: available at the Apple Store sometime this month (and at Mophie's website now), all the new models, including Boost ($60), Reserve ($40) and Powerstation ($100), are compatible with all iPhone and iPod touch form factors, while the latter also throws iPad compatibility into the mix. Additionally, Reserve and Boost both feature one amp current (which, as the company points out, means they'll charge your device twice as fast as your standard 500 mAh charger), while Power Station boasts 2.1 amps. Not bad, eh? PR after the break.
Mophie Juice Pack Air vs. Mili PowerSpring 4 review
If you're an iPhone owner then you've certainly heard of the Mophie Juice Pack. It's emerged as the external battery pack of choice for any iPhone owner needing more untethered power than Apple can provide from its non-removable batteries. But what about all those feisty upstarts? Can they compete in terms of design, functionality, and price? Let's find out. We put two iPhone 4 external battery pack cases -- the Mophie Juice Pack Air and Mili PowerSpring 4 -- head to head to see how they perform. Both promise to double the iPhone 4's 1420mAh li-poly battery life without adding too much bulk. And surely the 1600mAh capacity Mili outlasts the 1500mAh Mophie, right? You'd be surprised.%Gallery-102982%
Mophie Juice Pack family portrait: Powerstation, Reserve, Boost, and Air for iPhone 4
Mophie's had quite a few product announcements recently, from an iPhone 4 case / battery pack to a credit card solution with intuit. Hot on the heels of this week's Juice Pack Powerstation unveil, the company stopped by to give us a glimpse of their revised lineup. In addition to all the aforementioned, we also got to check out the Reserve and Boost that formally debuted back in June. We didn't get enough time to really put 'em through their battery charging paces, but we did get pictures -- hey, you're welcome. %Gallery-102596%
Mophie's Juice Pack Powerstation is smarter than you think
You're probably wondering why Mophie has apparently crafted a device that's not also a case. Believe it or not, you actually aren't living in a parallel universe, and this is -- in fact -- the outfit's first product made compatible with other USB devices. The Juice Pack Powerstation is most obviously targeting heavy iPad users, but the beastly battery pack is quite capable of rejuvenating your PND, PMP or smartphone provided you have the necessary cabling. Most interesting, however, is this unit's ability to automatically switch between desired mAh charges, including 500 mAh, 1A and 2.1A, while a standby toggle switch ensures no drainage when it's idle. There's also a USB pass-through so users can charge a device and the Powerstation simultaneously, and if you're interested, all 3600mAh can be yours starting today at $99.95.
Mophie's $80 Juice Pack Air ships to power-hungry iPhone 4 owners
My, how far we've come. Believe it or not, Mophie's Juice Pack pack is in its seventh generation of product development, with the latest 'Air' supporting Apple's polarizing iPhone 4. For those unaware, these cases nearly double the battery life of the phone they're wrapped around, and better still, it acts as protection against drops and dropped calls. Fancy that! This little guy is said to provide up to six extra hours of 3G talk time, 36 hours of bonus audio playback or nine hours of video playback. It's shipping now, just like we said, to those willing to part ways with $79.95, and it's available in any color you want, so long as it's black.
Mophie Juice Pack Air: coming to double your iPhone 4 battery next week
So, you've been waiting for a Mophie Juice Pack for your iPhone 4? You're not alone. Well, we have word that it'll be available as soon as next week for $79. We even managed to get hands on with a prototype that looked and felt pretty tight considering the fact that it doubles the iPhone's non-removable battery. The Juice Pack Air features pass-through USB charging and sync with iTunes, an integrated 4 LED charge status, and a standby switch the shuts off the juice turning the appendage into a rather attractive (albeit, heavy with a 1500mAh capacity battery), soft-grip case. Now you know.%Gallery-101163%
Mophie and Intuit release Complete Card Solution payment system for iPhone
Square has made quite a few headlines with its in-progress payment system for the iPhone, but here's that reader developed by Mophie (known for their battery pack add-ons) and serviced by Intuit. It's called the Complete Card Solution for iPhone, and it's costlier than Square's extremely low cost of entry where all you need to start taking payments is a free account, free app and free card reader. This one runs $179 from the get-go; there's also a $12.95 charge per month, on top of the per-payment fees that Intuit will take out. But Intuit's reader is a little more friendly for big sales teams (allowing for 50 users on one account), and the transaction charge runs only about 1.7 percent as compared to Square's 2.75 percent. So if Intuit has a target, it's probably larger businesses -- Square's reader is much more ad-hoc and easier for the smaller companies and individuals to use. There is one other issue, however -- while Square's reader just plugs into the headphone jack (meaning it can be used by any iPhone, and even some other smartphones), Mophie's clearly fits all the way around the phone, which means it's currently available only for iPhone 3G and 3GS. Still, if you don't need one set up for the iPhone 4 right away, the Mophie reader is reportedly on Apple store shelves now.
Mophie and Intuit partner to create Complete Card Solution for iPhone, try to make Square look square
Who knew that credit card processing would be the new hotness for smartphones? The Square mobile payment system has been making waves by letting small businesses receive credit card payment directly on their smartphones. Now, mophie and Intuit are looking to get in on the same action with their Complete Card Solution for iPhone. It's a $179 package that includes both mophie's card-swiping phone case and the 3.0 version of Intuit's GoPayment app. After a quick application users are said to be approved (or, erm, declined) within 15 minutes and can immediately start accepting payments. Full details, including just how much users will be forking over in fees, after the break.
Mophie introduces external juice pack batteries for iPhone, iPod, and iPad
Mophie's juice pack air external case added some much-needed longevity to our iPhone when we tried it out last year, but most of us on staff aren't particularly fond of making our gadgets even more chubby. If you are also not looking for a little more to love, mophie is introducing a line of external juice packs that pop into your device (courtesy of a retractable dock connector) to add a little extra life. Smallest will be the $40, 1,000mAh juice pack reserve, followed by the $60, 1,500mAh boost, both of which are compatible with the iPod and iPhone -- and also offer "super-bright" LED flashlights. Last but not least is the juice pack power station, which hasn't been given a price or specific mAh rating but is said to add in compatibility with the iPad. The first two are available now and, while it's a shame these things don't just offer a plain 'ol USB port as well for charging other devices, we suppose you can't have everything. Update: If this is a little too rich for your blood, check out the comments for a few less expensive and more broadly compatible alternatives.
Dear Aunt TUAW: What's the low down on battery packs?
Dear Aunt TUAW, Boxcar is killing my battery life (at least, that's what I'm guessing -- I love Boxcar, but since I began getting 20+ notifications a day, I'm seeing the battery drain quite a bit faster). What kind of battery pack can you recommend to help my poor iPhone stay online and available? I need to stay connected. Thanks in advance from your favorite nephew, Mikey Read on for Auntie's reply
CES Watch: The good, the bad, the ugly
CES wrapped up in Las Vegas on Saturday, so here's our third and final wrapup of iPhone and Mac-related accessories from the show. Enjoy! Posimotion introduced a Helix gaming grip for the iPhone -- like the Wii wheel, only for Apple's device. $20, which seems pricey to me. Don't even bother looking at these high-heeled speakers. This actually has nothing to do with iPods or Mac, but I just thought it was awesome: A mechanical autotuning system for your guitar. I want one! Here's a twirling battery concept that could charge your iPhone in a pinch and let you work on that finger strength. Cydle is a South Korean company that's planning to release this digital broadcast TV tuner for the iPhone for $150 in March. Kind of an old-school solution (in 2010, we stream video, not receive it), but it could be cool. The Fingerist is... well, it's a guitar adapter for the iPhone. Go see for yourself. Engadget tried out the Mophie TV adapter, VIZIO's iPhone remote app, and the ION iType keyboard and iDiscover piano adapter. Altec Lansing has some good-looking speaker systems and headphones. And finally, Macworld has an overview of the iLounge pavilion itself and how it reflects the market in general. Whew! We weren't even at CES this year, and I'm still feeling the conference hangover. There were definitely a lot of interesting bits of technology introduced, but we have a feeling that the most interesting gadget of the year will actually be revealed later this month.
Mophie juice pack TV hands-on
You won't know it by the product's official name, but this is the FLO TV appendage for the iPhone that's been teased since November last year. Combining a mobile TV receiver with Mophie's juice pack, this is 2mm thicker and noticeably heavier than the normal external battery pack. You can see comparison shots in the gallery below -- the red and black units are samples of the new peripherals while the white one is the standard Mophie hardware. Alas, no working FLO TV demos were available, but we were told the iPhone UI should be one different from what the company offers at present. Reps kept mum on pricing, but they confirmed the juice pack TV should be arriving in the first half of 2010. %Gallery-82492%
FLO TV and Mophie team up to bring mobile TV to your iPhone
If you'll recall, FLO TV showed off a proof-of-concept for getting its mobile TV service onto the iPhone back in November of last year. At the time, it required a somewhat unwieldy attachment, which has now melted away with the inclusion of Mophie into the deal, who will integrate the FLO TV hardware into its popular Juice Pack. Both companies are pretty psyched about the synergy of having one device both receiving mobile TV and doing the consequently necessary battery life extension. You'll find their collective announcement after the break, and products can be expected in the first half of the year.
Juice Pack manufacturer Mophie developing iPhone credit card reader
The Mophie Juice Pack and Juice Pack Air have been popular iPhone cases / external battery packs for a while. Now we're hearing that the manufacturer is going to add a credit card reader to its lineup of accessories. The Mac Observer is reporting that Mophie will provide a credit card reader similar to the one used at Apple Stores, and possibly supply software to manage transactions as well. The company hasn't divulged its detailed plans for the device, but is expected to provide more information during CES 2010. The annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas will run from January 7th through January 10th. A number of other companies, including Square and Verifone, have jumped into the iPhone credit card reader market, and it is logical that a company with iPhone accessory manufacturing experience would join the party. Credit card transaction software for the iPhone platform made a big splash in 2008, but it appears that Apple's validation of the concept of using the device as a way to capture retail transactions has really opened the doors. The EasyPay checkout system (at right) used at the Apple Stores has garnered a lot of attention from customers who have asked if Apple would actually market the system. With the proliferation of third-party solutions, it's likely that Apple will stay out the market.
iPhone credit card reader to be demoed at CES
Coming this CES (which is actually next week): a complete credit card transaction accessory and service for your iPhone. If this thing works as expected, you might actually see it in more than a few places (think: street vendors that will take credit card payments). A company called Mophie is planning to show off an add-on that works with an app to deliver credit card payments through Square, a payment service recently started up by Jack Dorsey, a Twitter alumni. This is one of a couple such systems that will be vying to fulfill the function (and probably take a few cents from each transaction for their troubles), but so far all we've really got is demos, no actual releases planned. But maybe we'll hear more at CES. There's all kinds of applications here -- a solid, working implementation of a service like this could end up being extremely popular for anybody that regularly needs to conduct transactions out in the field.
Mophie iPhone credit card reader coming to a CES near you
iPhone accessory maker and recession antidote regular Mophie is about to make the most buzzworthy move of its short history by offering a credit card reader and accompanying transaction app for the Apple handset. Positioned as a direct competitor to Jack Dorsey's Square iPhone Payment System, Mophie's solution looks to be integrated into an iPhone case -- making it possible to keep the reader on permanently, albeit at a slight cost to your device's aesthetics. The decidedly cube-shaped Square system has a less ergonomic design, but we suspect that the winner (if either of these two succeeds) will be primarily determined by the usability of the app and affordability of the service. Look out for more info to emerge at some point during the maelstrom that will be CES 2010.
TUAW and Mophie team up for a great giveaway
You remember Mophie's Juice Pack Air, don't you? It's a cool little "backpack" battery for the iPhone 3G and 3GS that adds life to your talking, texting, gaming, video, music, or surfing fun. We gave one away back in June, and it was a very popular giveaway.Now Mophie has added a new product line, the Hip Holster series. These are padded premium leather holsters just the size to hold an iPhone dressed in a Juice Pack or Juice Pack Air. Each Hip Holster is priced at US$29.95, and they're available now through Mophie's website.Mophie and TUAW would like to give away a matched set -- one Juice Pack Air and one Hip Holster -- to one lucky reader. You can enter the drawing by leaving us a single comment below; tell us what will you do with the extra battery power you'll get from the Mophie Juice Pack Air. Here are the rules and a link to the obligatory legal statement: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter leave a comment telling us how you'll use the extra power you get from a Mophie Juice Pack Air. The comment must be left before Friday, October 2, 2009, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: One Mophie Juice Pack Air valued at US$79.95 and one Mophie Hip Holster valued at US$29.95. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Good luck!
Engadget's recession antidote: win a mophie Juice Pack Air for iPhone 3G!
This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn't want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back -- so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We'll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff or companies stop sending things. Today we've got two of mophie's Juice Pack Air units, which promise to provide lots of extra iPhone 3G runtime while doubling as a case. Read the rules below (no skimming -- we're omniscient and can tell when you've skimmed) and get commenting! Hooray for free stuff!Major thanks to mophie for providing the gear!The rules: Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too. You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine. Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Winner will be chosen randomly. Two winners will receive one (1) mophie Juice Pack Air iPhone 3G case / battery extender in Black. Approximate retail value is $79.95. If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Entries can be submitted until Wednesday, May 27th, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck! Full rules can be found here.
Engadget's take on the new mophie Juice Pack Air
Blogger Darren Murph over at our sister blog Engadget has posted a hands-on review and detailed photo gallery for a new extended battery pack and case for the iPhone -- the mophie Juice Pack Air.Billed as the world's lightest and thinnest extended battery pack for the iPhone, the Juice Pack Air will ship on Tuesday, April 21st, at a suggested retail price of US$79.95. It's available in the usual black and white iPhone colors, as well as purple for all of those Colorado Rockies fans out there. The mophie Juice Pack Air (link to website) has achieved the Apple "Works with iPhone" certification, has a 1200 mAh Lithium Polymer battery to double your talk or play time, and even has an integrated 4-LED charge status indicator so you know when you're really going to lose all of your power.Darren found that with the Juice Pack Air and iPhone mated, the total package is only .75" (19 mm) thick and adds just a tad more width and height. Whether or not that's worth it to you depends on just how much you use your iPhone. Be sure to check out Darren's hands-on review and see if the Juice Pack Air is the battery for you!
mophie Juice Pack Air hands-on and impressions
mophie's Juice Pack Air -- better known as the planet's thinnest iPhone 3G extended battery and case -- doesn't officially go on sale until Tuesday, but we've been toying with one over the weekend in order to share with you whether or not it's a solid buy. We have to say, our early impressions are pretty positive, and if you're hankering to know more, follow us past the break for a few more details.
