Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"Apple has today released the Magic Trackpad, a multi-touch glass trackpad for desktop computers. The Magic Trackpad gives desktop users the same intuitive multi-touch gestures that Mac notebook customers have come to love and is available separately for $69 (£59)."

Ah, I have been hoping they would come out with one of these [link]. I was just about to purchase a new mouse but held off in hopes that there would be a release soon so I'm glad I was patient, which isn't easy for me! Couple that with the $29.00 USD battery charger [link] and it's a winning combo. How about you, do you think this will replace your mouse or do you plan on using it in conjunction with your mouse? And what about the charger?

"KONNET Technology announces the release of the PowerEZ Plus, a 1000mAh external charging solution for the iPhone and iPod family of devices, including the new iPhone 4. Affordably priced at $29.99 (US) or $34.99 (CDN), the PowerEZ Plus is the ultimate double-tasking battery pack: it also serves as a sturdy, retractable prop for iPod/iPhone movie watching in widescreen format."

This seems like a pretty handy charger to have since, besides being affordable, it works across the line of iPods and iPhones, even the iPhone 4. I also like the fact that you can tell how much life is left in it from the number of blue lights displayed and that it shuts down when it has charged your device. One thing I don't particularly like is having something sticking out of the end of my iPhone, but I can see using it to supply power while watching a video. They even have a contest going on their facebook page [link] in case you want to try your luck!

"QuickerTek has announced the creation of an inexpensive tool the USB Charge Monitor/Activator to monitor the charging of the Apple internal iPad battery."

It retails for $29.95 USD from QuickerTek, if you are concerned about your iPad's battery and it's charging status.

The Gomadic chargers are very slick, and we recently did a Quick Look on the 2-in-1 Charger pictured above. If you aren't familiar, the system uses what they call "Tip Exchange" so all you need is one cable and a tip for each device, instead of having to carry around separate charging cables. They pretty much cover every device know to man, or at least it seems that way (the brand list is here).

Now the folks at Gomadic are being generous enough to give away four (4) of their 2-in-1 Charging cables as well as two tips to be chosen by each winner. Since Gomadic has such wide coverage on devices, this is a network-wide contest. To win, all you have to do is go to the Tip Exchange page and pick two of the charging tips you want to go with your 2-in-1 Charger. Post the two numbers along with a reply to this post and you are entered. You MUST post the two tip numbers in your reply or your entry won't be counted.

One post per person, and the contest closes on Friday the 19th of March at 12pm Pacific time, GMT -7. This contest is world-wide with Gomadic providing the shipping. Remember that all first posts in our system are held in moderation, so if this contest entry is your first post, please wait up to 48 hours before getting concerned if your post hasn't shown up yet - it will. Winners will be contacted via private forum message, so have email notifications turned on. Winners will have 72 hours to claim their prize.

The title of this really rings true, as this device works for ALL of my charging needs. The company, Gomadic, makes charging adapters but they do it with a twist. Instead of making a different cable for each device, they use what they call "Tip Exchange" so that you only have to buy one cable and the initial charging tip. Once you accumulate devices, instead of buying all new cables, just buy the tip you need and you are good to go. The cables are made by Gomadic and have a lifetime warranty on them (For the first thirty days after your purchase we replace or refund all Gomadic products no questions asked. After the thirty-day grace period has expired, we ask our customers to provide a brief explanation of the problem and if there is indeed some product defect, we're happy to replace any Gomadic product for as long as you own it.) as well as a high output of 1000mAh. On top of that, according to Gomadic, they use "advanced internal circuitry to protect from power surges, overcharging and short-circuiting." These chargers are also built to work anywhere in the world with their international adapter kit.

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"Cable vendor CableJive has introduced the DuaLink, a USB dock-connector cable for iPods and iPhones that lets you charge and sync two devices simultaneously."

The cable has a two port USB hub inside the cable so that is how it's able to charge and sync two different devices at the same time, very clever and it runs $25.95 USD according to the CableJive website.

"The iPhone 3G and latest iPod models have created problems for Apple fans because their old docking accessories are not able to charge their new purchases. Scosche has a solution which will be on sale this month - the US$40 passPORT has a female pass-through connector that can snap into any iPod universal dock or in-car iPod integration system to support charging for the iPhone 3G, iPod nano 4th generation and iPod touch 2nd generation."

The Scosche passPORT, if it works as intended, will save carrying around so many charging cables, especially if you have a mixture of generations of iPods or iPhones like I do. It's available now at Amazon for roughly $22.00 USD

"The Powermat range of wireless charging products we first spied at CES 2009 are now available for purchase. The system consists of a plug in charging mat and a receiver embedded in a cover for your portable device that allows you to "drop and charge" without having to to fiddle with cords as well as simultaneously charge multiple devices."

This is a rather cool idea, but even though it is wireless, you still have to have the case adapter for it to work correctly. You can buy the adapter for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch for $40.00 USD, and decide if you want the regular mat for home or the folding mat for travel. Either way, the mat will cost you $99.00 USD. Blackberry isn't left out as they have a special battery door adapter available for $30.00 USD which fits the Bold, Pearl, Curve, 8300 and 8900.

"Kensington becomes the latest company attempting to expand the boundary of traditional iPhone/iPod docks. To their credit, Kensington offers a mini battery back pack that can be recharged while your phone or digital music player refuels."

This is going to be available in October this year, and will retail for $69.99 USD. Interesting twist adding the battery pack in the package. I prefer the docks that have a little more functionality such as this combo dock or those with a CF card reader, but having a battery pack that will give you 3 hours of talk time for emergencies isn't a bad idea.

"Living in a multiple iPhone and iPod household is both fun and annoying. It's fun to talk about cool apps and play multi-user games, but it's annoying trying to find a place to plug in our iPhones and iPods. Right now we have two iPhone 3GS's, an original iPhone being used as a game device, and an iPod nano that all need charging."

A common problem in our home is finding a convenient place to charge the myriad of devices we use on a daily basis, so this unit from Dexim sounds like just the ticket. Granted, it doesn't sync, but I don't sync via dock frequently since our iPhones are set up to sync via cloud to MobileMe. The only time I do sync is to change some music or podcasts, which isn't on a daily basis. The charging, however, is done daily so this compact unit that can charge several combinations of devices would work perfectly. If you have the same problem it might be something to check out.