Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"To give your USB devices the power they crave without hogging the outlets that other gadget-obsessed folks crave, the Flipit! has a small power tab that flips out and goes over an AC outlet. When you plug in another device over it, the Flipit! borrows some of that power to charge your USB devices."

Here is an effective gadget that may get you out of a tough situation when you cannot find an available power source for charging your USB device. The idea is simple: share an outlet with another device. Flipit! is inserted between the wall outlet and the power cord prongs. Your USB device plugs into the Flipit! and can then be charged by sharing the power source. For comparison purposes, Belkin has a similar product that you might also consider. These are definitely handy tools to have at your disposal at work or while traveling.

"This whole charging / not charging issue with the iPad and iPhone is pretty confusing. At least with the iPad, if it's not plugged into an outlet or a USB port that's delivering enough juice, you get the whole "not charging" message near the battery indicator ... yet, it does charge, but slowly."

While USB charging does work for the iPhone 4, it will take longer via USB than it will by simply plugging it in to an outlet. In WhenWillApple? testing ( link ), a completely dead iPhone 4 took 130 minutes to fully charge on AC, and 160 minutes to fully charge via USB on a late-model MacBookPro. From dead to able-to-power-on took 3:11 (m:s) on AC, and 4:49 (m:s) via USB. While the idea of slower charging via USB sounds like a case for using the AC adapter more often, I find that keeping my iPhone 4 connected via USB when I'm at my desk works well enough, and I'm less apt to walk off without my phone, when it's sitting right under my nose. But for the most charge in the shortest time: plug it in!