Dave Burrows - Tech / iPhone Blog - Technical Evangelist » Zune

BlueLounge Refresh iPhone, Android, WinMobile, iPod, Blackberry Charging Station

Dave Burrows — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:36:34 +0000

Refresh is a personal or shared charging station for three or more devices. Compact in size and compatible with most of the new devices hitting the market today, it can charge two iPod/iPhones simultaneously while also charging a Blackberry and a bluetooth headset for instance. In fact, using the two iPod connectors and two of your own iPod cords, you could even charge four iPod/iPhones at the same time. Perfect for the whole family.

The concept behind Refresh is simple – it is essentially a small box containing half a dozen cables and connectors, with a rubberised tray sat on top. Just sit your devices on the tray and plug in the connectors and you have a clutter-free method of charging multiple mobile gadgets simultaneously.

The connectors include a couple for iPhone and iPod, plus mini and micro USB (the latter is set to become the standard connector for mobile phones) and a couple of female USB ports that you can use to attach any additional proprietary connectors as well.

Refresh is suitable for office or home and the compact size of the unit, which measures 241 x 142 x 45mm, makes it a good fit on most desks.

Additional connectors can be purchased for the following devices/phones

- EX-001 Nokia
- EX-002 Sony Ericsson
- EX-003 LG
- EX-004 Samsung
- EX-005 Samsung
- EX-006 Mini USB
- EX-007 Micro USB
- EX-008 Various Brands
- EX-009 Palm
- EX-010 Sony PSP
- EX-011 Nintendo DS Lite
- EX-012 Motorola

The price is a little on the high side especially seeing that you have to manually plug in charger cables, it’s not like the PowerMat for instance.

Price: £75 / $89 from BlueLounge.com

Posted in Android, Battery Chargers, Hardware, iPhone, iPod, Windows Mobile, Zune

IvySkin Zappak Battery Pack for iPhone and iPod Touch

Dave Burrows — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:31:10 +0000

IvySkin have released a new portable (well kinda portable) battery pack for the iPhone and iPod Touch (as well as supporting many more phones that use USB cables) called the IvySkin Zappak.

The IvySkin Zappak battery back-up solution with dual-USB technology claims to be the world’s lightest and smallest with longest battery life and a built-in USB cable.

You can now charge your iPhone and iPod both at the same time when they run out of battery while you’re out on the go with dual-charging circuits.

The IvySkin Zappak battery pack is available from IvySkin for $49.99.

Posted in Android, Battery Chargers, iPhone, iPod, Technology, Windows Mobile, Zune

Lose those cables with the Kensington 4 port USB charger plug!

Dave Burrows — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:17:18 +0000

Our gadget worlds are getting more and more cluttered with cables. When I look at my desk now it’s just a complete mesh of cables. Each cable requires a separate plug which is really frustrating. Then I saw the Kensington 4 port USB charger plug.

The Kensington 4 port USB Charger plug will charge everything you need in one place. It comes with 4x USB ports to allow you to plug in your USB cables for various devices and you can then charge these Mobile Devices direct to the plug rather than using your computer or separate charger plugs. You can charge iPhone’s, iPod’s, mobile phones, SmartPhones, Windows Phones, PDAs and much more.

Features

Four USB power ports charge up to four mobile devices simultaneously
Eliminates the need for multiple wall chargers and outlets
Small, compact design doesn’t block extra wall outlets
Use with your existing USB charging cable

Technical specifications

Input: 100-240 VAC, 50-60Hz, 0.3A max.
Output: 1-4 x USB, 5 VDC, 2.0A max.
Dimensions (LxWxD): 3.03 x 2.17 x 1.14 in./7.7 x 5.5 x 2.9 cm
Weight: 4.23 oz./120.0 g

This is a little pricey at £22.95 but if you were to purchase separate chargers then it’s certainly a cheaper option, and by buying one also gives you a good travel charger (as it comes with UK and EU plugs). Also buy buying one also frees up your other chargers to use them in other rooms

Posted in Android, Battery Chargers, Hardware, iPhone, iPod, Palm Pre, Technology, Windows Mobile, Zune

Zune HD anyone?

Dave Burrows — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:02:43 +0000

Being a Microsoft fan of Windows Mobile for the past 7 or so years, the first thing that most people think is that I’d be very pro the Zune. The Zune never really appealed to me, I think the main reason was the lack of availability in the UK when it was released. Likewise the Zune HD also really doesn’t tickly my fancy. It looks quite slick, but why would I want to switch when the iPhone can do all of this?

Ah but the iPhone doesn’t do HD I hear you say? Well there’s a lot of chatter online that the iPhone will support 720P, and if it will without any frame dropping in a future update from Apple then there would indeed be no reason for anyone to switch from an iPhone or iPod Touch to a Zune HD.

And again Microsoft, the big killer for me to not switch to the Zune is…..Wait for it…..”The Zune is currently only on sale in the US, at $220 (£133) for the 16 GB version and $290 (£175) for 32 GB. Early indications are that Microsoft have no plans to sell the Zune HD outside the US.”

Posted in iPhone, iPod, News, Ramblings, Zune