The Travelers Battery

My Girlfriend recently took a trip to Portland Oregon from Birmingham, AL, where we live.  That means a whole lot of bored waiting while laid over in Denver and a whole lot of boring flight time.  Well, she has an iPhone which normally would cure all of these things easily except for one slight problem... the battery isn't going to last all day if you're using it heavy!  That's a problem!

While I pondered on this problem, I started looking for solutions.  And yes, I know that some of the solar powered chargers I've written about would possibly solve this issue, but maybe not.  No, what you need to solve this issue is some sort of portable external power supply that doesn't depend on wind/water/sun.  You need a mega batter.

None-the-less, I stumbled upon this external battery from New Trent that's very compatible with the iPhones, iPad, iPods, iP's, iEverythings as well as the Android and other devices.  So it's, simply put, a battery.

The one problem this battery may cause is the fact that it's an extra component to keep up with.  The main problem I specifically want to solve is the battery life of my iPhone.  So, I looked  a little farther and found the "New Trent ultra slim-fit case IMP130" for the iPhone 3G/3GS.  With almost 100 ratings at this point, it nearly scores a perfect 5-Stars.

If you wind up buying one of these, I'm very curious to find out what you think about it.

Solar Powered Cooler. Eureka!

I found this product looking for a solar powered cooler.  This is NOT a solar powered cooler.  It's a cooler with a solar powered powered docking station.  Don't get confused about that either, because it doesn't look like it has the proprietary iPod/iPhone power/data plug end.  It looks, however, like it does have a whole bunch of power adapters as well as a likely female USB connector. 

Still, lets think about the practicality of this unit.  First off, it has a battery source to store saved up energy for powering the speakers and charging your chosen gadget.  Secondly, it has speakers on a cooler.  That alone makes it pretty cool... just more like $30-40 cool.  Throw in the solar technology and the energy storage device with all those cool adapters that could be used in a multitude of applications, and sign me up.  Looks like it's good for a 6-pack or a picnic in the park with romantic rob zombie in the background. 

I know what you're thinking, and you're right.  I should probably change the name of this product blog to Wes' Solar Reviews.  It's true, I've been checking out a lot of solar stuff, but it's just because the thought of free energy is rad beyond the value of clean coal by the a factor of a sideways eight.

Portable Solar Charger

I guess I'm still on a solar kick, but why shouldn't we all be on one. Contrary to popular belief, solar panels are affordable and smart. They are available in all shapes and sizes, but I like this one as the best economic value.

I like this one for several reasons:

1. It folds to protect the solar panels from misc long-term exposure/wearage. 
2. It comes with an accessory cables/connectors kit, so it likely has the connecting pieces for whatever purpose you purchase it for.
3. It's not too pricey, but it's not one of the cheaper models out there.  It's a middle-of-the-road item to get started using the application of solar power.
4. The ratings are favorable on amazon.com.  Most reviews are 4-5 stars with the exception of one individual who chose 1 star.  One of the better reviews had this to say:"The price was right and the power output was just what I was looking for in such a portable device!"

This solar power stuff is just too cool.

Wireless Flash Drive? SAWEEET!

Well, this is a first for me... One of the things I hate the most about modern digital photography is having to mess with cables and various interfaces to get the photos you've taken from your camera to your computer.

Granted, it doesn't take that long to do, but when you've got a bunch of other things on your agenda, sometimes you just don't feel up to messing with all that.  Now, there's finally a solution it seems.

I'm having a hard time finding exactly how this thing is working... be it blue-tooth or actually making use of the root to their punny name utilizing wi-fi.  Either way, It looks like it comes with it's own website / software that is designed to catch the signal and let you apply it easily.

They offer several sizes, I just picked this one as an example.

Solar Powered car charger

Ok, this is just too cool.  It looks like there are several battery powered chargers on the market... some better than others.  And, yah know, there's a lot of different applications for using solar power that we're not generally using.

Now, this unit may or may not wind up paying for itself -- depending on how much life the battery gains from using this contraption.  I'm not an engineer, so I'm not sure how much battery life can be saved by introducing a supplemental energy provider.

If it's possible that you could double the life of your car battery, which for this example we'll say cost $50, then you'd be ahead $29.01 going into the following batter purchase.  This, of course, based on a very crude assumption that it would double the life of the battery.

Another way to look at it is this: if you come back to your car from a long trip and your car won't start, you may be inconvenienced to have to find someone near by with a pair of jumper cables.  Meanwhile, you're life has been offset from your destiny of winning the $50,000 scratch off because the guy at the gas stationary counter (who did win it) would have been behind you in line had you been able to crank and spank.  I'm not sure what the spank part has to with any of this, but it rhymed dang it!

Water-powered calculator?

WHAT THE FRIG!? We're spending so much of our natural recourses and hurting our ecosystem to get our energy and there's a way to get electricity from combining water and an alloy?  And this isn't on every news-station because__________?

Oh well, guess I'm gonna have to buy this thing and see if I can reverse engineer it on a mass scale swimming pool sized version.   I wanna put my power meter in reverse...  make the power company pay me for a change.

K, maybe I'll just have to get it and use it as a calculator and be happy for what I have.  It's pretty badass.  Plus, there's this guy in the cubical next to me who drives a prius, and now I can give him a hard time for still using batteries in his calculadora.  "Muah-ha-ha, my how the tables have turned," I'll say.

Lawn Charger

We've all seen the leather charging stations being exchanged at Christmas this year bought at Belk and the like.  I've got one sitting on my bathroom right now, and it's currently charging an empty pack of smokes and tray full of pennies (because I've already picked out the silver change).  It's ugly. It's cumbersome.  It's not practical.  Then, I ran across the Grassy Lawn Charger at ThinkGeek.com.  Alas, there be a better answer.

This thing rocks... throw it on a desk and it's a conversation piece but unique enough to be proud of it.  Those regular chargers are for normal people, and you know that whoever you're buying this charger for is coasting above the lowest common denominator.

@ $25, it's a steal.  Here's the Link.

The iPhone Woodie

This has got to be one of the coolest iPhone covers ever.  I love wood paneling on anything.  There's just something about seeing it in places you're not expecting that makes it cool.  Example: My reading glasses are made by Ray Band and have wood paneling on the temples.  You wouldn't expect to see it there, and that's what makes it so freagin sweet.  

At any rate, I ran across this thing and thought I'd share it.  Is still have to get an iPphone first.


Cost? Try $23 - $30.  Not too shab-aye. ThinkGeek.com (Link)

Introduction

Some blogs are created to speak their views on politics, theology, etc. Those people take life too serious. I surf the net, find cool stuff, and bring it here.

About me? I'm currently in my late 20's, grew up in Birmingham, AL, and if you're still reading this, your attention span is longer than most. Congratulations, but that's enough about me. Oh yeah, and my name's Wes... or is it? asldfkjas;lfja;df