iPhone - external battery top-up?
 

Hey, I need to buy an external battery for my iPhone. I want to keep the phone going for 2-3 days. Little or no voice calling, but running GPS and a bike ride tracking app, and some texting. What do you all recommend?

Battery case. There are lots of them out there.

Amazon.com: New Trent Power Rock case IMP220B with Extended Rechargeable Battery Juice Case 2200mAh for IPHONE 4 4G: MP3 Players & Accessories

What I did for our MS150 was have a 12V AGM battery in my luggage and a cigarette lighter adapter with alligator clips. I used a 50 Ah battery cause that is what I had on the floor charged at the time. I told other people to take their car adapters with them and we setup a cell phone charging station. I think we charged several dozen phones.

A 12V x 5 Ah battery would charge several cell phones.

Amazon.com: Used and New: UB1250 / D5741 Non-Spillable SLA Battery [Electronics]

And

Amazon.com: Roadpro 12V Battery Clip-On and Cigarette Lighter Adapter: Automotive

Voltaic Fuse 4W Solar Charger

Solar charger and battery.

Battery provides juice and panel recharges battery and devices.

Straps to any back pack.

One of my guys has one and swears by it.

Man that is expensive!

But it weighs only 1.3 lbs. versus the 7.5 lb SLA battery.

Sounds like he's taking it multi day on a bike trip.

I know which one I'd rather shlep around. :)

You should make a better cheaper version.

Want to go into business with me on it?

The 5Ah AGM doesn't weigh that much...

If he is carrying everything with him, that is one thing. But if it is an MS150, then the battery is simply for overnight charging.

I'd like to run Cyclemeter during the ride. But the battery won't last all day, with that app running. There won't be a place to charge on the overnight. So I need to keep the phone going for 2 days using a battery that I can carry. I mean, ideally I would. Otherwise I'll simply keep the phone powered down and saved for emergencies.

The problem running those type of apps is that not only do you have to have the screen on the entire time you're riding, but the back lighting is also up to prevent washout.

I'm not sure that even the 2200 mAh case is going to do it.

On the cheap side, you can buy the battery chargers that use AA batteries. Use lithium and carry about a dozen.

Try going solar...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xj3ydMZteCo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Under $60.00 at Amazon.

Randy

The problem is that these "solar" things do not have enough capability to recharge the phone. The $129 one does, but note the size of the panel just to make 2 Watts at 12VDC.

First Looks: Eton Mobius NSP300B Solar-Powered Battery Case | iLounge

It takes 20 hours of sunlight to charge the case battery, which is about 80% of the charge of an iPhone 4S. So, it would take about 50 hours of sunlight, to charge the phone and case, if they are turned off.

This is a big problem with the solar chargers -- the panels simply aren't big enough to capture enough light to be effective.

I bought a battery charger for my ipad/iphone from Best Buy for ~ $70.00. It is very light and can charge my iphone 3/4 times without needing to be recharged. The battery itself gets charged via USB & an iphone/ipad plug. Because I bought the ipad charger, it is the higher amp charger, so it will charge the iphone rather quickly.

It is at home -- I'll update you with the name of the unit later today...

-Z

John,

Do you have any support at all? I think you'll be able to use a battery case with the iPhone to get you through a day, but then you will still need to charge it overnight, somehow.

I had thought about doing this with a previous (Android) phone, but the battery just wouldn't hold out with the screen and GPS on.

I know you don't want to spend this much, but the real solution is leave your iPhone in your pocket with a case battery, and then use a Garmin 800

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-GPS-Enabled-Cycling-Computer-Includes/dp/B0041O5X8K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1341327696&sr=8-3&keywords=garmin+800

Yellow Jacket.

SpinPOWER I4 iPhone 4 Bicycle USB Charger KIT

Amazon.com: SpinPOWER I4 iPhone 4 Bicycle USB Charger KIT: Cell Phones & Accessories

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...SL._AA300_.jpg

I like your idea, but this is much more serious

Shimano Hub Generators and lights

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/light...ages/huh12.jpg

6VDC

Shimano Nexus Generator Hubs For Bicycles

True that. I remember using a similar clamp on generator powered light when I was a kid delivering papers. Nice option that you can remove it simply and make it fit just about any bike.

I only have experience, and not that much, with solar on my boat. Cool idea, but unless you have large panels that track the sun, it's hard to get enough power to run much equipment. Neat idea to add battery capacity but weight and complexity starts to add up.

For those that don't know, I'm in the Solar Business. It takes an awful lot of space to make something useful. And most of the stuff out there is junk!

I'm in the UL testing phase of some new products. Some are for the Oil and Gas market, some are for home use. The thing they have in common is they are for places where there is no power.

Bought a Caselogic back-up battery case for mine at Office Max for $50. Works great. Use my phone alot for business. Internal battery usually near dead by mid-afteroon. Touch button on the back and it recharges to about 90% of full in about 30 minutes.

A drawback to many of the case battery packs is that you loose your 30-pin connector, so if you connect your iphone to a stereo/speakers/stand via the Apple 30-pin connection, you have to take the case off.

BTW: I can get 2 days without a recharge on my iPhone4, if I manage the apps properly (push notificaitons, location services & GPS off for most apps; email is fetch every 30 minutes) I also have autobrightness turned off, and bluetooth turned on only when using it. Stuff like that helps battery life a ton.

-Z-man.

Yes, that's true, but I found that to be a benefit. The micro USB is everywhere. My house was full of such chargers from my blackberry days. Connect to stereo via 3.5mm jack for Pandora, etc., so hasn't been an issue here.

YMMV, of course.

I doubt I'll find a place to recharge at the overnight stop (camping). I'll bring the wall charger from the iPad which charges an iPhone quickly, at worst I'll end up killing an hour charging up at a coffee shop en route.

I'm going on a ride tomorrow, I'll measure just how much % of battery Cyclemeter drains in 30 miles, then I'll know how many recharges I will need to get out of whatever battery pack I end up with.

The 12V x 5Ah SLA battery weighs 3 pounds, 1 oz. It has 60 Watt-hours of capacity.

The iPhone battery is about 7.5 Watt hours. So the 5Ah SLA will get you about 8 full charges.

A 2Ah weighs about 1.5 lbs and will get you 24 Watt-hours, or a bit over 3 charges.

5 Watt Solar Panel 0.8 Kg, 1.76 lbs, 11.5" x 10", mount on top of rear bike rack. Total is about 3.25 lbs and the iPhone will never go dead!

$19 Solar Panel (You can remove the aluminum to save weight!)
$17 Battery
Blocking Diode $0.50 (put between the + wire on the solar panel and the battery + to prevent overnight discharge)
$6 Waterproof Cigarette lighter socket

$42.50 and you'll have something that will actually work!

John, are you humping the gear on the bikes? If no, then what I'm suggesting above will really work for you, minus the solar panel.

Here is the thing you want!!!

Resync™ (Black): Brunton - Lanterns, Solar Power, Headlamps, Binoculars, Scopes, Compasses

9Ah, 5VDC, 45 Watt-hours, USB connector

Buy it on evil-bay

NEW Brunton Sync Power Reservoir System Green Save Batteries Backpacking Hiking 080078010057 | eBay

Weighs 10 oz - it will recharge the iPhone about 6 times

The battery pack I have is called myCharge. myCharge | Portable Power Solutions. I have the portable power bank 6000. It is a little thicker than my iPhone, but weighs less than the phone itself. Can definately keep you going for more than 3 days. Small, light and powerful - perfect for you needs, IMHO...

-Z-man

2:46 hours ride time, 3:15 total time, 47 miles, had Cyclemeter running about 3:00, iPhone settings all my normal (BT off, GPS on, WiFi on/should've had it off, cellular data on, minimal Location Service or Notifications).
Used up 40% of my battery.
So in theory my battery will last 8 hours. Turning off WiFi will help, but riding in areas of weak cell signal will hurt. To get through the ride, w/o using an outlet, I'll need at least 2 full recharges, 3 would be nice. Suggests a 6,000 mah battery. I'll check out the ones you guys just posted. Thanks!

Build a Minty boost!

They claim

I happened to see an Iomega 6600 mAH battery at an airport store, for $80. So far, two and a half charges of the iPhone and the battery still has 3 LEDs lit of 4. This is going to work great. Thanks!

Any more details? I checked Iomega's website and didn't find anything.

That is not the original Minty Boost ( MintyBoost Kit [v3.0] ID: 14 - $19.50 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits )
obviously a good match for your needs as it is what Ollie Whalley used to finish the Tour Divide in 16 days (2745 miles of bikepacking down the continental divide)

Hell - just use his whole setup as sweetly described with links here:
Ollie Whalley's Tour Divide Gear List | Divide Bound

I know it's a little more bulky, but I have a Hyperjuice. It's not bulky enough that it would stop me taking it on a pushbike ride, though.

http://www.instablogsimages.com/1/20...tery_hpym4.jpg

Review here.

I bought it for a long Sydney to Los Angeles flight and it ran my iPad (at high brightness) the entire trip, while playing movies and torrents and it still had enough power left in it to charge two iPhones (iPhone4), watch more movies etc in the transit lounges and during domestic flights further north. Like the review says, I laughed at the folks at the terminals, all huddled around the wall sockets charging their stuff, while I had mine in my bag, plugged in and charging quicker than they could. By the time I arrived at my hotel in Portland (a 24hr trip from Melbourne, btw) it still had around 25% charge left.

It's something like 16,000mah capacity. I don't know the electrical stuff, but it charges my iPads (iPad1 and iPad3 also) almost as quickly as the 10W Apple charger in the wall socket does. I use it at home, plugged into the wall socket to charge my phone and other USB devices, but I take it on the road with me if I'm going away for a weekend, as I can charge anything with it. It's superb! It has the USB plug, as well as a DC out plug and came with a Magsafe connector, so you can run laptops off it as well.

Cost me around $140, but I've already had my money's worth. It's a great device.

Sorry - it is an "IOGEAR" product. Brain fade on my part.