If you have an iPhone and use it as much as I do to check email, update twitter, and facebook, you’ll probably noticed how quickly you can drain your battery during the course of the day. This can be a big issue when your traveling and don’t have access to an outlet to charge your iPhone.
The solution to this problem is the portable battery pack from FastMac called the iV for iPhone 2G, 3G, and 3G S.
Look and Feel
The iV is a long lasting 3100mAh extended battery pack weighing only 3.9 ounces and measuring 2.4″ x 5.3″ x .5″, that just slips right onto your existing iPhone. The iV is made of textured rubber sleeve that your iPhone slips into and has a 30-pin dock connector for syncing and charging, and the iV will fit inside the universal dock connector. I appreciated this feature because I didn’t have to deal with the hassle of having to remove my phone from the iV to sync or charge the unit.
When your iPhone is in the iV, your phone does look a little more bulky. The reason for this is because iV’s matches the contours of the curved back of the iPhone 3G. While it does add a little heft to my iPhone, I was still able to fit my phone with the iV attached in my pant pockets without any problems. I wouldn’t advise at walking around with it in your pants pocket, unless you don’t mind looking like your carrying a small paper back book. You have to put this in perspective, the battery capacity of the iV is way bigger than it competitors and not early as thick or heavy either.
Another nice feature of the iV is the full size USB port at the bottom of the unit so you can simultaneously charge another device, like another iPhone or camera. On the rear of the camera you’ll notice that there is a built-in LED light for using as flash light or flash in low lighting conditions. Also on the back is an On/Off button and charge status button.
Overall great build quality for an extended battery pack that’s made in the U.S.A.
Performance
The FastMac iV is 3100mAH extended battery pack that can provide you with up to 24 hours of talk time, 72 hours of audio playback, 21 hours of video playback, and 30 days of standby time.
The iV can be used as an extended battery by just leaving it turned on all day or you can use it as a quick charger for your iPhone by using the On/Off button on the back of the iV to provide a rapid charge for your iPhone. In less than 1 hour you can charge your iPhone to 80% power.
The best way to use the iV is to let it start charging when you get to the 20% – 10% warning and stop charging after 45 minutes. By charging in these quick bursts, you’ll be able to charge your phone several times more than if you left it turned on all day. I followed the quick charge method and it works brilliantly, and it quickly restored my battery on my iPhone to a full charge and I had plenty of juice left in the iV to power other devices.
The LED does come in handy for use as a flash light, but using it as a flash can be bit tricky because you have to turn it on and off. There is no way creating a strobe that a camera flash does when taking a photo in low lighting condition, plus its difficult to do that while trying to take a picture using the iPhone. It’s a nice feature, but could use a little improvement. Update:According to FastMac prior to OS 3.0 for the iPhone, Apple did not allow syncing of the flash with the LED. Now that OS 3.0 is live FastMac will be able to approve upon syncing the camera and LED.
A couple of bonus items do come with the iV that are not listed on its website that are worth noting, and those are a free screen protector film and headphone adapter cable. The headphone adapter cable gives you microphone and iPod music controls for your exiting headphones, just like Apple’s iPhone headphones. I liked the inclusion of this adapter because I’ve gone through several pair of iPhone headphones already and it saves you money from buying new iPhone headphones.
Not only is the iV backed with a 30 day guarantee, they have a trade-in program which allows you to upgrade to future versions of iV so you’ll always be powered no matter what iPhone you have. iPod Touch or Nano owners don’t feel left out, because you can purchase the iV Universal version of the extended battery to give you the same features as the iV for the iPhone.
The FastMac iV is an incredible extended battery pack for your iPhone and works extremely well and you should really keep one in your bag.
FastMac iV retails for $79.95
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Thanks for the positive review
Would like to point out that the Universal version also works with both iPod touch & nano. Until iPhone OS 3.0 came out, Apple wouldn’t allow us to synchronize the iV’s flash with the iPhone’s built-in camera. Now the possibilities are more open and we look forward to improving this product.
Thanks Abbi for the update! I’ll update the post.
Rob
” There is no way creating a strobe that a camera flash does when taking a photo in low lighting condition”
The reason normal cameras flash multiple times is usually for red-eye reduction. Only the flash that occurs right at exposure will affect the actual lighting in the image.
Does it interfere at all with the phone’s reception?
Does it come in any other colors?
Thanks.
Hi Vwls,
The iV doesn’t interfere with the phones reception and it doesn’t come in any other colors besides black.
Thanks
R
I’ve had serious problems dealing with Fastmac and would recommend avoiding them.
I bought one of their replacement Macbook Pro batteries. After only a few charge / discharge cycles (about 30) it was only lasting about half an hour. At first they tried to tell me this was ‘normal’, but after speaking to their technical department they eventually admitted the battery was faulty.
I returned the battery to them and they posted out a replacement to the *wrong address*. Fortunately the recipient turned the delivery away – but Fastmac won’t talk to me about it at all and I still don’t have my battery. They now haven’t responded to my emails for over ten days.