Our friends over at FastMac are developing the coolest accessory for the iPhone that I’ve ever witnessed. The unit is a Swiss army knife for the iPhone. Combining a battery charger, flash for the camera, louder external speaker, Apple Bluetooth headset charger and still allows the iPhone to be docked in its original dock which charges the battery pack and iPhone at once. I admit that was a run on sentence but it’s difficult to pack every feature into once sentence. I’m going to break all of that down to make it easier to digest but if you own an iPhone, this is the accessory to own this year and it’s coming out sooner than you think.
Click “Full Story” for the rest and PHOTOS
The Basics: FastMac’s codename “iV”, at first glance, is just another iPhone charger. The unit has the capacity to charge an iPhone 2 times. For now, there�s an on/off button to initiate charging of the iPhone. There’s an Apple notebook style battery indicator on the back to show the remaining charge. The pack itself docks on the iPhone and wraps around the back and over the top a bit to hold the iPhone securely. The base of the unit fits perfectly into Apple’s iPhone dock.
The Cool Stuff: I personally hate the iPhone speaker when it comes to chatting on the phone. iV has a chamber that assists in amplifying the speaker volume to make calls and music listening more enjoyable but this feature is still under development. I’m a moblogger and constantly email photos to flickr on a daily basis but nothing bugs me more than not being able to take photos due to low lights. iV includes a flash to make this much easier. There’s a simple on / off switch right next to the audio mute switch that turns on the flash.
The Essentials: I use a Jawbone Bluetooth headset for music enjoyment but most iPhone users have purchased Apple’s headset offering, FastMac saw it fit to include a charger for any USB device because there are many different devices like Bluetooth headsets that charge over USB. This is a fantastic idea because the iPhone and headset can now be charged while on the road and without having to bring the Apple dual iPhone dock or USB cable. The USB port can be used to charge another iPod, camera or any device that charges via USB. There’s a removable swivel clip for the unit. I’m unsure how well iV holds the iPhone in place so the belt clip does make me nervous that iPhone may topple to the ground or get bumped into a wall as you walk past and scratch the unit. This is still a good idea to include. FastMac is still deciding on a belt clip and there are many options they�re pursuing so the photos I�ve included are not final for this accessory.
iV does increase the thickness by nearly double the iPhone width but the unit is still comparable in thickness to the Treo 700. The height is also increased by a bit which you’ll see in the photos. The unit should be out in March and will be only $99 dollars. I love this concept and can’t wait to get my hands on their prototypes while at Macworld.
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1 Comments until now.
Anything you add to iPhone will tarnish its beauty, just like all Apple products because they’re so well made
Fastmac’s iV is not meant to be used ALL the time with the iPhone, just when you are running low on power. Let’s say you see the 10% battery warning- simply slip the iPhone into this product, give it a shot of iV [sorry, couldn't resist ] and then remove when its charged up. The beauty of iV is that you can still continue to use it while it is being charged, so you’re not tethered to the wall or some other product. If you are a power user, whose iPhone is running on empty @ the end of the day, this product is for you.
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