With a 2.1A output and 10,400mAh capacity, the Gum Max is an external backup battery by Just Mobile that works with iOS devices. Anyone who has used iOS devices extensively — perhaps some of you even use the iPad as their primary computer — knows that, for as much as Apple has focused on making iOS devices extremely user-friendly from a battery life standpoint, the battery is going to run out eventually. And if you use a lot of high-speed 3G data, watch some videos, and play a game or two, that battery indicator up in the iOS status bar is going to run out faster.

Just a few days prior to receiving my Gum Max review unit, I waited in line at the Apple Store in Rome to buy the new iPad. There, I had the chance to experience how important it is to be able to rely on iOS devices without a source of power constantly available — sure, Apple employees allowed us to use the store’s MacBooks to charge our iPhones, but it just seemed rude to me to go there every few hours just to grab a USB port without doing anything else. Waiting in line for more than 20 hours, using a lot of 3G and taking several photos of videos with my iPhone 4S, I had to recharge my device multiple times — and when I didn’t want to use the USB ports kindly provided by Apple’s employees, I had to use my friends’ portable battery packs. There, I realized I really needed to get a backup battery for iOS devices for the future. Indeed, power and battery life seem to be two common concerns these days.

The Gum Max is not one of those battery packs that you can use as a case for the iPhone. The Gum Max actually looks (and weighs) like an external drive, only it can charge iOS devices through USB. The device has a green LED indicator to show how much juice it’s got left to power your iPhone or iPad, and input and output (to recharge the Gum Max, and recharge your iOS devices) are separate, but they both use USB (regular and micro) through cables that are provided in the box. As with many Just Mobile products, the Gum Max looks like something Apple would produce, with a clean and elegant design highlighted by a sturdy aluminum shell. I like the design of the Gum Max, but how it works is what matters in critical situations.

I ran a series of tests to see how the Gum Max would recharge my iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and new iPad. Overall, the Gum Max can easily recharge an iPhone 4S from 0% to 100% in two hours, get an iPad 2 from 0% to 90% with a single charge, and recharge half of the new iPad’s bigger battery with a single charge.

Gum Max Tests

iPhone 4S, started at 3:47 AM. From 0% to 37% in 30 minutes; up to 79% after 67 minutes.

iPhone 4S, started at 11:15 PM. From 0% to 68% in 60 minutes; up to 98% in 115 minutes.

iPad 3, started at 1:10 AM. Up to 28% in 100 minutes.

iPad 3, started at 2:09 PM. Device turned on at 2:17 PM. Up to 35% in 122 minutes; 42% in 145 minutes; 51% in 176 minutes; Gum Max turned off at 5:05 PM with device at 52%.

iPad 2, started at 10:14 PM. Device turned on at 10:23 PM, reached 44% at 11:44 PM, Gum Max turned off with iPad at 90%.

At $109, you have to consider whether getting 5 hours of a new iPad back will be worth the expense, assuming you’re getting the 10 hours of battery life promised by Apple, which I have indeed noticed with my iPad (it is a 4G model, and I don’t keep brightness at 100%). Is a full iPhone charge or an iPad going back to 50% going to a considerable improvement for your work, or the way you rely on iOS devices on the go? And is that improvement going to be worth $109 over time? Especially for iPhone users, I think having a full charge back in two hours can be critical in some scenarios (last year, I spent a night at the hospital to help a friend, my phone died at 3 AM, and I couldn’t reach my parents). For third-generation iPad users, the utility of a battery pack like this is more debatable, as the new iPad is slower at charging, and it’ll completely drain the Gum Max while remaining at only 50%. For previous iPad owners, 90% of charge from zero sounds like a good investment in my opinion.

With these differences in mind, the Gum Max is a fine accessory, it’s very portable, and it comes with an elegant black carrying pouch. You can get it here.

Apple yesterday released the iOS 5.0.1 software update which, among other fixes and features, included optimizations for battery life of devices running iOS 5. In particular, a number of users in the past weeks have reported shorter than normal battery life on the iPhone 4S, Apple’s latest iPhone model released on October 14th. Apple promised that the iOS 5.0.1 update would fix a software issue that had affected battery life on iOS 5, not just the iPhone 4S.

Yet after the release of iOS 5.0.1, which was distributed over-the-air to iOS 5 devices as well as through iTunes, several users on Apple’s Support Communities reported battery life issues similar to pre-iOS 5.0.1 scenarios, if not worse after the upgrade. In a statement issued to All Things D, Apple says they will continue to investigate issues with battery life:

The recent iOS software update addressed many of the battery issues that some customers experienced on their iOS 5 devices,” the company said in a statement. “We continue to investigate a few remaining issues.

As Apple keeps working on iOS 5 and improving the system’s battery management, a number of users suggest that disabling some of iOS’ Location Services and Notifications might improve battery life dramatically. Apple doesn’t specifically recommend any of the “tips and tricks” found online, though it does offer a Feedback page for all users willing to report back about their experience with iOS devices.

Accessory maker Kensington announced earlier this week the BungeeAir, a hybrid case/iPhone tracker/backup battery solution to protect an iPhone 4, increase its battery life, and, more importantly, find a paired device nearby. The BungeeAir, in fact, works in combination with a compact key fob, which through a 2.4 GHz wireless connection (the one supported by the iPhone 4) will alert users when they’re separated  from their device – Kensington is touting this as a convenient way to never leave an iPhone behind in public places, or simply find it again in your house. The BungeeAir comes bundled with a free app on the App Store, which besides support for alarms and vibration when the “wireless tether” is broken, adds a number of security features such as passcode protection for a lost iPhone, or a two-way “find” functionality to locate either the case (and thus, the iPhone) or the fob by pressing “Find” button.

BungeeAir is perfect for the professional on-the-go who relies on their iPhone to be productive throughout the day. Simply place the iPhone in the protective case and attach the BungeeAir fob to your keys, purse or badge and it will remind you if ever leave your phone behind, before it can get out of your sight. A convenient companion app lets you customize the security settings, and with the added feature that it can help you find your fob and attached misplaced keys.

Kensington’s BungeeAir might sound similar to Apple’s free Find My iPhone service, but it’s quite different in the way it’s meant for a much more “local” use – BungeeAir doesn’t have an online counterpart to track and geo-locate a lost or stolen iPhone, and the app allows you to customize the distance between the fob and the case after which you’d like to be alerted.

Kensington is offering two different versions of the BungeeAir. The BungeeAir Power Wireless Security Tether for iPhone acts as tether, battery, and case and is available for pre-order at $99 or on Amazon. The BungeeAir Protect Wireless Security Tether doesn’t have a battery, and can be yours for $20 less at $79.99. Check out Kensington’s three promo videos for the BungeeAir’s Remind, Find, and Secure features below. [via Macworld] (more…)

Good question. This big, compared to the first iPad:

We’re not entirely sure about the 1.8x figure provided by our friend Nils, but taking a look at another photo from the Engadget liveblog seems to confirms we have three bigger battery packs now built right into the (thinner) iPad.

Apple’s tech specs page says it’s a “built-in 25-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery” with up to 10 hours of usage.

Two patents uncovered today by AppleInsider and Patently Apple give us some insight on technologies and features Apple might implement in future MacBooks and iOS devices. Smart bezels (a subject we’ve covered before) make a comeback today in a patent that describes how tablets could benefit from losing physical buttons and delegating functions like volume and brightness adjustment to touch-sensitive hardware parts running around the screen of a device. (more…)

We’re big fans of solar charging technologies here at MacStories: we got excited when Apple patents detailing screen-integrated solar charging surfaced last year, and we couldn’t help but be intrigued by the foldable solar charger for iPad. And even when someone tried to apply the same concept to the iPhone with an awkwardly huge accessory, we were curious.

The Eton Mobius iPhone battery pack is another take on the integrated solar charger for iPhone that looks better than anything else we have seen so far. It doubles your device’s battery life, it gives you 20 minutes of talk per sun hour and, most of all, doesn’t look that bad as an iPhone case. Sure it adds 20mm of thickness to the iPhone, but it sounds like a fairly acceptable compromise when it comes to keeping your phone alive, in the sun.

Too bad it’s always raining these days in my town. [Gizmodo via Geeky Gadgets]

If all you’ve ever wanted is trick your friends to think you’re using a broken iPhone 4 with exposed internal, well — first I feel bad for you because, honestly, all you’ve ever wanted can’t be this, then I’m about to tell you this kind of weird dream can now come true thanks to a decal available on Etsy.

Well, it could have come true — the item’s been sold. But hey, maybe the creator will put new ones up for sale. Maybe there’s still a chance all you’ve ever wanted will be online again.

Anyway, it’s a decal that will make your iPhone 4 look “naked” on the back, with battery and camera lens well visible. I do think it’s pretty great and geek.

Still, you’ll have to wait for new units to become available. Dreams can take a while to come true. [Gizmodo via Etsy]

Two interesting tidbits from today’s Apple iOS 4.2 press release you might have missed with all the excitements for the new OS:

iPad users can now run their favorite apps and switch between them instantly, while preserving iPad’s legendary battery life.

Today, customers have downloaded more than seven billion apps from the groundbreaking App Store and more than 300,000 apps are available to consumers in 90 countries, with more than 40,000 native iPad apps. Over 125 million iOS users around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

While Apple isn’t new to using peculiar adjectives to describe their products (just think of the “magical” iPad), the data provided in the press release are definitely noteworthy. (more…)

Last night Apple launched a new iPhone 4 commercial focused on the amazing battery life of the device. The commercial, first spotted by TiPB, still isn’t available in a high quality version on Apple’s Youtube version, but you can find an embed below anyways.

As TiPB reports:

It’s broken up into work longer (Mail), play longer (a hockey game), laugh longer (Pixar’s Monsters Inc. movie), listen longer (iPod), shoot (Camera), edit (iMovie), share (MMS), update (Facebook), download (App Store), read (iBooks), write (SMS), and even FaceTime longer.

Apple also reminds people this is the “world’s thinnest smartphone”. We think it’s a good commercial, simple and effective as always. Check it out below.