Scosche SwitchBACK Surge g4 iPhone case adds battery power, app and kickstand

Accessory maker Scosche just unveiled their newest iPhone 4 case — the SwitchBACK Surge g4. The case features a whole bunch of handy features. The most important feature is a beefy 1800mAh battery pack, capable of boosting your phone back to near-full state.

A handy kickstand means you can sit back and watch some movies and its MicroUSB port allows for charging and syncing, without the need for the Apple dock cable. The rear of the case features an interchangeable back in silver or black.

As a first on any iPhone battery case, the SwitchBACK Surge g4 lets you know its charging status through LED lights and a free app. The app tells you the exact charge level, and how much talk/music time you have remaining.

The case fits the AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4 and retails for $79.99. It is available right now through Scosche.com.

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Tekkeon myPower for iPhone 4 offers swappable batteries – up to 50 hours extra usage

Tekkeon just unveiled their newest iPhone power solution. Their myPower for iPhone 4 combines a slim rechargeable battery pack inside a case – offering power and protection in a single product.

Now, iPhone charge cases are not really a new innovation, but the Tekkeon case is unlike anything else on the market – its battery pack is swappable, thanks to their eSwap technology. eSwap allows you to exchange the battery pack in the case for a fresh module. Packs are available in 1200mAh and 2200mAh.

These high capacity batteries can provide between 7 and 12 hours of extra video playback, up to 50 hours of audio or up 18 hours of talk time. The battery packs don’t actually charge the iPhone – they merely power it, which reduces wear on the internal iPhone battery pack. When plugged in, the charger cord charges your iPhone and the myPower at the same time.

The MyPower for the iPhone 4G retails for $79.95, and additional battery packs are $39.95 (1200mAh) and $49.95 (2200 mAh). The new myPower is available directly from Tekkeon.

The Icon by IPEVO – the coolest iPhone and iPod battery ever made

With 100’s of iPhone backup batteries on the market, creating something that will get my attention is tough. Unless it does something nothing else does, I’m usually just not all that interested. Now that is out of the way, lets take a close look at the IPEVO Icon Power Pack.

At first glance, there is not much special about this battery pack. It has a dock connector on the top, a MiniUSB port on the bottom, and a shiny black plastic exterior. But as soon as you charge the Icon, or plug it into your iPhone, it shows its hidden trick – this thing lights up like a battery icon on your phone!

Behind the front of the Icon is a electroluminescent panel, which shows the charging status! The first time I used it, I must have looked like a 13 year old girl playing the newest Justin Bieber single, because the inner geek in me found the whole thing mighty amusing.

The Icon is nice and portable, and comes with a MiniUSB charger cable, a protective cap for the dock connector and a micro fiber case to keep it looking nice and new.

The price is a bit of an issue, because at $53.68, you’ll be paying about $20 more than most other (premium brand) iPhone backup chargers, but to be honest, this is one product that is cool enough to overlook the higher price.

According to IPEVO, the Icon will add about 3 hours of talk time to an iPhone 3G or 4, and up to 18 hours of audio playback. The exact specification of the battery is not published, but I’m guessing it is 1000mAh.

To learn more about the Icon, or to place an order, head on over to ipevo.com. To clarify – the Icon is developed by Essential Tpe and sold exclusively in the U.S. by IPEVO.

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Gadling gear review – Dexim BluePack S3 backup battery pack

In this product review, we’ll take a look at the Dexim BluePack S3 backup battery pack. The BluePack S3 is designed to provide backup power for almost any device that can powered and charged using USB. Inside the pack is a 2600mAh Lithium-Ion battery.

The basic idea behind this product is that you can charge your device even when you are away from a regular outlet. This means you can keep your iPod, iPhone, Zune, Blackberry or other device running, for the duration of a long haul flight or long train ride.

The BluePack S3 is about the size of a small mobile phone and included in the box is an AC charger (rated for 100-240V, making it suitable for international use), a carrying pouch, a USB charging cable and three device cables (iPod/iPhone, MiniUSB and MicroUSB).

The 2600mAh battery is one of the highest capacities on the market. Most battery packs this size are limited to about 1800mAh. Now, what does this mean to us travelers? Well – take for example the iPhone 3G. This phone has an 1150mAh battery pack, which means a 2600mAh backup battery can give the iPhone at least two full charges (assuming you start charging when it is completely empty). When you start from 25%, you’ll boost it about three times past its normal capacity.

Charging your device is extremely simple – You pick the right cable, plug it into your device, and let the battery pack do its work. The only button on the BluePack S3 is for checking the charge level of its battery, and for turning on the LED light. If the iPod, MiniUSB or MicroUSB cables don’t fit your device, you can use any other USB charging cable.

My only minor gripe with the BluePack S3 is that the cable used to charge the pack is not a standard plug – most backup battery packs use MiniUSB to charge, but the BluePack S3 uses a small round connector. This means you’ll need to keep a close eye on the charging cable, as losing it means you won’t be able to recharge the unit.

There is one advantage to this cable – it has 2 USB plugs on the other end, making it possible to charge the pack using 2 USB ports, speeding up the charging process (the two connectors can double the power delivered to the BluePack S3).

All in all, a solid product. The included cables are a nice bonus, and a set of cables like this normally sells for about $20. The BluePack S3 feels sturdy and looks well designed. I’m a huge fan of backup battery packs as they can mean the difference between being able to use your gadgets, or having to read the Skymall catalog for 14 hours.

The Dexim BluePack S3 retails for $65.90 and is available from several US vendors.