Tag: iphone

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Mophie Juice Pack Pro

I love rugged cases and, because of the iPhone 4S’ dismal battery performance, I’ve been looking around for a battery case. So I was just thinking that ruggedized cases are bulky, battery cases are bulky, why not bring the two together? And then someone comes out with something exactly that: the Mophie Juice Pack Pro. I’m just wondering what’s up with the scrimping on the plastic bits up the front.

Here’s something else that’s bulky: an inductive charger. Can I give all you case makers a month for that? :P

 

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Energizer XP1000

My usage pattern (heavy mobile browsing, moderate SMS, and some calls) coupled with Smart’s poor 3G network coverage results in dismal battery performance of my iPhone 4S. Despite my best efforts, standby is at only 20 hours with usage of around 4 hours and that already includes my sleeping time. Fully charged in the morning, I get up to12-14 hours of standby before I need to recharge. Usually, I’m back home by then. But that means I have a problem when I’m away for more than half the day.

My solution is the Energizer XP1000. It is a small (about the size of 1/3 a deck of cards) and light emergency charger and backup battery. It has a “universal” charging cable that allows you to charge the XP1000 via a USB port and charge different devices by attaching different tips  or connectors for different standards/devices. The package includes tips for mini-USB, micro-USB, iPhone/iPod, and Nokia.

The XP1000 specifications claims it stores a charge for a year, can be recharged up to 500 times, and is rated at 1000mAh. It charges my iPhone 4S from almost empty to just over 50% in around 2 hours. Not bad. That should give me an extra 6-7 hours of standby and a corresponding amount of usage. My only quibble is that the universal charging cable makes carrying the XP1000 around in your pocket a bit less convenient. But it’s not a problem if you have a gadget bag.

Rating: 4/5

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PSMonitor Free is Out!

PSMonitor Free  is now available at the Apple App Store. It was initially rejected because it was too limited. They’re very particular in that way. But after adding some functionality and resubmitting, it was finally approved. Yay!

PSMonitor lets you monitor the Philippine stock market activity real-time and on the go (requires a WiFi or data connection).

  • Real-time updates from the stock exchange
  • Simple and intuitive interface
  • All Stocks tab for viewing actively traded stocks by symbol
  • Active Stocks tab for viewing actively traded stocks by value
  • Gainers tab for viewing gainer stocks by gain
  • Losers tab for viewing loser stocks by loss
  • Flick up and down the list of stocks
  • View stock symbols, prices, and price changes at a glance
  • View details such as symbol, name, last price, previous close, change for the day, %change, trade volume, and trade value.

By purchasing PSMonitor you get all of the above  plus:

  • View 30-day candlestick chart (coming in v1.3)
  • Refresh button for refreshing data on demand
  • My Stocks tab for storing your portfolio or watch list of stocks
  • Add stocks along with quantity and buy price to My Stocks
  • Edit stock quantity and buy price
  • Delete stock from My Stocks
  • View your stocks’ position value, and profit/loss for the day at a glance
  • View additional details such as your position, position value, profit/loss for the day, profit/loss to date, and buy price.

Also available for Android. Full Version available for iOS only at this time.

 

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iPhone Heat and Battery Issues

I’ve been noticing that the iPhone strangely heat ups while just sitting on the table or in my pocket. That can’t be good for the battery and indeed it’s not. Even when fully-charged in the morning before going to work, it doesn’t last more than 3PM. Yesterday it even died right after lunch.

I’ve tried so many things: Turning off location-based services (negligible), turning off 3G (extra 2 hours), reset network settings (no effect), reset all settings (no effect), etc all to no avail. But I finally, I stumbled upon a solution that made a huge difference.

I read in a MacWorld article that it could be a sync issue. So I downloaded the recommended System Activity Monitor and tried troubleshooting as described in the article. Indeed even at standby, the processors were registering 10% or so usage. It led me to think that maybe my Google Exchange calendar, mail, and contacts are the culprit.  Is Google that evil? :P

So I deleted my Google Exchange account. I immediately noticed the processors registering less than 5%. I recreated the Google Exchange account and observed. Processor usage remained at less than 5% on standby. I continued observing the whole day today and, with defaults (3G and location services) on, it hit 10% battery at 14 hours standby and 6 hours usage. And it no longer heats up unless used heavily. Huge improvement!

UPDATE: Problem returned. I’ll try removing the Google Exchange account again.

UPDATE: Removing the Google Exchange account didn’t work either. So I setup as new phone and then recreated the account. Seems to be working fine now. But I noticed low 3G signal really drains the battery. I guess nothing more can be done short of changing providers.