Power Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Nectar mobile fuel-cell power system now available for pre-order

by Erica Sadun (Mar 22nd, 2013)

On paper, the Nectar Power system is both awesome and ludicrous. This is essentially a keychain-dongle USB power solution for super-sized keychains. You carry it around and charge your iPhone or other USB devices as needed. Let's start with the ludicrous, which is the price. The unit is now ...

Mac 101: Battery not charging? Recalibration may be the answer

by TJ Luoma (Aug 20th, 2012)

If your MacBook (any model) is not charging to 100%, it may need to be recalibrated. Apple explains how to do this, but basically it comes down to three steps: Fully charge your MacBook (and leave it charged for about 2 hours) Fully drain your MacBook (by using it on battery until it ...

Exogear's Exovolt Plus: The stackable external battery pack arrives

by Steven Sande (Aug 17th, 2012)

There are a ton of external battery packs for iPhones and iPads. I remember the good old days when it seemed like the only packs available were little blobs that you'd plug into the bottom of an iPhone to keep it going for a few more hours. Now everybody and their brother-in-law has an external ...

SSDs kick up performance for developers and users alike

by Erica Sadun (Jul 25th, 2012)

I'm a developer. One of the things we devs do to pass the time is complain about how long it takes to compile and brag about the power of our development systems. Hot-rodding your system isn't just limited to development, though. There are lots of people out there who sit and wait as their ...

Hands on with HyperJuice: to-go power with built-in plug, multiple ports

by Erica Sadun (Jul 12th, 2012)

HyperJuice offers a portable battery pack that you can haul around, plug into any wall socket, and use to charge two items at once (even two iPads at once!) with its dual USB ports. Shipping in a variety of eye-catching colors, as well as the basic black you see in the image at the top of this ...

Control your AC plugs with Elphi

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Jun 15th, 2012)

I met the creators of Elphi at IndieDevLab and was shocked to discover their awesome product was woefully underfunded on Kickstarter. Sure, a remote control power plug sounds a little boring, but if you've ever driven off on vacation and thought you left the hairdryer plugged in you know what ...

North Carolina approves Apple's plans for 4.8-megawatt fuel cell facility

by Steven Sande (May 24th, 2012)

Things are looking green around Apple's Maiden, North Carolina data center, and it's not just due to the fact that it's springtime. The North Carolina Utilities Commission has approved (PDF) Apple's plans to construct and operate a 4.8-megawatt fuel cell facility at the data center, providing ...

Targus Plug-N-Power Charging Station keeps peace in the family

by Steven Sande (Apr 26th, 2012)

In many homes with multiple iOS devices, charging up those iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches can turn into a battle for dominance over a wall socket. Targus is now selling the Plug-N-Power Charging Station (US$29.99) to keep the peace in your household and ensure that all of your gadgets are ...

Greenpeace: Apple falling short of sourcing clean power

by Mike Schramm (Apr 17th, 2012)

Environmental reports can be all over the place these days -- at times, it seems like these reports tend to be more about politics than the environment. But while Apple has always said it's leading the charge on being environmentally friendly, Greenpeace apparently isn't so sure. The group has ...

Smart Cord may be the simplest app on the store, it's an on/off switch

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Jan 12th, 2012)

Bombarded by CES news? This won't take long to read. The Smart Cord app is basically just one button, designed to control a simple but clever Bluetooth power cord. If you have an outdoor fountain that you like to turn off at night, or anything that needs a remote-controlled on/off switch, Smart ...

iPhone battery problems may persist with iOS 5.1

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 2nd, 2011)

Some iPhone 4S owners continue to experience worse battery life than they expected, even after the iOS 5.0.1 update. Not all devices are affected, but there are enough reports that Apple acknowledged there might be a problem. The next version of iOS, 5.1, is currently in the testing phase for ...

Apple patent suggests charger for multiple devices

by Mike Schramm (Nov 17th, 2011)

A new patent application filed by Apple suggests the company is working on putting together a device that would charge multiple Apple products at the same time, including an iPhone or iPod and a MacBook at the same time. The patent is for a "multi-output power supply" that would hook up a ...

XtremeMac InCharge Home USB charger for iOS devices

by Steven Sande (Nov 4th, 2011)

A couple of weeks ago, we ran a post about the release of the XtremeMac InCharge Home USB charger (US$29.99) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Now the device is available in the wild, and one was sent to the sprawling TUAW Labs for hands-on testing. Read on for a detailed look at this ...

Adafruit Industries now selling the iNecklace

by Mike Schramm (Sep 1st, 2011)

This is great -- the iNecklace is Adafruit's latest open-sourced, electronic jewelry. It's a pendant shaped like a power button, complete with a pulsing LED inside. It's beautiful, stylish, and a nicely subtle way to proclaim your loyalty to tech in a sleek and cool way. It's all open source, ...

Energizer travel charger powers your Mac, iPhone, and iPad ... all at once

by Mike Schramm (Aug 20th, 2011)

I often travel with more than a few Apple devices, all of which usually need power at some point during the day, so the idea of this one intrigues me a lot, obviously. Energizer (the bunny people) is releasing a brand new travel charger that, as you can see above, goes industrial on charging ...