The iPhone is a wonderful device. I use it so much throughout the day that sometimes I feel like is an extension of myself. Sadly the batteries don’t last longer than 3 hrs. Apple has a few recommendations on how to make the most out of it (http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html). Not enough if you ask me.

I’ve been reviewing a few options for extra power to use “on the go” that can keep me using my iPhone the whole day. While there are many options available in the market, I researched what I consider to be the best options based on price and performance:

Mophie juice pack air™ (yes the name is a reference to capitalize on Apple’s famous laptop): This puppy promise to double your life battery and protect your phone at the same time. Is the thinnest battery extension of it’s kind. Starting at 79.95EUR is not a bad deal. It comes with a feature called “Standby Mode” that lets you choose to either use the extra battery or just use it as a protective case. It also connects directly with USB cable so you can charge your phone and the case at the same time.
Since the mophie website doesn’t offer more than marketing jargon here is a small table to have an idea of what to expect in terms of battery life.

Standby Time: Up to 270 hours
Talk Time: Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 9 hours (2G)
Internet Use: Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 5.4 Hours (Wi-Fi)
Audio Playback: Up to 20 hours
Video Playback: Up to 6 hours

Website: http://www.mophie.com/product-p/1059_jpa-ip3g-blk.htm

SOLiCharger by Solight: “Summertime and the living’s easy…” Yup you guessed it “Solar power”. Take advantage of charging your iPhone while hiking, at the beach or simply at the Beergarden (those living in Munich) with the most abundant energy available on earth: the sun.

Starting at 39.90 EUR (I hate these prices by the way, as if we are complete morons and don’t see that is 40 bucks ) is a good offer. The adapter plugs underneath your iPhone and charges it in about 4 hrs of direct sunlight exposure. Alternatively, it can also be charged with the regular USB cable that comes with your iPhone. The phone can be used while the device is attached. If you don’t use it for a while, a built-in solar panel on the back will provide enough power to keep the SOLiCharger fully charged. However, if you are outside, why would you want to use the phone anyway.

Website: http://www.sollight.com/products/solicharger.cfm

Standby Time: Up to 270 hours
Talk Time: Up to 10 hours (3G) Up to 9 hours (2G)
Audio Playback: Up to 28 hours

Website: http://www.igo.com/Accessories/PowerXtender-Charger/invt/ps002640004

Website: http://greennpower.com/

For the longest time I’ve been ranting and raving about not been able to use my iPhone when I travel. Apparently that is about to change. In my quest for using my iPhone overseas I discovered a few useful tips that can help me along my trip. Here’s how to prepare an iPhone for an overseas trip:

Step 1: Jailbreak it!
Yup. Jalibreak it. It is not illegal to jailbreak your iPhone and it will pay off if you want to use it in another country. Many publications actually recommend Jailbreaking the iPhone. Just follow the instructions on this website and you’ll be good to go in no time.

Step 2: Get yourself a Global Pre-Paid SIM Card
There are many options to choose from depending on the country you live in. But you want to make sure whatever plan you choose will have at least FREE unlimited incoming calls and GPRS data available (3G network), also make sure is a Pre-paid SIM Card

This company (GO-SIM) for example has a travel plan for €27.60. In Germany T-Mobile offers a plan called “Smart Traveler” with quite a decent offer.

Step 3: Get some travel apps
Here a few of my favorite apps to use when traveling:

	DB Navigator: Let’s you check out the train schedules of the Deutsche Bahn at any time. Useful even without WiFi network.
	Tripwolf: This app currently has a free and a paid version. It downloads a city guide to your iPhone (for just about any city) that you can browse without having to be connected to a network. On the paid version you can get additional info. If you are connected to a network, you can get pictures with each review.
	Qype: International community with recommendations on Restaurants and Bars. Since is international, once you are connected with your Sim Card, you’ll be good to go.
	Lonley Planet Travel Guide: Travel guide for any city with recommendations from other users.
	Sit or Squat: is an app that helps you locate the nearest toilet. With your 3G network activated you’ll be able to use it in any country.
	Lufthansa Launcher: If you are traveling with Lufthansa, this app will help you book flights, check in, check timetables and check the flight status.
	Wikitude: This is an augmented reality app. It will inform you about places by using Wikipedia and other sources. Please note this app only works with the iPhone 3Gs

One of the coolest application I’ve seen in a while.

So what is the use of having an iPhone that is completely useless outside your country? Apple has a problem of always complicating the most simple things. Tying up the iPhone with a particular mobile operator was certainly a smart business move, but a lousy branding exercise. Will there ever be a day when we can use our phones everywhere? I really hope so.

So everything started this last summer. My bike was basically dead and I wanted to go biking with my son, so I opened an account with “Call a Bike” the renting bike service from the Deutsche Bahn (trains) here in Germany. Starting at 0,08 EUR/Min is not the cheapest service, but somehow convenient when you are bikeless. After registering online I was almost daily using the service. The whole process of renting the bike is a terrible pain in the neck. It should be easier, especially if you have an smartphone with you. I though this service needed an app to boost their business and make life easier for everyone.

A screen from my iPhone app
Click to enlarge

An app? yes. For starters finding a bike can be a challenge. Although they have many, people seem to use them a lot, so you have to find one that is free. The DB have on the Website a Google map that tells you where to find the bikes. One would think that if you are on the road it would be a mobile friendly website…think again. Frustrated by the service or rather the lack of it, I decided to create a concept for an app that could solve the problem and make the whole experience more pleasant.

I downloaded a Power Point presentation where the whole process and the customer journey is explained to the detail and used it as the basis for my concept. I was aiming for:

• Open a new account directly from your mobile phone
• Read a PDF with the more important info
• Do the whole unlocking process via mobile phone
• Have a bike locator
• Speed and minutes counter
• Street map and route recording for further sharing
• Guided tours around cities in Germany (these could be sold for extra)
• Also in two languages German and English (there are tourists that also use the service)

I rolled up my sleeves and went to work. All pieces where finish to put a presentation together. It was the end of the summer and I though it might be stupid to come up with such application now when people will rarely use this service in the next following months. So I decided to put it off to the following month: October. The app could be ready for next summer, I though.

Official Call a Bike app

Those of you with an iPhone and living in Germany probably know that an official app from Call a Bike was release recently into the app store just a few days/weeks ago. Developed by the company INOZ from Berlin, it became an instant success, featured in the top position of the app store. Tho, still in version 1.0, it features a bike locator and lets you via Click-to-call rent the bike. It won’t take long before they work out version 2 featuring what I mentioned above.

As soon as I saw the app my jaw fell to the floor. “Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today” , “The early bird gets the worm”… All these similar phrases came to my mind at once. With technology timing seems to be in most times the decisive factor. When is just the right time and when is not? Are you too early on the game or too late? I guess there is a lesson to be learn here but I don’t seem to grasp it. What I do know for sure is that as soon as I get a similar idea, I won’t hesitate to at least build a prototype as soon as possible. If the idea is crap it won’t survive anyway and if is good it will stand the test of time… No excuses, just business as usual: blood sweat and tears (well, maybe not the tears).

Groceries at the supermarket… 40 euros. Pay everything with you mobile phone… Priceless. Well OK not priceless, but certainly convenient.

There’s been a big controversy around this type of payment for a few years now. The neo-Luddites argue that cash should not be replaced and some companies worried about security and the implications of it. Truth be told, once the infrastructure is in place, everyone will use it. There’s no doubt about it.

According to the latest study from Goldmedia consulting, there is a huge majority in German who are willing to get tickets (plane, train, concerts) via mobile phone. So it’s just a matter of time.

People will decide
In places like Japan for example, is common since 2004 to pay with your mobile phone. The testbed of the world is way ahead of mobile technology for their own good.

On the other side of the world, like some villages in Africa, mobile minutes are treated as currency. So I cannot help to find it funny that you can pay cab ride in Nigeria with your mobile phone but not in New York.

Some companies are already looking into the future. With an initial investment of $70 million Euros, Nokia is playing with the idea of a mobile-phone-payment solution that could be knocking your door sooner rather than later.

Here is some stuff you should be able to pay:

• Music, videos, online game subscription or items and digital goods.
• Transportation fares (plane, bus, subway or train) and parking meters.
• Books, magazines, tickets and other hard goods.

Personally, I don’t walk around with a lot of cash. Most of my daily transactions are done electronically. My phone has replaced, my camera, my watch and the newspaper… Why not my wallet! It’s one less thing I have to carry with me, specially in places like Barcelona full of pick-pockets. Hope it comes to Germany sooner than later.

About a year ago Garmin (GPS Navigation System guys) announced the Nuvifone, the natural evolution of their navigation system, featuring local based services way before any other device at the time. In addition it was possible to play mp3 audio and video files. By far the best of its class. The anticipated iPhone killer… So what happened? Nobody knows for sure. My gut feeling tells me that it wasn’t the device itself or the technology behind it, but a serious anal-retarded-management decision of some kind.

Delay after delay kept the nuvifone from hitting the stores until today. Rumor has it, that Garmin will drop the project altogether. I would love to see what they’ll come up with next… and to be fully honest I am not expecting much. The smartphone market is filled with devices equipped with better features than any Nuvifone could offer. at the moment the nuvifone promise to deliver… Are your ready?

- Traffic alerts: Wao, I am really impressed… not.
- Ciao: connect with several social networks. The good ones. None of that facebook stuff.
- Weather: a new revolutionary service…
and in addition, flight status, panoramio, local search and safety cameras… The phone has a extremely bad SDK and no other apps can be installed. Gee, where do I sign to get one?

After the introduction of TomTom’s navigation system for the iPhone 3.0 this year, is just a matter of time before Garmin sales will start dropping like a plane without fuel. For sure there’s nothing smart about any smartphone they have or had in mind. That is the price a company pays for not seizing the opportunity and grabbing momentum by the balls.

“Mankind Is No Island” by Jason van Genderen. The winner of the 2008 shortfilm fest Tropfest NY, entirely shot using a mobile phone in NY and Sydney. Thanks Pedro Lopez for bringing it to my attention. If you are wondering what does this have to do with Advertising? absolutely nothing… isn’t that great. I like the video because is a great showcase of the quality that can be achieved using a mobile phone and great imagination.

So what if: the spots are no longer produced by Agencies but by the consumers themselves using the mobile phones. A network of people sharing video tips about just any possible product you want to buy. Telling real stories about brands and breaking up with the deceiving world Advertising often portrays. Eventually this will lead to better quality products.

So what about the experience or the story that the brand allows me to tell? quality and trust are the best values you can get from any brand. Brands that already have it have nothing to worry about, brands that don’t… Well, they should get better or die.

It sounds like YouTube?… The problem with YouTube is the clutter, there is so much of everything, that is hard to find exactly what you’re looking for. I am thinking more about a platform dedicated exclusively to help consumers find the best products for the best price.