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/

I installed an TV from Telekom on my iPhone a few weeks ago. So far the only one watching the stuff is my 8 year old son. As it turned out, there are a couple of channels (like Cartoon Network) not available by our current cable provider. Honestly I installed the app just to test it, but I realized how handy it becomes on the train when I am embarking on long trips.

TV as we know it is dying. My son find it entertaining but at the end of the day, he wants interaction just like he does with his Playstation. The passive user type is an endangered specie in the realm of modern technology. TV will evolve for sure, I cannot wait for the era of the real converged media.

The service for having “Mobile TV” from Telekom is another 5 Euros a month on your bill. If you ask me is worth the money. At the same time it makes me realize that iPhone users or as I heard the other day “App Phone” users are the only one with a flat rate that allows this type of app. If you think about it, most people who can actually afford app phones grew up watching TV.

On my way to work I’ve seen people watching morning TV shows. I find it interesting because Germany is a country that is not very keen on “TV watching” lifestyle. It makes me wonder how it will be in USA…

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.

Probably the toughest phone around, the S1 from Land rover. If Lara Croft, Rambo or Indiana Jones had a phone this would be it.

Leveraging from Land Rover’s brand values, the S1 promise to deliver the same experience. The perfect companion for those with an adventurous spirit. If you ever drove a Defender through the jungle, climbed a mountain with your bear hands or went to the Antarctica, you’ll know what I am talking about…. Yeah right!

What makes it tough
Fully submersible to up to 1 meter for 30 mins, water or mud is not going to ruin your phone. It also withstands temperatures between -20C to +60C and can be dropped from a height of up to 2 meters onto concrete and survive. The antiglare and shock resistant screen is petroleum, oil and crush puncture resistant.

OK, cool. What’s inside?…
You got a GPS, built in FM radio, 2GB expandable memory and of course the standard function of any regular mobile phone.

While the technology inside the phone is far from impressive, I still think is a better idea to leave your iPhone at home and bring this 350 euros phone on your next expedition to the remote places of earth.

Phones for Fashionistas
Fashion labels like Prada, DG, Gucci, Armani and even ELLE Magazine are well into the mobile game already. Producing their own “Glamphones” together with companies like LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Nokia and Motorola. Don’t be surprised if you find Kate Moss and the likes chatting away in style with their phones flashing some well-known fashion logos.

This fashion fever is been around ever since the now deceased Xelibri series from Siemens came out in 2003. The design of the Xelibri series broke every standard there was at the time, treating the phone purely as a sophisticated fashion accessory. From that point on the mobile phone evolved from a communication tool to an accessory, to a fashion statement to finally, a status symbol.

Pimp my phone
Fortunately there are options for the Fashion victims of the world. The company Fashion Cell Shop for example specializes in getting you a glamorized spark for your phone, offering a wide collection of covers, cases and accessories to choose from. If this is not enough, with Sparks by Stella is possible to add the extra “Bling” some people crave for.

But personalizing and customizing mobiles phones is nothing new (remember back in the day the a Nokia 2100 with interchangeable covers?) what I am still trying to understand is to why carriers and mobile phone companies refuse to pick up on it even more. Other companies like Reebok, Nike or Converse, let you design your trainers, share your design and later on buy it. All according to your specifications. What’s stopping mobile phone companies from letting us do the same with our phones?

Seasonal phones
I recently found a Nokia phone selling here in Munich, referencing the super hit series of Sex and the City. Probably, the latest marketing trick to get rid of the left over models that didn’t sale.

Funny enough, I don’t personally like any type of customization other than the way it comes from the factory. I don’t own a case, or a skin or even tried to customize the interface. Then again, I own an iPhone, which is a model from a company very conscious about industrial design, user experience and “Kansei” (japanese word for engineering our senses and perception into objects).

Our phones are so dear to us that the level of “Aichaku” (japanese word for love to objects and your relationship with them) towards them is getting stronger every day. It is then easy to understand and empathize with people who want to treat their phones like something special knowing that the lifecycle of the device won’t be longer than a year or two. But fashion is about the latest, the hottest and the trendiest. What is “in” today is “out” tomorrow. I guess that in the mobile arena there are no “old timers” worth keeping around.

After the recent elections fallout, the Iranian government has been trying to cut every possible way of communication to the outside world. Journalists are not allowed to enter Tehran and some Iranian officials are even accusing England of inciting the demonstrations taking place at the moment. Iran has turned into “I ran” the hell out of there before getting shot.

Historically Iran has been a country where freedom of speech is forbidden and media is controlled by the government. This time around, Iranian citizens have turned to the use of non-traditional media (blogs, twitter, youtube…etc) to broadcast the truth to the world. In this context the mobile phone has become an instrumental part for reporting events as citizens use it to take pictures and record videos that find their way to the internet in a matter of minutes. In the current climate it’s easier and safer to walk around with a mobile phone than with a camera. The broadcasting can take place on the go without the risk of doing it at home and get detained by the law enforcement (which would normally mean that your life is as valuable as a farm in the middle of the desert).

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) admitted selling a surveillance system for “lawful intercept functionality” to the Iranian government, powerful enough to pinpoint the exact location of every phone, listen to every call, read any SMS and watch every video or picture sent. Basically they have full access to any mobile phone operating within the country. Despite all that, new videos, posts and pictures are showing up every day for the world to see. After so many years of oppression Iranians are so fed up, that they’re willing to take the risk and show the world what is really happening in their country.

The sad part is that contrary to other concepts like the GoogleMap mashup Ushaidi monitoring the 2008 elections in Kenya or recent ones adopting the same model (Nigeria, Lebanon and Mexico for example), Iranians don’t have the chance to put their data in a central location. Some videos and short messages have made their way to YouTube and Twitter, but the rest are scattered around on the internet like a message in a bottle.

Once again the mobile phone has prove to be a powerful ally in the fight for social change. Allahu Akbar.

If you have a smartphone, video is certainly nothing new. Most smartphones offer the possibility to play local video or over the internet. The promise of faster connections seems to be around the corner, but we know already than in places like Japan (the mobile test bed of the world) superfast connections have made possible TV Channels on the mobile phones. It is not surprise that advertisers are eager to recycle their Ad spots and get them mobile. However this is not a good idea for a medium so personal, intimate and in which relevant content is expected. We’ve learned our lessons from the internet and we know that the 30 sec spot will not work.

MTV Networks is finally waking up to the fact that TV alone won’t cut it. They’ve already lost a lot of their audience by lagging behind during the whole Internet revolution. This time around they want to make sure to stay on the cutting edge once again. As part of their research on VOD (Video on the demand) together with MobiTV, MTV just aunched “The How To Show“. Made exclusively for mobile phones, this show brings celebrities to showcase their trade. You’ll get to see the occasional 20/30 sec spot to begin each episode. But since the whole thing still an experiment, I guess we can forgive them for the moment.

Some stats for the skeptics

According to Nielsen’s Three Screen Report 13.4 million Americans watched 3.3 hours of Mobile video in the 1Q of 2009 and the numbers will increase when bandwidth become faster and more available. Teens for example, between the ages 13-17 are avid viewers of mobile video reporting an average of 6.5 hours of video on their mobile phones each month. These figures makes them the premium target group for any mobile video campaign.

I couldn’t find the stats for Germany (reliable anyway) for video usage, but in a country with 80 million people and 70% market penetration, that’s a hell of a lot of users! Pretty sure a big chunk is watching video.

Why Mobile Video and why now? Obviously a video still the most compelling medium to reach any audience because of the storytelling power it can provide. However, television is static and turn the user into passive recipients of content. Not good. So, imagine how powerful it could be to create videos that are relevant for users and how companies can establish a REAL dialog with their consumers. The next logical level would be to be contextual, followed by more personal and relevant video content delivered to you. Content that is associated with the brand of your choice and that follows that sense of “Forever there” that consumers are looking for from their favorite brands. Nobody seems to listen that the time has come for companies to give meaning to their brands and stop trying to compete for attention. In this context advertising is no longer a competition about who can scream louder, but who can be present at the right time, at the right place and who can actually give something back in return for the loyalty. The 30 sec spots while convenient for an Ad agency to recycle and play it on your handset is not only intrusive but sadly ineffective. We are at the stage now, where the new medium tries to adopt the format of the old medium(TV/Internet), but new uses for mobile video is just around the corner. I’ll keep you posted