Customer Reviews

FASTMAC CiV-0100 iV Battery Charger for iPhone

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have not yet seen the ideal external battery for the iPhone 3g. Ideally, the iPhone 3G internal battery would last weeks to months on a single charge. However, to keep the iPhone in a small package, current technology allows power to iPhone limited to a few hours.

In my opinion, the best choices in the US market today (Jan 2009) for an iPhone external battery comes to this FastMac TruePower iV and the Mophie JuicePack 3G. They both work pretty much the same way; you slide the iPhone 3G into the case until the 30 pin connector is fully connected to the iPhone 3G. For both, the iPhone will preferentially use and deplete the external battery before consuming its own internal battery, all this while concurrently charging its internal battery. They both have LED status indicator lights in the back. They both have a design to let you use the iPhone 3G camera without having to take the iPhone 3G off the battery case. Both are similarly priced at around $99.00.

Now the differences:
1) This FastMac connects via the same 30 pin connector that connects to the naked iPhone 3G. The Mophie JuicePack connects via a miniUSB connector. This means that you have to carry a separate connector to charge or connect the Mophie. Winner: FastMac.
2) The FastMac can be connected directly into any device to which the iPhone 3G can be connected (docks, audio equipment, car audio adapters, alarm clocks, etc) without having to remove the iPhone 3G. The Mophie JuicePack requires removal of the iPhone 3G in order to connect to these devices. Winner: FastMac.
3) The FastMac has an integrated white LED light meant to be used along with the iPhone camera or as a small flashlight. No such light on the Mophie. Winner: FastMac.
4) The FastMac has a USB port that allows for charging of some other USB device, i.e. earpiece or another iPhone or iPod. No such port in the Mophie. Winner: FastMac.
5) The FastMac sports a bigger capacity battery, 3100 mAh vs 1800 to 2400 mAh for the Mophie. Winner: FastMac.
6) The Mophie carries the "Seal of Approval" of Apple, and is the only one of the two sold a [...] prefers the FastMac "...based on its superior functionality, device compatibility, and battery life...". Winner: no clear winner in this case.
7) The Mophie is smaller overall compared to the FastMac. Winner: Mophie.

I purchased this FastMac, and have other friends who also own this FastMac. We are all very pleased with it. I have not yet met someone who owns the Mophie JuicePack, or someone who has had the ability and chance to evaluate both. Still, I made my choice of purchasing the FastMac over the Mophie based on the best available specs, reviews, and evidence.

The Weeks Division of MyMac Labs has reviewed the Mophie Juice Pack and Richard Solo external iPhone batteries in our iPhone Battery Shootout. In 2008, long-time Mac accessory marketer FastMac joined the battery battles with its FastMac IV. The FastMac IV comes with a great reputation, as it won a Best of Macworld 2008 and 2009 award. We used it for several weeks, and here are our impressions.

In electrical engineering, as in life, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Battery capacity isn't free; it costs weight and space. FastMac has done an outstanding job of designing a slip-in case that maintains the basic iPhone shape, but there's no doubt that the IV is big 'n' chunky. In return, you're getting a screaming 3100 mAh of power! In comparison, the Mophie Juice Pack provides 1800 mAh. As of this writing, the FastMac IV has the most battery capacity of any external iPhone battery available.

At 2.4" wide x 5.3" high x .05" deep, this is the biggest of the three external iPhone batteries we've tested. It's also the heaviest of the three, by a considerable margin. But don't leave yet - let's see what you get for toting around more weight.

Using the FastMac IV

When you liberate the IV from the shipping box, you'll notice a tiny, narrow, paper insert. No, it's not scrap paper; it's the user manual. Points off here; not only is the insert far too small, and oddly shaped; the print is miniscule, as in "way to hard for a 52-year old to read." Even the downloadable PDF version has the same bizarre format and small print size. After getting my magnifying glass to read it, I learned FastMac recommends charging the IV for at least two hours prior to use. It needs about six hours to be fully recharged from a depleted condition. While that may seem long, you're recharging a capacious battery.

The iPhone slips smoothly into the IV, and the IV makes a distinctive audio "chirp" when the iPhone connector clicks into the IV. It's a firm fit, so push the iPhone right down, and learn to listen for the chirp. In early usage, I had one or two occasions when I didn't seat the iPhone properly, didn't hear the chirp, and later found the IV wasn't charging the iPhone.

While the top end of the iPhone rises above the top of the IV, the screen does get a bit of protection from the top edges of the case. FastMac includes a screen protection film for free, and that's a very nice touch. Also included at no extra charge is an iPhone headphone adapter cable. The iPhone headphone adapter cable gives you a microphone, iPod music controls and call mute capabilities just like Apple's iPhone headphones. At the top of the IV is a cutout to allow the iPhone camera a good view of the world. A very noticeable design feature is the extension below the bottom of the iPhone; this is where the dock connector and USB port live. The IV is charged via a dock connection, and it provides a USB port that allows you to power/recharge both your iPhone and one additional USB-powered device. A twofer!

The back of the IV sports two buttons and a row of four LEDs. Push the button marked with the lightning bolt to display the remaining battery level via the LEDs. Push the right button with the On-Off symbol to turn on the IV. This ability to turn the IV on or off lets you decide when to recharge your iPhone.

FastMac claims the their charging circuit, coupled with the On/ Off button, lets users prolong the number of times you can charge with the IV. FastMac states the IV mimics the power profile of the AC adapter and lets you take advantage of rapid charge mode. This means in less than one hour, you can charge your iPhone to 80% power. We found that to be true. According to FastMac, the best way to use the IV is to let it start charging when you get the 20% or 10% warning, and stop charging after about 45 minutes. FastMac says you'll notice that you can charge the iPhone more times this way than by simply leaving the IV turned on all day long.

If you use the IV to simply recharge the iPhone when discharged, a full IV (3100 mAh) can recharge a dead iPhone battery (1400 mAh), not once, but twice! This is, for me, the primary reason to use the FastMac IV; it's one powerful battery!

Be careful, as the On/Off is too easy to push, and I experienced several times when I would toggle the IV on or off inadvertently. FastMac needs to add some resistance to the push button.

The little light at the top of the case is BRIGHT. I travel on business, and found the IV's light to be a great night light. Sleeping in a different hotel every night makes for dangerous middle of the night strolls to the lavatory, and the IV's light kept me from bumping into the furniture in the dark.



My iPhone's camera doesn't get much usage, but I did take some photos using the IV's light. The iPhone camera is notorious for poor performance in low light conditions, and the IV's light improved the photos significantly. It's a cold light, and rather harsh, so you might not use it for a romantic portrait shot.

The extension below the iPhone bottom end contains not only the dock connector and USB port, but also channels to direct the speakerphone audio out through the bottom case. Surprisingly, I found the speakerphone audio volume and quality only slightly affected by the FastMac IV. Most callers usually reported my audio on their phones was no different than without the FastMac IV Some noticed a slightly muffled quality to my speech.

Real-world usage

Let's look at the advertising claims, then compare them with my real-world results. FastMac says the IV provides:

* Up to 24 Hours of Talk Time
* Up to 72 Hours of Audio Playback
* Up to 21 Hours of Video Playback
* Up to 30 Days of Standby Time

While I do spend too much time on the cellphone, there's no way to easily verify the various claims. My acid test is, "How much more iPhone usage do I get?"

When on the road, my iPhone usage style is lots of email, plenty of web access, (including streaming radio), some telephone, and very little iPod. Before the external battery era, I needed to recharge the iPhone each night. With the Richard Solo or the Mophie Juice Pack, I could get two days between charges.

With the FastMac IV, I could get close to four days of use before both the IV and the iPhone were totally depleted. This is a huge improvement over any other battery I've tried. As always, your mileage may vary. But there's no doubt that the FastMac IV provides substantially more battery life than either the Mophie Juice Pack or the Richard Solo 1800.

The primary drawback to the FastMac IV is weight and size. There's no getting around the fact that this is far and away the bulkiest and heaviest external iPhone battery. If you've been using your iPhone au naturel with no case, or with just a thin protective skin, the weight and size of the iPhone in a FastMac IV may be a bit of a shock. If you carry the FastMac IV in your front trousers/skirt pocket, it's going to be very noticeable. When you hold it up to your ear, you'll be very aware that you're not using a stock iPhone. You're not lifting weights, but it's always noticeable. The IV's larger size is much less of an issue to me, but several people who I gave the opportunity to try the IV found the extension below the bottom of the iPhone case to be objectionable.

Conclusion

The FastMac IV is two things: powerful and big. It's the biggest external iPhone battery currently available. The 3100 mAh capacity will liberate you from having to find AC power to recharge your iPhone longer than the competition. But it's also the biggest and heaviest external battery, and this can be a problem for some users who value the size and weight more than pure battery endurance.

This well-built, sturdy unit, with its included screen protector film and earbuds, is an outstanding value. It retails for $20 less than the 1800 mAh Mophie Juice Pack.

FastMac offers a money-back guarantee. If you are interested in the IV, but are concerned about the IV's size or weight, I'd advise potential buyers try it out.

MyMac.com rating: 4 out of 5

The Fastmac iV has a great battery - it adds 24 hours of talk time - I talk forever so this is amazing. The flash is cool too because in the dark the iPhone (without a flash) camera is pretty much useless, but the flash makes it so you can use it in the dark! It is the only charger that is dockable so It is nice to not have to remove my phone when I dock it. It was worth every penny of the 99 bucks. I have had other iPhone chargers for both my iPhone original, and my iPhone 3G, but found this one to be the best in terms of power and functionality. It is a swiss army knife for your iPhone!

Purchased directly from FastMac. Purchased the version that supposedly works with the iPhone 3GS.

As a battery - it works well and does a good job extending the life. But so did the Richard Solo. Oh yeah - the light works also.

Everything else - not at all.

* Did not sync with iTunes when plugged in. Both on Mac & PC
* Did not allow pass through to car audio or anything else we plugged into the apple port.

Worst - I called and emailed support 3 days after testing everything. They wanted me to buy another one and send this one back and then they would credit my card. I told them they already had my card on file and I would gladly send it in. They needed Manager approval for that. After 4 emails and a number of calls - no manager could ever give the rep approval. And really no willingness to reach out and help out. Just consistently got the message - "Manager has not been able to approve yet."

I even wrote them an email saying "Fine - charge my card and send me a replacement and I will send it back" No response. Like they wanted to wait for my warranty to expire so they didn't have to deal with it.

I never complain. If they would give me the time of day - I would just complain to them. It usually is not worth it. But when you get this kind of service - I just can't help but say something.

Buyers - Beware.

If it gets resolved some day - I promise to retract this. Just want what I ordered. Not trying to make waves.

I read about all the external battery packs for iPhones and after careful consideration took a chance on this one. I was skeptical at first and thought that the product was defective by burning out fast during the day. After continued use I had a simple "DUH" moment of realizing it is best to plug it in over night and just let it juice up with phone in it. I have had NO problems with it doing that. Sure it is a bit bulky but you get used-to-it. The feel of the plastic is unnervingly flesh-like but has a good friendly feel to it and has been long lasting for me. I use it with my phone in a factory and have dropped it a few times but it has shown itself to be a hardy little creature ;-) I DO wonder WHY someone put a FLASHLIGHT in it... seems a bit superfluous. Over all I am pleased with this product and have recommended it to others. I see it as a great insurance policy for daily use. No more "oh --it! Too long surfing the net and used up the battery!" ;-) It is also a nice protective case for the iPhone. After using this for a few months and putting it through some grueling work outs it proves itself enough for me to write a good solid "YES! BUY IT! IT IS WORTH IT!" :-)

I ordered the Fastmac IV based on multiple reviews and once they arrived i was very excited to have a battery charge last more than 1 day. Out of the box though there was a bit of a glitch, the battery would turn on automatically everytime I received a text or phone call. I contacted Fastmac and they got back to me right away stating they knew of this issue with some models, primarily the 2G, (I have a 3G) and this appeared to be resulting from some limitations on the part of Apple. More importantly I was told they would custom manufacture a couple of batteries for me that had a manual on off switch (versus automatically coming on when the phone is docked and turning off when it isnt)which was perfect. Everything the reviews said was dead on about the IV although I dont mind the size or weight of the phone once saddled into the IV, actually I am less concerned now about dropping my phone.

My biggest complaint is there doesnt appear to be any sort of carrying case for the IV and phone while connected. I scoured my local Best Buy and nothing. No phone cases, camera cases or GPS cases would fit the phone and battery. My preference is to have the phone connected all of the time and as battery in the phone runs low I can simply turn on the IV and charge the phone right there. It doesnt make sense to me to have to carry the IV seperately then connect and charge the phone as needed, in my opinion this defeats the purpose of having the IV, why not just carry my charge cable as I do now?

Lastly my only other concern is the on/off button for the IV, it should be modified. Its a push button on the back of the battery and whenever I laid the phone down on its back it would inadvertently get turned on. So I had to lay the phone down on its face and I assume in being proactive Fastmac includes a protective film for the phones' screen. The on/off switch for the light would be ideal to turn the phone on as well too. Off to the side and not easily manipulated thereby preventing accidental turning on and off.

I rated the IV 5 stars based on the intial impressions of the phone, size, feel, functionality but mostly customer service at this point. They have made it clear they are looking for customer satisfaction and today that seems to be a rarity.

Love the feel of the battery, and the led's to see how much battery life is left if super cool.
You can choose to turn the battery charger on or off, so it's not always charging the iphone all the time. The flash for the camera is really sweet, you turn it on or off, as needed. Its quite bright too, so if you loose your keys under the car like I did last week, turn that sucker on and it lights up everything.
The only 2 downfalls that I see, is that it is bulky (if you leave it on all the time) and the other thing is that the phone can slip off the charger as it does not have a top portion to keep the iphone on the unit all the time.
I know that the iphone 4 is a great phone but this battery gives people the option to keep their 3G & 3GS and have a flash whenever they want.
I love this thing, compared to the 3 other models I previously purchased

The battery failed after less than 14 months of light use. My iPhone 3Gs battery continues on strong, so this item didn't come close to the life of my phone battery. I'm very disappointed and recommend that others look for a different solution.

I have used my FastMac IV for 2 weeks - long enough to explore its functions and capabilities. This is actually the third iPhone battery extender I have owned, starting with the Incase Powerslider, which set the standard for a time. Here's what I have found: First, the FastMac is a little bulkier than the other extenders, but still fits the canvas belt case which accommodated my Powerslider that I purchased at an AT & T Store. It is about one third of an inch longer than the Powerslider (or the Mophie Juicepack Air which is the same size). It also is slightly thicker and heavier than the Powerslider and Juicepack Air. It does not completely surround the iPhone (as did the Powerslider) to protect the iPhone from knocks and scrapes, though it does come with a screen protector.

That said, the trade off with the FastMac is an immensely greater battery capacity. The Powerslider essentially doubled the iPhone's capacity - about 1200 mAh (essentially the same as the iPhone's internal battery). The FastMac iV battery supplies 3,100 mAh. It will charge my iPhone from empty to maximum charge about 3 and one-half times! Completely draining the iPhone battery and charging it to maximum is not, however, the most efficient way to do the charging. I was initially puzzled about how to sync my iPhone through the FastMac because the instruction pamphlet did not make that clear. FastMac technical support instructed that the device must be turned off, then powered up while connected via the Apple USB cable, which worked like a charm. The LED light on the back will be a very handy flashlight. It provides adequate illumination for nighttime photographs if the subject is fairly close - up to 36 inches, but isn't helpful at all beyond that distance. FastMac iV has a trade-in program which I think is unique in the industry; this allows you to trade up, at a substantial discount, from the present model when newer versions become available. FastMac seems very durable and well made. Though slightly larger and heavier than other units I have seen, FastMac IV presently sets the standard for high capacity iPhone battery extenders.

This is by far the most well thought out and designed sled type battery for the iphone.
I researched them all, this is the VERY BEST.

I let it sit with all radios on and push email for 10 accounts active and still had 44% power in my Iphone after 12 hours, the fastmac was depleted but that is exactly what it is designed for.
If you were lost in the woods and conserved your power, you could get 3 or 4 days use with this item, A MUST HAVE for any adventure or just really busy person.

HIGHLY RECOMMENED!!!