Are you looking for some good iPhone conversation? From the Forums is a great way to see what all of the current hot topics are on the TiPb forums. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now.

First topic up for today, App Store Genius and how is it working for you? Rene doesn’t seem to be having the best of luck with his Genius, for me it started out pretty so-so but it seems the more I delete the more accurate it seems to get. Perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me, how is it working for you?

iPhone OS 3.1.2 was released yesterday and we are assuming most of you jumped right in and updated your phones. Cdudek was wondering, how is your battery life on the 3.1.2 software? Anyone notice a significant change for the better or for the worse? Check the thread out to see results from other forum members and while you are there, post your own.

This next thread for today comes to us from naviwilliams and he offers up a question that we hear quite often – do you leave Wi-Fi on or off? It is a fact that using Wi-Fi over 3G will save you a decent amount of battery life so I have a tendency to leave it on since Wi-Fi is available to me at work and at home. How about you?

Last up for today is one of my personal favorite forums to check out – the iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock forum. This is the place to check out if you are interested in jailbreaking or unlocking your device. Most of the time you can find the answers to your questions within minutes.

See you on the forums!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

From the Forums: App Store Genius, 3.1.2 Battery Life, iPhone Wi-Fi, Jailbreak/Unlock

The weekend is finally here, so you might as well spend some time relaxing in TiPb forums. In order to reply to any of the following threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you haven’t already, head on over and register now.

So you say you are currently running the iPhone 3.0 software and you decided to jailbreak. Well TiPb needs your help on this one, we need to know what you’re current favorite iPhone 3.0 compatible jailbreak applications are. Thanks for the help in advance!

This thread was started by Jason McConnell, and Jason wants to know how just how warm does your iPhone get? Seems as if his is getting so hot that he can not even hold the phone up to his ear to make a call. Our advice to anyone who has had this issue, perform a restore and if the problem persists make an appointment at your local Apple store to get your phone exchanged for a new one. Anyone else having overheating issues?

It’s no secret that most of you visiting TiPb have purchased Apple’s latest and greatest, iPhone 3GS. Well one of the nicest updates to the iPhone is the update to the camera. Stop by the thread, iPhone 3GS Photos, and you guessed it – post some of your best photos you’ve taken!

Last up for today we have a great battery tips thread. So many people out there have questions regarding battery life, charging, care, etc… the list goes on. This is your one stop thread to get all the information you possibly can regarding your iPhones battery.

See you on the forums!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

From the Forums: iPhone 3.0 Jailbreak Apps, Overheating, 3GS Photos, Battery Tips

Back when Apple re-introduced Push Notification at the iPhone 3.0 Sneak Preview Event, Scott Forstall claimed that, unlike background multitasking that could cause an 80% drop in battery life, Push Notification would only cause a 20% drop. While some debated the truth (or truthiness) of his claims, it did set the expectation that users running Push Notification-enabled apps would see lower battery life, and gave an indicator of just how much less.

So, while it too a while, now that we finally have Push Notification, and some of the more popular messengers and games are implemented it, how’s your battery life doing?

Are you seeing a hit compared to your pre-Push Notification days, and if so, is it in the 20% range? Let us know which iPhone you have, how often you’re getting Push Notifications, and how your battery is holding up!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Is Your iPhone Battery Life 20% Less With Push Notification?

It’s that time again — time for us to pick out some of the hot topics on TiPb’s forums. In order for you to reply to any of the following threads please be sure to register. It’s a painless process that will only take a moment of your time.

Todays first thread in the spotlight was started by Ivoryplum, what would you like to see in the iPhone 3.1 software? We already got word two days ago that the 3.1 beta has been made available to developers and along with some of the new features that are included in the release. What else would you like to see added and/or corrected in the 3.1 software?

By now, chances are you already own a iPhone 3GS – how is it holding up? Do you have any hardware related issues similar to those good folks over at PreCentral.net? If so, stop by the following thread and share your troubles with us: iPhone 3GS Bugs/Issues. Luckily for all of us here at TiPb, we have zero issues.

This next thread was started by rrrl17, while a new iPhone has just been released it’s never too early to start discussing the next generation! What do you expect from the next generation of iPhone? Will Rene’s dream of an iPhone HD finally come true?!

Our last thread of the day comes to us from Joey Neat and he wants to know about battery life on the iPhone 3GS? So far TiPb can’t complain too much, it pretty much appears to be what we expected. And for those of you really think it is lacking in battery power, hopefully the 3.1 software will give you a little bit of a boost.

See you on the forums!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

From the Forums: 3.1 Software, iPhone 3GS Issues, Next Generation Hardware, iPhone 3GS Battery Life

Entering this contest counts as an entry in TiPb’s Birthday Bash grand-prize draw for an Unlocked ColorWare iPhone 3G!

Courtesy of TiPb’s iPhone Store, our first accessory give-away is the mophie Juice Pack 3G! Designed to more than double the time you can Rock, Talk, Surf and Send with your iPhone 3G. The Juice Pack is a rechargeable lithium polymer battery in the form of a non-slip, soft grip case. It extends the time that you can use your iPhone 3G in these ways (additional hours):

• Standby Time – Up to 350 hours
• Talk Time – Up to 6 hours on 3G | Up to 12 hours on 2G
• Internet Use – Up to 6 hours on 3G | Up to 7 hours on Wi-Fi
• Audio Playback – Up to 28 hours
• Video Playback – Up to 8 hours

What do you have to do to win one? Simple: tell us why you need one. Get on over to the forums, in the Win a mophie Juice Pack Battery Pack/Case for iPhone 3G thread and tell us what makes your day so long, so intense, so iPhone battery-draining that you need a mophie Juice Pack 3G to help get you through it? Give us your best iPhone Road Warrior story!

• One entry per person
• Contest ends tomorrow, Friday May 8, and 12pm EDT
• Need a real US shipping address to win (no international shipping, sorry!)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb Birthday Bash: Win a mophie Juice Pack Battery Pack/Case for iPhone 3G!

There were complaints about battery life with iPhone OS 2.1, but many on the various internet channels seemed to think OS 2.2 fixed that up rather nicely. Reports since iPhone OS 2.2.1 have varied more widely. Some seem to think it’s fine while others, including well know tech pundit Leo Laporte, keep saying they’re getting worse battery life since the last update.

What’s happening with your iPhone? The same? Better? Worse? Can you make it through a day? And what’s with the up and down between firmware? Is Apple playing some high-stakes balancing game between battery life and signal reception?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

How’s Your Battery Life With iPhone OS 2.2.1?

The Seidio Innocell External Battery Pack for iPhone 3G is the latest accessory to try an mitigate the lack of a user-changeable battery. Unlike cases that strap on to your iPhone, or dongles that plug in to the bottom, the Seidio Innocell, available for $39.95 from the TiPb Store, tries to find a compromise between the capacity and convenience: a good bit of power in a form factor that’s fairly small and unobtrusive.

How does it do? Find out after the break!

What’s in the Box

The Seidio Innocell External Battery Pack for iPhone 3G is no frills in terms of both price and accoutrements. What you get is a small, light bit of plastic with a dock plug that looks pretty much like the bottom third of the iPhone. It would be nice if it included a USB or AC adapter plug. However, since unlike some other solutions, the Seidio Innocell actually contains a dock input of its own, allowing for seamless charging with existing iPhone cables, it’s an understandable cost saving message.

Even the device itself is bare-bones: it’s got a light to show when it’s charging (red), when it’s charged (green), and when it’s giving over that charge to your iPhone (blue). In a bonus bit of design good-thinking, the Seidio Innocell includes a built-in speaker channel to make sure sound isn’t distorted if you want to use your iPhone while you’re recharging it.

How it Works

Simplicity, thy name is Seidio Innocell. Just plug the unit into the bottom of your iPhone and it begins to charge. That’s it.

Because Seidio took pains to make the Innocell look cosmetically like the iPhone — it’s literally made like an extension of the device itself, faux chrome-trim included — it’s easier to use it with your iPhone on-the-go than something like the RichardSolo. The trade-off is lower capacity, of course, with the small, inexpensive Seidio Innocell providing just enough juice to recharge your iPhone 50%.

In my tests, however, the Seidio slightly over-performed. From less than a quarter left, the Seidio re-charged my iPhone to just below full. Since it’s my understanding that the final 15% is the most charge-intensive, the performance was impressive.

Final Thoughts

It’s light to the point of feeling a un-real (what you want in a carry-around), re-charges your iPhone 50% plus (what might not be enough for hard-core conference/event goers), and does a pretty good job of walking the middle ground between case and dongle.

The one complaint I have is the lack of a dock-lock. While the design and fit is excellent, if I have to use it on-the-go, I want the security of knowing it’s not detaching unless I detach it.

Pros

• Simple and easy to use
• Over-performed in my tests
• Uses standard dock port to charge
• Low price-point

Cons

• May not provide enough charge for super-users
• Should lock to dock connector

TiPb Rating

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Review: Seidio Innocell External Battery Pack for iPhone 3G

Apple patents are strange and mysterious things. Like sums over futures, they give us a peek at thousands of strands of potentiality, but no clue about eventuality. In other words, Apple patents tons of stuff, most of which we never see in actual consumer products. Some of these, however, are pretty interesting looking. The Register says:

One of the applications describes a “host machine” – looking much like an iMac in the accompanying drawings – that has battery-charging slots built into its body.

A second describes how the host machine could communicate wirelessly with mobile devices to monitor their battery power, notify users when it was time for a charge, and talk with other host machines about the state of the batteries it’s servicing.

A third describes a “intelligent universal rechargeable batteries” with pop-off end-caps that allow “battery chemicals” to be swapped out when they’ve reached the end of their productive lives.

The Black&Decker approach of one-battery-to-charge-them-all seems so un-Apple, but it would be convenient to a large segment of handy consumers. TiPb also recalls a previous patent that showed a MacBook docking into an iMac, so why not go from broke, Apple, and give us the iPhone to MacBook to iMac “Russian Doll” gadget? Check out the full article, linked above, for all the details, and let us know which, if any, tempt you.

(Thanks to Phil, news editor over at sibling site WMExperts for the tip!)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Patent Watch: iPhone Dock and Battery Swaps?

The iPhone doesn’t have a user-changeable battery. To some that was a non-starter. To others, that was a call to action. Enter the iPhone external battery charger. We’ve seen them in several forms now, from built-in cases like the Mophie Juice Pack to plug-in units like the RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone.

TiPb had a chance to meet with the very gracious Richard Thalheimer at Macworld, who shared his enthusiasm for the RichardSolo 1800 and asked us to give it a try. Seeing as how, between email, twitter, blogging, texting, and calling, I was draining our iPhones near dry, I was more than happy to.

So how did it do? Read on after the break!

What’s in the Box

The RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone comes with the battery charger itself, which is shaped roughly like smaller, thinner version of the iPhone, and includes a locking dock connecter (yes!), charging light, and two buttons which activate the laser pointer and the LED flashlight.

Yep, it’s a multi-tasker, and while I haven’t yet found a use for the extra features, it is kind of reassuring to know they exist in case I ever need to find my keys in a dark room, or simply annoy a friend.

Also included is a retractable mini-USB to USB cable for charging with adapters for both an AC outlet and a car charger. Since the purpose of RichardSolo 1800 is to keep you juiced up on the go, it’s nice to have multiple options for charging the 1800 itself. However, while USB is a standard, I can’t help but think if the RichardSolo 1800 itself used a dock connector for charging, just like the iPhone, that AC adapter and car charger could do double duty charging the iPhone as well. (Note: you can work around this by plugging the iPhone into the RichardSolo, and the RichardSolo into the USB cable, so it’s a small niggle).

Lastly, the box includes braces for both the iPhone 3G and the original iPhone 2G. If you’re ever in a pinch and need to use your iPhone while charging it with the RichardSolo 1800, the brace will help keep everything more stable. It’s not as solid as a case-form external battery charger, of course, but if you’re careful, it’s usable enough.

How it Works

To charge the RichardSolo, you plug it into the retractable USB cable, and plug that into a handy USB socket — or into either of the adapters mentioned above. RichardSolo recommends you charge the 1800 for a minimum of 5 hours, twice, to get maximum initial capacity. That’s probably a fair indication of ongoing best practices as well.

Once the RichardSolo 1800 is charged, you plug it into the iPhone and move that charge on over! Thankfully, the 1800 will “lock” onto the iPhone dock, and requires you to pinch two buttons on the side to release it — a nice feature to prevent unintentional disconnection. Since the 1800 charges through a dock connector, you could theoretically use it to charge the iPod touch — or any other iPod — as well, though I personally haven’t tried that out yet.

From nearly dead to fully charged, it took somewhere between 1:30 and 1:45 to completely recharge my iPhone, and the 1800 still had power left to spare.

Final Thoughts

Is it unwieldily? Sure, hanging even a slim battery sized object off the bottom of your iPhone can be annoying, but what’s more annoying is running out of power halfway through a conference, nary a port or outlet in sight. So it comes down to a choice, something less obtrusive like the aforementioned Mophie Juice Pack, which only works on the iPhone 3G, or the RichardSolo 1800, which isn’t as elegant but can be used on all iPhones and iPods alike?

Pros

• Can charge any iPhone or iPod
• Slim profile makes it highly portable
• Includes USB, AC, and car charging options
• Built in flash and flippin’ laser beam!

Cons

• Dongle-like solution less ideal for using-while-charging

TiPb Rating

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Review: RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone Battery Charger

How is your battery life doing after upgrading to firmware 2.1? Hopefully better than mine!

I thought everything was going great after I updated Friday morning. Well I had a full charge late in the afternoon and left for work. A half hour later I noticed my iPhone was a bit warm without even using it. I Looked at my battery life and I was at 50% or so! Safe to say the phone was dead not long after.

So after a full night on the charger last night I thought everything should be good today. Well I was wrong. 2 hours of standby and a 5 minute phone call later, and my iPhone looked like the above picture. Actually that is exactly how it looked! What has really got me stumped is that I checked the usage meter and it said I used 1 hour and 56 minutes! A 5 minute phone call turned into that somehow? The time since last full charge was at 2 hours, which was correct.

I did a full restore without using a back up file after this, charged my phone and while the battery did seem to last longer, the battery meter is way off still. The “force quit” did not work, nor did any soft resets.

There is a thread over at Macrumors and Apple Discussions showing others are having this exact same issue, so that leads me to believe that my iPhone is not the issue but rather a issue with the 2.1 firmware in combination with something else? MobileMe possibly?

Turning off Push… my usage meter goes back to normal. Now I’m turning push on for mail only. We’ll see if it messes it up again.

If anyone has had issues like this please chime in.

UPDATE: I am happy to report that ever since I shut off push for contacts and calendars my iPhone is now working like it should. Just woke up and checked the phone, I almost have a full charge and it says I have used 1 hour and 16 minutes and time since last full charge is 10 hours. Which is correct. So it is a issue with mobileme push for sure. Whether it is getting stuck or whatever, if you are having battery issues and use mobileme or exchange try turning off push completely. Then, if it is the issue, slowly turn back on the email push feature and test it out. Then contacts and calendars…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Updated: iPhone 2.1 Firmware Causing Battery Drain? Is Push to Blame?