One of the major reasons why I chose to become a freelance writer in the first place was that it afforded me the freedom of location. I can travel almost anywhere and continue to run my business remotely via the Internet. However, I’m not always next to a power outlet. What is a traveling techie to do?
While we were wandering through the hallowed halls of the Consumer Electronics Show, we found ourselves paying a visit to the people at Sanho Corporation. That’s the company behind the HyperMac brand of external MacBook batteries, but they’ve got some even more portable variants available now too! Let’s have a look at their little brothers and sisters.
Introducing the HyperMac Family
Whereas you can get your hands on the HyperMac External MacBook Battery and Car Charger to keep your Apple laptop topped up on the go, what are you supposed to do with your iPhone, iPod, and other portable electronics. Fret not. HyperMac has just introduced the HyperMac Nano, HyperMac Micro, and HyperMac Mini.
These take on fundamentally the same concept as accessories like the Mophie Juice Pack and the Proporta Mobile Device Charger. They let you charge your electronic device anywhere you go making it possible to take along lots of cool gadgets for your outdoor passions.
The core market is the iPod and the iPhone, but there’s no reason why you can’t use it with a BlackBerry, Nokia smartphone, Samsung MP3 player, or any number of other portable devices. You will notice that the entire line is available in nine different colors, corresponding to the iPod nano rainbow from Apple. These include pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, and silver.
HyperMac Nano with Built-in Charging Cable
Perhaps the most innovative of the bunch is the HyperMac Nano. This portable battery pack is about the size of a Zippo lighter but it contains 1800mAh of mobile juice for your iPhone or iPod.
To put things in perspective, the internal battery for the iPhone 3GS is rated at 1219mAh, meaning that the HyperMac Nano has enough to charge your iPhone about one and a half times. The Mophie Juice Pack Air, by comparison, is only 1200mAh.
The other major advantage that the HyperMac Nano has is that it is the world’s only (to date) iPhone/iPod battery with a built-in charging cable. There is no need to bring an extra cable with you.
When you remove the cap, you’ll see that there is a short cable connector housed within that plugs back into the HyperMac Nano itself. Unplug this and plug it into your iPod or iPhone and it will automatically start charging your mobile device.
Interestingly, the cap can be attached magnetically to the end of the HyperMac Nano. You’re less likely to lose the cap, as a result, but bear in mind that the magnet isn’t exactly the strongest thing in the world.
I do appreciate the full aluminum housing, though, which adds a huge dash of class over its plastic competitors. With its mobile size and reasonable $39.95 MSRP, the HyperMac Nano is a winner in my books.
HyperMac Micro Steps Up a Notch
Maybe you need something a little bigger. The next step up in the HyperMac portable battery family is the HyperMac Micro. It is shown above next to my Nokia E71 smartphone.
Like the HyperMac Nano, the HyperMac Micro is also available in nine different colors. Unlike the HyperMac Nano, however, you don’t get an integrated cable here. Instead, there is a female USB-out port for charging your mobile devices.
To charge the HyperMac Micro, you can use the provided AC power adapter or via a regular USB cable connected to your computer. You can see the mini-USB port for charging too. The indicator LED will show you the charging progress when you have it plugged into a power source.
The step up in size from the Nano corresponds to a doubling in the battery capacity too. The HyperMac Micro gets loaded with a 3600mAh lithium-ion battery. The standard battery on my Nokia E71 is 1500mAh, so I have enough to charge my phone more than twice. That’s a lot of juice.
In terms of build quality and design, I’d swear that this looks almost like a portable hard drive of some kind. In this way, it’s easily compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket or laptop bag.
HyperMac Mini Goes Big, Doesn’t Go Home
It may be called the HyperMac Mini, but this is the largest of the iPhone/iPod portable battery family from HyperMac. Again, the core market is comprised of iPhone and iPod owners, but this will charge anything that takes power via USB.
They have once again doubled the battery capacity, stepping up to a whopping 7200mAh lithium-ion battery. That’s positively huge, even though the HyperMac Mini only measures a hair over five inches across. Aside from the larger capacity and physical stature, the Mini is identical to the HyperMac Micro.
Final Thoughts
Sanho Corporation has long since been respected for its external MacBook batteries, giving mobile users the ability to untether themselves from wall outlets for hours on end. With the expansion into the portable market, the HyperMac line could be a serious contender.
The full aluminum construction certainly shows off the quality of the product and the monstrous capacity easily outshines many of its direct competitors. The corresponding Nano colors are a plus too, especially for people who want to get beyond black and silver or who like to color coordinate with their ‘iLifestyle”.
I’m particularly happy with the smaller size and integrated cable of the HyperMac Nano ($39.95US). This is a very convenient package if you expect to be away from a power source for some time. No pricing information has been made available on the Micro or Mini variants, but I’d expect both to make sense in light of the Nano’s pricing.
Pros
- Great aluminum construction and design
- Impressive battery capacities
- Versatile USB charging ports
- Wide range of color options
Cons
- No indicator for capacity remaining
- Prefer a “click” cap rather than a magnet for Nano
Overall Rating: 8.5/10.0
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