iPhone The Icon: Battery Pack for iPhone

[kjk]

http://www.essentialtpe.com/global/i...phone&catid=57



Love it.

[scottjl]

yeah, saw that, very cool but no price and no ordering information. also does not say it works with the 4g.

[Maggie Leung]

I haven't read much about iPhone 4. Is supposed to be compatible with existing chargers and such for iPhone 3s? Or do you have to buy all new stuff?

[scottjl]

well the shape of the phone is different. so any of those battery "sleeves" won't fit correctly. apple is selling yet another dock for it (notice they pretty much change the form factor with every model?). i'm sure the standard ipod cable will work fine though. cases won't fit of course.

one thing i haven't read about is if it takes the 10w like the ipad or 5w like the old iphones. or both.

[Maggie Leung]

Thanks, Scott. I still have a 3G, so I can upgrade the phone, but I'm leaning against it if I have to replace all my chargers, portable batteries, docks and such. I've got a bunch throughout home, car and travel kit to work interchangeably with my aged iPod as well.

[scottjl]

well chargers and all should work just fine, especially if it uses the standard ipod cable. not a problem. it's the docks that won't fit because of the shape of the phone. i can't fit my original iphone into a 3g/3gs dock and vice versa.

portable batteries are a big question mark. i have some that have a shape to dock to the phone, like a docking station, and they don't work between the 2g and 3g/3gs iphone because of the physical shape. don't expect those to work on the 4. i also have some 2g batteries that don't work on the 3gs because they don't have apple's "authorization chip" they came out with before the 3g and i get that stupid "this device is not compatible with this phone" message. some people's chargers are the same way. i expect more of this nonsense with the 4g.

sad thing, apple has an interest in selling us all new chargers, batteries, and the like for every new iteration. they get a nice fee for every one of those "officially licensed to work with iphone" products.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by scottjl

sad thing, apple has an interest in selling us all new chargers, batteries, and the like for every new iteration. they get a nice fee for every one of those "officially licensed to work with iphone" products.

Yup, I can see their motivation. I'll probably stick with what I have.

Wondering: Do you know whether I can upgrade (meaning buy the new model), resign for two years, but use my existing phone and just sell the 4 model for a profit? I'm thinking it would be worth several hundred, especially if I sold it before it launches overseas.

[scottjl]

if you're in the states, the iphone 4 you pick up will be carrier locked to AT&T. someone would have to be willing to wait until it can be unlocked and take a chance that it might not or there might be issues. you might find someone, i don't know. really don't now much about that kind of market. my advice would not to attempt something like that unless you're willing to take the risk that you can't sell and be stuck with it anyway. up to you.

i was fortunate, last year i sold my 3g a few weeks before the 3gs came out for $30 less than the price of the 3gs. i used my 2g during the gap. wasn't looking to make a profit but was glad i covered almost all the cost of the upgraded phone. i had a friend who tried to sell his after the 3gs was released and could only get half of what i did for mine. by then the market was flooded with people doing the same thing.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by scottjl

if you're in the states, the iphone 4 you pick up will be carrier locked to AT&T. someone would have to be willing to wait until it can be unlocked and take a chance that it might not or there might be issues. you might find someone, i don't know. really don't now much about that kind of market. my advice would not to attempt something like that unless you're willing to take the risk that you can't sell and be stuck with it anyway. up to you.

i was fortunate, last year i sold my 3g a few weeks before the 3gs came out for $30 less than the price of the 3gs. i used my 2g during the gap. wasn't looking to make a profit but was glad i covered almost all the cost of the upgraded phone. i had a friend who tried to sell his after the 3gs was released and could only get half of what i did for mine. by then the market was flooded with people doing the same thing.

Thanks. Bummer. No biggie. I figured it'd be worth considering if easy.

There are Web sites paying $100+ for my phone now, or I could get a trade-in credit of $100 at Radio Shack, I read. (I would get iPhone 4, plus the credit, but I'd need new accessories.)

I don't need the latest and greatest phone for my uses, though. I haven't loaded a single video on my iPhone in all this time, and have only a few audiobooks on it, no music. I got the phone for the Internet and e-mail (and have made great use of it, especially while traveling). Now that I have iPad, I barely use the phone. I figured if I could sell a 4 version for several hundred, I would buy a second iPad. I want one, but can't justify it.