Just a week after receiving the original Square reader I received a new one that addresses some issues people were having using the reader with the iPhone 4. Although I didn’t experience any problem with the reader, some users were having issues, most likely because the original reader’s input jack is all metal and it was making a connection to the antenna. The new reader is a bit slimmer and the input jack ends in plastic, which is what I think will fix the problem of the metal to metal connection.

I’m glad to see a company that responds this quickly to address issues and problems their users are experiencing.  Keep up the good work Square.

Here is the full list of cases available:

1. Apple Black Bumper
2. Incase Snap Case – Smoke
3. Incase Snap Case – Clear
4. Belkin Shield Micra – Clear
5. Griffin Motif – Diamonds/Smoke
6. Griffin Reveal Etch – Black/Black Graphite
7. Speck Fitted Case – Black Tartan
8. Speck PixelSkin HD – Black

Dear loyal customers,

We’ve had a lot of inquiries from our loyal customers regarding a new juice pack for the iPhone 4.
Here’s the low down: Of course we are coming out with a new juice pack for the iPhone 4. We have been
working on iPhone 4 concepts since before there was an iPhone 4. In fact, we are coming out with more
than just a new version of the juice pack air. Our new product line will give you, our customers, more options
than ever when it comes to capacity, color and finish. You will be impressed.

We are a certified partner of Apple. Let’s just say that we can’t say any more. Please be patient and know
that we will be announcing these products soon and you won’t be disappointed.

Thank’s for sticking with us.

-The mophie team

So it’s coming, we just don’t know when. Sounds like it’s time for a new iPhone 4 juice pack poll!

A while back Justin had some troubles with his iPhone USB cable breaking and apparently he was not the only one. The folks over at Cable Jive also experienced the same problems but instead of replacing theirs with a standard cable, they created the duraSync, a tougher cable that would not suffer the same tearing as the original.

How tough is this sync cable you ask? Well, our friends at Cable Jive sent us a sample to test it out…

The first thing we noticed was how much thicker the cable is. It has a thick rubber outer layer and a tear resistant inner shielding. The ends are also a lot tougher than the standard ones, the product description says there is a double layer protection on them, I didn’t try to pry them open to find out though, so we’ll take their words for it.

Function wise there’s not much to say, it works just like any other sync cable. Connect your device and it syncs.

To find out how tough the cable really is, we ran a few tests. First we tried pulling it, which didn’t do anything as the inner braided shielding is designed to keep the cable from tearing. Then we tried crushing it in a car door. We were actually able to charge the iPhone while the cable was caught in the car door. And for good measure we decided to run it over with a car. And guess what? The cable still works.

Now the question is, do you really need a cable this tough? And would you pay $20 for it? Personally I don’t think it’s necessary. For my daily use this cable would be overkill, especially when I can get a replacement cable for a fraction of the price. But if you live or work in a rough environment then it would probably make more sense. Overall this is a very well built cable that certainly lives up to its name, but at this price I don’t think it’s for everyone.

Also, my update on 5.16.09 still stands with the 3.0 GM. It works and sounds great, but when running with the iPhone in my pocket or hand it does break up every once in a while. My thinking is the CPU can barely handle the iPod and Bluetooth at the same time, so when you start moving the iPhone around it has to track the accelerometer movements and puts it over the top.

I just completed my “jog test” with my new iPhone 3G S an no matter what I did I was unable to get it to break up at all! So it seems my speculation might have been right as both the 3G and 3G S sport the same bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. The only other 3G S upgrade I could see affecting bluetooth would be the extra CPU power and possibly the extra RAM.  Glad my investment in the bluetooth headphones has not gone to waste. One small disappointment still stands though, even on the 3G S I was still only control pause/play with the S9-HDs (volume is controlled on the headsets themselves). So if you are planning on using A2DP headphones with an iPhone 3G on 3.0 I obviously cannot recommend the S9-HDs, but if you do find a pair that work nicely on the iPhone 3G please leaves us a comment or send us an email to let us know!

Also, up until this point I have been using the S9-HDs to test the iPhone A2DP functionality, but now that we are out of beta and they are working well on the 3G S I will be writing a proper review for them in the future.

UPDATE 5.16.09 After doing a test while running I did get it to break up a little bit so I guess it’s not perfect, but at this point I’m not sure if it’s the iPhone or the headphones. Either way in a 9 min jog it only broke up a few times for just a sec or two so it was still very usable unlike beta 4.  While walking with it in my pocket I was still unable to get it to break up at all.

Not much changed in beta 5, but a big update for me is I can now use my S9-HDs I bought to test when 3.0 beta was first released. After writing about my first impression of A2DP I’ve been testing against each new beta. The audio skiping and sound quality issues improved with each update, but the issue with the audio cutting in and out when using the headset outside (seemed like a bad bluetooth connection) remained in my last A2DP update. One beta later and the problem is solved! I’m now able to use the S9-HDs when jogging, guess I have to start working out more now.

Also, beta 5 is the first beta where Apple requires all new apps to be 3.0 compaitble. So it looks like if this isn’t the final beta, there probably aren’t going to be too many more before it’s released to the public…which is making me think they may release 3.0 firmware before releasing the 3rd gen iPhone.

I first tried the A2DP bluetooth when 3.0b1 first came out and it was definitely beta. Since then it’s slowly improved. The issue of the audio breaking up / freezing when using other apps (vs leaving the phone locked) is gone. The quality is pretty good, but still doens’t seem as good as wired although I guess this is to be expected.

The one issue that’s come up and hasn’t been resovled is while trying to use the headset while jogging. Everytime I go outside with the iPhone in my pocket and my Motorola  S9-HDs on my head it starts to break up. It’s worse when I’m jogging, but still happens even when just walking. With every beta it seems to break up a touch less, but no real improvments. When “kinda” jogging inside the problem doesn’t exist. I have a feeling it has to do with added interference outside the protection of my concert walls. We are still 30-60 days from a final release so I’m hoping they get a few more betas out between now and then with a fix for this issue.

With Mophie’s history with the Juice Pack 3G release (it was delayed, more than once) I’m not holding my breath, but I’m sure those of you that voted for late April in our Juice Pack Air poll are pretty happy.

While Justin has been using the mophie juice pack and waiting for the upcoming juice pack air, I’ve gone solar. A while ago I came across the Solio Classic battery pack and decided to give it a try. Basically the Solio is a battery equipped with solar panels that can recharge itself harnessing the power of the sun. Unlike the juice pack, the Solio is not exclusively for the iPhone, it comes with different tips that can connect to different electronic devices including USB. Since getting the battery I’ve been testing it with different devices like a Motorola krzr, iPod Photo, iPod Video and of course my iPhone 3G and it works pretty well.

The setup is fairly simple, you plug in the cord, attach a tip and then simply connect the device you wish to recharge, that’s it. There is only one indicator on the battery, an LED that flashes green every 3 sec or so when it’s charging a device, a solid red when the battery is charging, or a combination of both when a device is attached to it while it is under the sun.

Its performance has exceeded my expectations, it charged a fully depleted iPod in about 2 hours using about 60% of the battery charge. It takes a bit more to charge up the iPhone but that’s expected, especially since the iPhone was on while I was charging it.

To charge the pack you simply open up the battery to reveal it’s 3 solar panel and place it in a sunny place. It does take a while to fully charge the battery, specially if the sun is not shining, but being from the Sunshine State that’s not a big problem for me. The average charging time is about 8 – 10 hours under the sun, but you can also charge up using the included USB charge cable. But that kinda defeats the purpose of the pack, don’t you think?

Overall, I’m happy with the Solio, my only problem was using the included USB tip with the iPhone. Turns out there’s a new tip for the iPhone 3G, but once I got the new tip everything was good. So, if you want to go green or you are like me and don’t like anything resembling a protective case enclosing your electronic devices, give the Solio a try. And if you do, let us know how you like it…

UPDATE 6.21.09 A2DP bluetooth on iPhone 3G S works great, 3G not so much

UPDATE A2DP on iPhone 3.0 beta 4 follow up

Now that the first beta of iPhone 3.0 is out I decided to take a dip into the wireless stereo world with my first pair of A2DP headphones, the Motorola  S9-HD. I plan on posting a more detailed review after I’ve had a few days to test everything out, but here are my first impressions…

Good stuff! First I wanted to test to make sure it was truly in stereo so I played a couple songs that have very distinct use of the left and right channels. I used Money by Pink Floyd and Mr. Brightside by The Killers (Treaty of Paris is just the last song I was listing to before taking the picture). Everything worked as it should with the correct audio on the left and right channels. The sound quality is pretty good, but it just doesn’t seem quite as good as the wired set. This could be the norm for all I know since this is my first set of stereo bluetooth headphones.

One issue that is a bit annoying is the music gets choppy or even stops playing for a few seconds when trying to do anything with the phone. Even browsing for another song to play inside the iPod app causes this issue. When you just let the phone be, like locked up in your pocket, it plays perfectly. It’s possible the sound quality and stuttering issues are due to this being the first beta, so I don’t want to harp on it too much just yet. Even with these cons it’s already good enough for me to use the wireless set over the wired when it makes sense, like…er, jogging?