Jun 9, 2009 08:20 PM
22,568
Enter your username and password.
The Gadget: The HyperMac external laptop battery, which, through its Magsafe connection gives MacBook Airs up to 32 hours and MacBook Pros up to 8 extra hours of battery life. There's also a USB port for USB charging.
The Price: $200 for 60Wh, $300 for 100Wh, $400 for 150Wh and $500 for 222Wh
The Verdict: Enormous battery life. While we tested the 222Wh version, the only difference is the capacity, and you can do the math to figure out how much life each version has. In our test, the 222Wh was able to sustain a MacBook Pro at full charge for eight straight hours. Couple that with the internal battery that the Pro already has, and you're into double digit work time if you buy one of these.
Unlike the Powergorilla, the HyperMac actually is capable of charging the Pro (there's a MacBook Air style charger as well). That means you can use this as a portable charging station as well as a constantly-tethered power supply. But you pay for that in terms of lugging around a heavy ass block of aluminum.
The 222Wh battery itself weighs 4.7 pounds, and measures 10.1 x 5.91 x 1.34 inches. It's not small, but it's still slim enough to be shoved into a bag and carried around with you everywhere. It takes 3.7 hours to charge the HyperMac to full, and you can even continue powering your laptop while this charges, giving you an extra MagSafe charger at home.
One very sneaky use for this is taking the battery to work and filling it up with your company's power, then taking it home and powering your laptop(s) and USB devices off of this. Free power!
We passed one around yesterday at the liveblog and it was able to keep multiple MacBook Pros alive the entire time. And with the new built-in battery for the MacBook Pros, we're going to be stocking up on these instead of extra internal batteries.
So it's up to you: how much power do you need? $500 and 222Wh may be too much for most people unless they work in the field a lot, but the cheaper versions are worth it just to have a backup for emergencies. [Hypermac]
Send an email to Jason Chen, the author of this post, at jchen@gizmodo.com.
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
Start a new discussion