Very rarely do I get the chance to go hands on with some of the items that I read about daily but this time I was pleasantly surprised to be allowed the chance to review a great accessory to any mobile device from Digipower — JumpStart, the end-all to your mobile charging needs.

The Skinny
I was contacted by a representative of JumpStart and asked to do a review of the product a few weeks ago and after agreeing to it I was sent my own JumpStart. The first thing I noticed, after pulling it out of the box, was that it was in a clamshell package. I HATE clamshell packages and I nearly cut myself trying to get the product out more than I cut the package itself.

I finally got the product out of its package and was surprised at how lightweight it was, the packaging claimed it was 2 ounces and I can believe it. The size of the JumpStart reminded me of a lighter and could easily be slipped into a pocket or purse and barely noticed. There is a button on the side of the casing that is marked “TEST” and pressing it lit up 3 green lights on the top. Below the test button is a USB Mini and USB A port (marked IN and OUT, respectively). I plugged the JumpStart into the wall to charge and 4 lights came on, I’m not sure why but I left it that way for a while and they never changed.

The company claims that the JumpStart will hold a charge for 1 year and can recharge a “typical” cell phone 3 times before it needs recharging (more on that later).

Seven adapters came with JumpStart, a few I knew right away (Mini USB, 5-pin micro USB, Nokia, Samsung) but the others I couldn’t figure out. There was no iPhone charging adapter but as long as you carry your iPhone cable you will be able to use the JuumpStart. Also, the charger came with a retractable USB cable with a proprietary end for the adapters and an AC adapter with a USB A plug to plug in the USB cable.

My Impressions
I had the chance to really use this charger the other night when I lost power at my house for about 9 hours. I needed my phone fully charged the next morning, since I use it as my alarm clock, and my wife needed hers charged as well. As far as I know the JumpStart was fully charged when my wife plugged up her phone (an HTC Titan). She charged it to 80% and then I checked the battery status on the JumpStart, it had two lights so I plugged my phone up to it (an HTC Touch) and let it charge until the JumpStart was all out of power — I had about 50% charge.

Now, neither of our phones are “typical” and we both had data turned on, so take the statement that it will charge a typical phone 3 times with a grain of salt.

I plugged the JumpStart back into the AC adapter and it charged again in about 2 hours. (As charged as it can get, I figure. Once again it had 4 green lights and they didn’t do anything after that, so I’m not sure if it was complete or not.)

According to Digipower, the device will be available this month (June) from select retailers and will sell for $49.99. If you drain your phone’s battery while on the go then this product should definitely be your next purchase.

Over at The Consumerist today they have a great article about a nice iPhone app by Verisign (only iPhone for now, doesn’t support iPod Touch) that lets you secure your transactions on Paypal, eBay, and a few other sites. There’s also a step-by-step guide on how to set up your PayPal account to work with the iPhone app.

Note: In the comments, tvmitch pointed out that you can also have PayPal send you a six-digit code every time you want to login in case you don’t have an iPhone, just click the option that Chris Walters marked with “not this one!”.

In about 2 and a half hours MobileCrunch is going to start giving away iPhone app promo codes. They say that there will be promo codes for “dozens of applications, each worth anywhere from 99 cents up to $30 bucks.”

Basically it’s going to go down like a Woot-off: the promo code will stay up on the site until they give away all they have for that app, then the next one will show up. If you want to grab a few free apps make sure that you keep refreshing this page from 9 AM EST until they are done, because once the codes are gone they are gone forever.

So I was looking around for a new app to feature here and a friend bought a G1, which has built-in Google Talk, so that got me looking around for a good app to connect to Google Talk on my HTC Touch. The first link when you google “google talk windows mobile” is a post on the Official Google Mobile Blog about Google Talk being ported onto the iPhone. Now, this review isn’t about the official Google Talk app, it’s about an app that someone mentioned in a comment on that post — Beejive (pronounced bē-hīv).

Beejive is a cross-platform, multi-IM network enabled Instant Message application, it supports AIM/iChat/MobileMe, MSN/Windows Live, Yahoo!, MySpace, Google Talk, ICQ, & Jabber, and it works on Blackberry, iPhone, and Windows Mobile. Unfortunately, according to the site, the Windows Mobile version is not going to be updated and will stay in a beta version, but it is free.

The power’s out, you’ve got no internet to check the weather on your laptop, and your radio’s batteries just died. What do you? Well, if you had WunderRadio you could just pull out your iPhone and check the weather right then.

WunderRadio lets you listen to local radio stations for music, weather alerts, and more.  It’s on the App Store now for $5.99, or browse to i.wund.com for a free browser-based version. If you don’t have an iPhone, you can still get the weather any time from your mobile browser by surfing to m.wund.com.

WunderRadio is a WUnderground.com app.

About 3 weeks ago I reviewed an app for Windows Mobile called slydial that let you call directly to someone’s voicemail. Today, MobileSphere announced that slydial is available for free on the iPhone App Store.

Here’s the full Press Release.

Dec 15, 2008 09:00 ET
slydial iPhone Application Now Available

iPhone App Allows Users to Go Straight to Voicemail in One Simple Step

BOSTON, MA–(Marketwire – December 15, 2008) -

News Facts

MobileSphere, a leading-edge provider of global wireless communications solutions, today announced the availability of its slydial application for iPhone. Due to the rapid popularity of slydial, MobileSphere developed this free, downloadable iPhone application that lets you instantly voice message anyone in your iPhone address book with a U.S. mobile phone number in one simple step. The slydial App is now available for free download at the App Store in iTunes.

slydial has hit a nerve in the marketplace, indicating the value of this effective and practical messaging service that offers a voice alternative to text messaging. Whether saving time, avoiding an awkward conversation or returning business calls, slydial has proven to have universal appeal. Now, with the company’s smartphone Apps, slydialing will become easier than ever, increasing the use of this sly, yet practical, service.

Don’t have an iPhone? Applications are available for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile smartphones too. Download and install the slydial application of your choice on your smartphone by visiting the slydial Apps page.

Don’t have a smartphone? Have no fear; slydialing can still be an easy-to-use service. Join MYslydial for free and become a registered user to take advantage of advanced features for quick and easy slydialing, including Dial By Name and Click 2 slydial.

To slydial, dial 267-SLYDIAL (267-759-3425) and follow the voice prompts. slydial connects to all major U.S. wireless carriers and calls can be placed from any mobile or landline phone.

- Quote, attributed to Gavin Macomber, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, MobileSphere

“Based on feedback from our user community, it was evident that our iPhone and other smartphone users have been looking for ways to simplify their slydial experience. The slydial app was an obvious next step. Our downloadable applications provide quick and easy ways to instantly voice message any address book contact.”

- Quote, attributed to Clayton Wakida, Honolulu, HI, slydial iPhone App user

“Extremely useful App that every iPhone user should get and everyone else will want!”

- Quote, attributed to Bruce Wagner, New York City, NY, slydial iPhone App user

“I called 40 friends and family in only 30 minutes on Thanksgiving Day and left each of them a super-sweet personalized greeting. How long would it take you to call 40 friends and family without using slydial? And now, with the iPhone App, it’s one-touch calling which is brilliant!”

About MobileSphere

MobileSphere is a leading-edge provider of global wireless communications solutions leveraging the migration from fixed to mobile communications. MobileSphere focuses on providing mobile messaging and telephony solutions to service providers, enterprises, universities and consumers. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Boston, Mass., MobileSphere’s products and solutions include slydial™ for mobile voice messaging, Joopz™ for web-to-mobile text messaging and CellularLD™, TravelCall™, Utalk™, CarrierILD™ for international wireless long distance. For additional information, visit www.mobile-sphere.com.

NOTE: Apple and iTunes are registered trademarks and iPhone is a trademark of Apple, Inc.

The trademark BlackBerry is owned by Research In Motion Limited and is registered in the United States and may be pending or registered in other countries. MobileSphere is not endorsed, sponsored, affiliated with or otherwise authorized by Research In Motion Limited.

All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their respective holders.