Apple has just released its first battery case for the iPhone 6 and 6S, instantly establishing itself as a potential stocking stuffer this holiday season. After all, what else do you when you make one of the most popular smart phones in the world that consistently disappoints power users due to its poor battery life? You finally do what dozens of others have done for years and make a battery case.
Of course, this being Apple, it’s not just another battery case – it charges via lightning connector, and it’s supposedly a “smart” case, meaning it provides basic data to your phone. For example, swipe down on your iPhone’s screen and you’ll get a readout of both your phone’s battery life and that of the case. Which is good, because Apple took the case’s one and only physical battery indicator, and put it on the inside of the case where you can’t see it. Because … what the hell is going on?
These are the people that design some of the most beautiful and functional products in the world right? Anyway, the case is made of that grippy silicone stuff and is super thin … until it isn’t. That bulge you see is the battery, and even though it’s a bit bulky, it’s still not as big as many of its competitors. In fact, at just over 1800 milliamphours of capacity, it’s not quite enough to charge your phone from 0 – 100.
However, the case is billed as a “25-hour” case – that’s talk time, folks, not Netflix time or Facetime kinda time – and it costs $100. Still interested? You can pick one up from the Apple store right here.
Finally, in an effort to do whatever it can to distract your attention away from Netflix, Amazon is now offering prime instant video users access to Showtime, Starz and other networks through its streaming service.
Called the Streaming Partners Program, the service now allows you to tack on Showtime or Starz live streaming and VOD apps at a discount, right alongside access to all of Amazon’s content. You’ll pay about $9 bucks each for the two premium networks. You can also add on Liftetime Movie Club, the Dove Channel, or one of 18 other snooze-worthy channels. The big appeal here is Showtime and Starz, obviously. Hulu offers a similar deal, allowing Showtime as an add-on for the same price, but no Starz. You can subscribe now so long as you have an Android, iOS device, Kindle Fire, Fire TV or Roku set-top box. Amazon says more channels will be added in the future. Question is … will you really want any of them?
