Boost iPhone 3G battery life with the USB Power Extender

Just a week after it was launched , it looks like Apple has recognised that the battery life of the iPhone 3G isn’t everything it should be, judging by this leaked product page sent to us from an anonymous tipster.

The page from the Apple Store site shows a product called the USB Power Extender that claims to"charge and sync your iPhone or iPod wherever you are". The page isn't live on the Apple site yet (and there's no word from our tipster when it will be), but we have a screen grab and a high resolution image of the USB Power Extender after the cut.

The USB Power Extender is an elegantly simple solution to the iPhone 3G’s battery problem and it’s one we’re surprised that no one has thought of earlier, though we guess this why Apple pays its infamous design team big bucks. The USB Power Extender is nothing more than a very, very long USB lead, wound around some kind of cranked spool.

It’s not immediately clear from the photo and the description on the Apple page doesn’t explain if the spool feeds out and retracts the cable automatically. There is what looks like some kind of handle on the USB Power Extender though, so there is at least a manual wind option when you get back to base.

The kicker is that the USB Power Extender has two miles of cable wound around that spool, so once you’re plugged in, you can wander for some considerable distance without having to worry about 3G or GPS draining you riPhone 3G’s battery.

There’s no word on availability yet, but the price on the page reads $99 – you can count on that being £99 when the USB Power Extender hits UK shores, no doubt.

[ Apple Store]