The Perfect Power Tool for the iPad-Packing World Traveler

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From your gadget-obsessed sister (who lives for her iPad) to your garden-obsessed uncle (who thinks apple is a fruit) A special report
The iPad and iPhone have great battery life, but sometimes life still outruns lithium ion. While an increasing number of planes and trains have power outlets, many still don't, which means you can get stuck with no juice at precisely the time (a transcontinental flight, say) that you don't want to be.

That's why we're recommending the New Trent IMP99D, a simple gadget that serves as a USB charger and spare battery for your devices. For a little more than $60, you can extend the battery life of your iPhone 4 more than 6 times. New Trent says that you can use your phone for 45 hours using its battery without plugging it in. For the iPad 2, it merely doubles your battery life to something like 18 hours.

This charger is, of course, a completely optional add on, but that's exactly why it's a great gift for the person who already has all the cool gadgets.
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Alexis C. Madrigal

Alexis Madrigal is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees the Technology channel. He's the author of Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology. More

The New York Observer calls Madrigal "for all intents and purposes, the perfect modern reporter." He co-founded Longshot magazine, a high-speed media experiment that garnered attention from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC. While at Wired.com, he built Wired Science into one of the most popular blogs in the world. The site was nominated for best magazine blog by the MPA and best science Web site in the 2009 Webby Awards. He also co-founded Haiti ReWired, a groundbreaking community dedicated to the discussion of technology, infrastructure, and the future of Haiti.

He's spoken at Stanford, CalTech, Berkeley, SXSW, E3, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and his writing was anthologized in Best Technology Writing 2010 (Yale University Press).

Madrigal is a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley's Office for the History of Science and Technology. Born in Mexico City, he grew up in the exurbs north of Portland, Oregon, and now lives in Oakland.

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