Buy Now...

Having been completely underwhelmed by the recent fanfare launch of the new iPad from Apple I decided to ditch the Blackberry and succumb to the sexiness of the iPhone. There is something wonderfully intuitive about sliding things around on a screen but once you have played with all the preloaded applications, what next?

There are so many accessories and applications you can buy for your iPhone that bewildering scarcely covers it. So to save you some time, dear reader, we have a round up just for you.

Quenching my iPhone's thirst for power

The iPhone's juice use is legendary. If I do nothing it might last a day. If my son plays some games on it we are counting in hours. We tested two packs that give your iPhone an extra boost when you are on the move.

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Duracell Instant Charger

£41.99 from Amazon

This sleek black charger was quite a surprise when I opened the packaging. You expect Duracell to be solid and functional. This gorgeous unit has all the function and a double portion of elegance as well. Small enough to slip into a handbag or pocket, it is remarkably versatile, charging from your compter via USB or miniUSB or a mains plug that will take a USB cable, in 2-3 hours. Then, as my iPhone begins to fade I can give it an instant boost - all you need is the iPhone cable that you usually use. This unit is not just for iPhones but is a 'ready to go' charger for a multitude of devices. In fact you may have to keep an eye on it - I have had to stop people walking off with it more than once! Well worth the money.

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Varta V-Man Power Pack

£34.99 from Amazon

There is nothing more frustrating than being out and about and your iPhone dies on you. Varta have a great reputation for the reliability of their batteries so the V-Man comes with a strong pedigree. Claiming to be able to recharge two mobile phones when fully charged the V-man is a Lithium-ion battery with built in flexibility. It can be charged from the mains or a computer in 5 hours and has a 7 piece adapter kit so it can be used on a wide variety of devices. Although having all these adapters does make it a bit fiddly, you will be amazed at how many other gadgets you can recharge with them.

It may not have the looks of the Duracell but it certainly has the power!

Cover up

Unfortunately it is all too easy to scratch or mark your iPhone. There are lots of cases to choose from so we have selected a cross section to give you a taster.

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Exspect Luxury Flip Case

£12.99 (RRP 24.99) from www.play.com

Wonderfully tactile, this case is bang on trend with its animal skin prints and textures. Just slide your iPhone in and you are ready for its SATC moment.

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Wrappz

From £8.49 for a customised cover from Wrappz

Now that so many people have iPhones it's nice to inject some individuality. With Wrappz you can upload your favourite picture and it will be printed onto vinyl for a really reasonable price. So whether you want to sport the England flag for the world cup, use a favourite family pic or show your support for a charity, Wrappz are just great.

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Scosche kickBACKS

£21.99 from Mobile Fun

More than just a cover, the kickBACK range combines polycarbonate with an integrated kickstand and rubberised feet that provide grip on flat surfaces which is great for watching movies on your iPhone or playing games The sleep and volume buttons are still accessible through rubber bumps on the side and there are cut outs for the camera, dock connector and headphones so your iPhone will happily live in this case.

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Incipio

£11.49 from www.mobilefun.co.uk

If you just want a plain, great quality cover that will last you should consider Incipio's collection of iPhone cases. They have a vast array from the bold and bright to more sleek and subtle colours, this range is perfect for adding fashionable protection to the iPhone. 

You can see the entire range on the MyIncipio web-site.

So there you are, a few ideas for keeping your iPhone going by both protecting it's sleek finish and quenching it's thirst for power. Now that's out of the way - what are you going to do with your iPhone? Tomorrow I'll look at getting the best sound out of your iPhone and then in the final part I'll summarise a few of the applications I've found most useful!