Wed, 02 Nov 2011 Magic Bar review

Before you get excited, the Magic Bar does not dispense alcohol. That said, it does provide a decent amount of juice for your wireless Mac peripherals. Designed to offer a convenient and stylish replacement for the batteries in your Apple Wireless Keyboard (the latest aluminium model, not the older white plastic version) or Magic Trackpad, Mobee's Magic Bar has been designed to perfection.

Its sleek, cylindrical battery screws into the space normally occupied by two regular AAs in your wireless keyboard or trackpad with an overhang of around half an inch. This is not a design flaw, however, it merely allows your keyboard to slot, not plug, into the equally attractive inductive charger (that’s the magic part) that blends seamlessly with the metal of Apple’s wireless devices and connects to your Mac via USB.

One small issue with the charger, we felt, is that the beautiful design is somewhat spoiled when it's used with the Magic Trackpad. The Magic Bar is the same width as the Wireless Keyboard so with the smaller Trackpad plugged in, it doesn't look quite as sleek and seamless.

Design aside, it’s the convenience of the Magic Bar that makes it an essential product for users of the Apple Wireless Keyboard. With the charging dock attached to your Mac, you have a far more convenient way of keeping your keyboard powered without having to replace or remove and recharge existing batteries. Not only that, but the battery will last you for days at a time on a full charge.

Slide your keyboard into the Magic Bar and your wireless keyboard or trackpad is charging. Magic!

Losing charge shouldn’t be a problem, however, as placing the keyboard in the dock when not in use (or even while you use it) is not only effortless but it looks good too. Even better, the reduction in battery use is environmentally friendly. A small LED lets you know when the battery is charging or fully charged. If we had a niggle, we’d say that charging the battery does take quite a while, but that’s unlikely to be a problem after your initial charge – especially if you use our top tip. Simply slot the battery into the charger before you put it into your wireless device and let it charge up first.