Get Your iPhone Fix

And the winner is......the Mophie Juice Pack Air! Yes, I tried a few battery cases and the one that works the best for me was the Juice Pack Air. I had looked at it before and was concerned that due to it's slimmer size, it's battery wouldn't last as long as some of the others. It came down to size vs. power. Early on, I had ruled out battery packs that hang off the dock connector, like the iPWR SuperPack or the Richard Solo series, simply because one of my requirements was to be able to use the iPhone while the battery was connected without fear of something getting broken. I had briefly used the Fastmac iV, before it was stolen, but found it rather bulky. This is mainly due to two features that I found very useful, the LED light and the USB charge port. Once I even used it to change a friend's G1 Android phone. The "flash" was less useful, but it did help when there simply wasn't enough light for a decent iPhone photo. In the end, however, I didn't need these features very often and I needed something that could be used every day.


The Juice Pack Air pretty much beats all the other battery/cases for size hands-down. In fact some people I know (not iPhone users however) didn't even realize there was a case on the phone. I also find that even though it has a little less "juice", it generally provides more than enough time to find a charger. Over Thanksgiving, I managed to eek out 2 1/2 days on the battery, although with light talk usage. I find that if I was getting the 20% warning from the iPhone, I can generally switch on the Mophie JPA and get the charge back up to 75-80% before the pack is depleted. My only minor complain is that I wish you could recharge the Juice Pack Air with the iPhone's cable, but it would probably make it bulkier.


What made this the killer solution, was the release of Mophie's Hip Holster 6000. I've always been a belt-holster kind of cell phone user, so it was frustrating that I'd always have to find somewhere to put my iPhone when a battery pack was on it. Generally I carry my iPhone 3GS "naked" in an Incase belt-holster case. Risky perhaps, but I like having the iPhone as light as possible and showing off the beautiful design. When I need more power, or plan on being out and about using the phone a lot, I can pop it into the Juice Pack Air and still have the iPhone in its normal place at my hip.


So there you have it. If you need a lightweight battery solution that is as transparent as an external battery can be, check out the Juice Pack Air and Hip Holster 6000 combo. And now it even comes in RED, which I'd definitely have gotten before, but I'll still with the stealth black case I have now.

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