The problem with the iPhone is that it makes itself so indispensable, and is such a pleasure to use, that the battery has been known to run out before the day is over. (The battery capacity itself isn't especially poor; it's just that you use the thing so much.)
Rather than try to find a plug for a mid-afternoon recharge, we've taken to carrying extra battery packs with us when we know we're heading off on business. We were big fans of Mophie's first battery sled – a kind of cover that you slid the iPhone into – so were keen to see what this new version brought.
It's not as capacious as the original – and still available – Juice Pack; it's rated at 1200mAh, while the original packed in 1800mAh. It is, though, slimmer, and rather than being about three quarters of the length of the iPhone – leaving the top of the iPhone sticking out, unprotected – it cocoons your entire iPhone in plastic. The case splits apart for fitting.
Battery performance is good. Its claim of almost doubling the iPhone 3G battery life is pretty much bang on, and it has a switch to turn charging on and off.
But we must confess to being disappointed with the build quality. It's not just that our first sample shattered – this just happened with an early batch, apparently; Mophie will replace for free if you're affected – but that joins, seams and finishing seem a little rough.
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james_uk
December 12th 2009
1. I was a bit nervous about buying this. Yes, I needed a battery pack as my iphone 3G's only problem seems to be battery-life. I had read lots of reviews and in the end I bought both the Juice-pack air and the juice-pack original (1900mah) to see which was better. I was nervous having read lots of comments about the sound on/off bit falling off... They both arrived and to those people who seem to break it I would suggest taking your mittens off before fitting it.. Maybe if in the Arctic with thick gloves on you can do this but it you do not attempt to ram it on with your eyes closed I think it is easy enough to put.on. As for the product itself - it really just gives you a full second charge on the phone - which is great. The Air model is much nicer to hold (and less cumbersome than the original model and though slightly lower in capacity than the original (which can charge it more than once) is fine. i think this is an excellent product. It may be that with time I come to prefer the rubberised grip of the original as the Air model might get scratched slightly but I think this is a great product and I am surprised Apple themselves have not launched such a thing. As for losing signal-strength - still have maximum bars on the iPhone though it sometimes drops 1 bar when I have it charging the phone (to be expected as it will create a magnetic field.. I love this product - and got it with some free screen protectors so the front is fine too.
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