Gadget Review: Mophie iPhone 3G Juice Pack
December 30th, 2008 1:18 PM | by Wallace Wang | No Comments
Apple’s latest 3G iPhone has dominated the smartphone market with good reason. Its touch screen makes using the phone a joy and its storage and audio capacity makes it an excellent music player. Probably the weakest link of the iPhone is its relatively limited battery life. Unless you only use your iPhone to make telephone calls, chances are good you’ll never get through an entire day without needing to recharge its batteries. Since you may not always be near a convenient electrical outlet or USB port on a computer, you may want to invest in a portable battery pack that can power your iPhone. One of the more stylish iPhone battery packs is the Juice Pack from Mophie.
The Juice Pack is basically a battery embedded inside a protective case. Plugging the iPhone into the battery is as simple as slipping the iPhone inside the Juice Pack. The manufacturer claims that the Juice Pack can extend talk time and Internet use time up to 6 hours, video playback up to 8 hours, and audio playback up to 28 hours. However you use your iPhone, the Juice Pack insures that you’ll never need to worry about running out of power in the middle of the day again.
Charging the Juice Pack takes about 3 hours. Just plug in the included USB cable to the USB port of your computer and you’ll be able to recharge the Juice Pack and synchronize your data at the same time.
When plugged into the Juice Pack, your iPhone can still play audio and take pictures with its built-in camera. Surprisingly, the Juice Pack doesn’t block the iPhone’s external speakers so music sounds just as good as if the Juice Pack wasn’t even there.
To help you monitor the Juice Pack’s power, you can press a button on the back that illuminates zero to four lights. A full charged Juice Pack illuminates all four lights while a Juice Pack with less power will illuminate fewer lights.
Despite its added bulk, the Juice Pack doesn’t interfere with the slim size and weight of the iPhone. You will notice the added weight and thickness, but after a day or two carrying your iPhone plugged into the Juice Pack, you shouldn’t notice much difference at all.
For $99.95, the Juice Pack is reasonably priced, especially if you frequently travel and can’t recharge your iPhone during the day. If you can’t afford to let your iPhone’s batteries die on you, then the Juice Pack will be a wise investment.
Pros:
- Light weight
- Extends the iPhone’s battery life dramatically
- Doesn’t interfere with the iPhone’s ordinary use
Cons:
- $99.95 may be a bit pricey for some people
- Thickness of the Juice Pack adds bulk and weight to the iPhone
The Mophie iPhone 3G Juice Pack is available here for $100
Tags: mophie
