Hey, am I the only person frustrated by the battery life of my Apple iPhone 3GS? Judging by the large aftermarket for iPhone power supplies, I’d say probably not. I decided to buy a battery case because I didn’t want another device to carry in addition to the phone. I bought a Mophie Juice Pack Air (MJPA), based upon the enthusiastic recommendation by a nationally-known tech pundit. Well, live and learn, as they say! There are problems presented by battery cases in general, and more specifically, the performance of the MJPA has been very disappointing. Some of my gripes aren’t Mophie’s fault — I should have done more thorough research before selecting a product to buy. In the hope that you won’t make the same costly mistake as me, here’s the case against smartphone battery cases.
- Battery cases inherently feature less storage capacity than external battery packs due to their smaller form factor. When the “Low Battery” notification appears on my iPhone (20% of battery remaining), the fully-charged MJPA doesn’t have enough “juice” to recharge the iPhone battery 100%. Do the math: The storage capacity of the MJPA is less than 80% of the iPhone 3GS battery. Not good!
- Using a battery case means you can’t use other, better cases, for example, the OtterBox Defender. (I love me some OtterBoxes!)
- The iPhone won’t fit in tripod adapters (used for photography and videography) when it’s mounted in a battery case.
- A model-specific battery case is useless when you upgrade to a new smartphone.
- The MJPA won’t work with an Apple iPad. In defense of Mophie, I didn’t own an iPad tablet when I purchased the MJPA. Nonetheless, I own three iOS devices now and the MJPA can power just one of them. Bottom line: An external battery pack is the only portable iOS device charger that makes sense, especially for owners of more than one device.
I rest my case, your Honor. I’m searching for some sort of external battery pack for all of my Apple iOS devices, including an iPod touch 2G, iPhone 3GS, and iPad 1. I’m currently considering external battery packs made by NewTrent and HyperMac — comments are invited and welcome!
Posted from Arlington, Virginia, United States.