I’ve had a Mophie Juice Pack Air (product info) for five months now because, in my opinion, the iPhone battery does not have enough juice, period. I’m a heavy iPhone user so its battery usually lasts me until mid-afternoon.
From my experience you double your battery power when using the Mophie Juice Pack Air because it holds about the same amount of juice as the iPhone battery. I love my Mophie Juice Pack Air because of the extra battery power.
I found out about the Juice Pack while listening to the Today in iPhone podcast, and then I read an article over at Engadget.
How I Use The Mophie Juice Pack Air
In the morning I tend to load my iPhone into the fully charged Juice Pack and turn on the power switch so my iPhone is being charged and is using the Juice Pack battery. When the Juice Pack gets low or runs out I flip the switch to off and the iPhone starts using its own battery. At that point I usually swap out my Juice Pack with another iPhone case so I can charge the Juice Pack battery, which takes 2 to 3 hours.
I’ve done this the other way around: Where I have a fully charged iPhone and Juice Pack in the morning, but leave the Juice Pack switch in the off position (red) and run out the iPhone battery first, and then turn the Juice Pack switch to the on position (green) to charge up the iPhone.
However, the Juice Pack doesn’t fully charge the iPhone if you are using it and when the Juice Pack runs out of juice the iPhone can run down quickly, especially if you are using it heavily. At that point you have to find another source of power because the Juice Pack wouldn’t have had time to fully charge.
Some Annoying Things About the Juice Pack
One slightly annoying thing is the noise that is made when the Juice Pack runs out of power. The iPhone will make a screeching sound when the Juice Pack runs out. That wouldn’t be so bad except that when the iPhone starts drawing power from its own battery the Juice Pack’s battery gets a reprieve, which then causes a temporary resurgence of power that quickly runs out again, hence another screech. This vicious loop will continue for a little while and drive you batty, or wake you up in the middle of the night wondering when the bats are going to eat off your face.
A second thing that bothers me is that the top and bottom fit together unevenly on one side. There is a slightly jagged point (see arrow in pic to left) that catches when I try and pull the Juice Pack out of my jeans pocket. The first time it happened the jagged point caught so that the Juice Pack was thrown out of my hand and hit the pavement. NOT GOOD. I assume it’s probably my particular case that has this problem, but if you’re going to buy one check this out straightaway and get one that has a smooth joining of top and bottom edges. I had mine quite a while before I even noticed this slight, yet annoying problem.
While I’m on a roll here I would like to explain how to put the top and bottom together. For a long time I tried to fit the top and bottom by first holding the two pieces. When that didn’t work I tried laying them down on a flat surface bottom side down, but the darned thing just didn’t want to fit together.
The trick is to lay the two pieces upside down on a flat surface and then the two line up perfectly and slip together like butter.
One quirk I have a hard time with is plugging in the male/female connector. It looks pretty simple, but the size is so small and after five months it still takes some doing to get the male/female power connector to mate. A this point I’ll refrain from several obvious jokes.
Lastly, the Juice Pack is flush with the iPhone case, which leaves the metal bezel exposed a susceptible to being scratched. I have another iPhone case made by InCase that fits over and protects the metal bezel. See the comparison below.
Bottom Line on the Mophie Juice Pack Air
Even with all its faults, I need my Mophie Juice Pack Air. Until the iPhone has some REAL battery power, or Apple gives us the ability to switch out batteries in the iPhone I need another source for power. This is especially critical when I’m traveling. You know: planes, trains and automobiles. Nothing like running out of juice while watching a movie on a flight to England. Traveling without the Juice Pack is unthinkable.
Unrelated Link
App Review – Dragon Dictation for the iPhone
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