The mophie Juice Pack air is a combination battery extender and hard case for the Apple iPhone 3G. Currently, as to not risk being stranded with no battery, I resort to turning off non-essential services and praying to the almighty iPhone gods for just a few more minutes of power. Despite not occurring every single day, the situation happens just often enough to be annoying. I needed a solution and because I was already in the market for a new case and annoyed at the abysmal battery life while on 3G, I decided to stroll down to the nearest Apple store and check out this new gadget.

Design

The most glaring question about this product is probably in respect to its size. Let me say plainly that there is some bulk on the back, but it could be far worse. As for the width and length increase, it’s hardly noticeable. I typically keep my iPhone in my jeans pocket, so I was highly concerned about the thickness at first.

Aside from how it feels in my pocket, the “hand feel” is actually quite nice – better than a naked iPhone. My hands aren’t especially large, so people with big hands will probably appreciate the added depth. I liken the change to PSP vs PSP Slim or the changeover that happened with the Xbox 1 controllers. If you hold your phone in your hand for extended periods for any reason, the added depth of the case is a welcome feature. Furthermore, the form of the accessory is generally much more ergonomic than the phone sans cover.

In addition to the main features of this accessory, the mophie designers definitely put some thought into the case as a whole. Initially, I noticed some strange scoops near the bottom of the phone, which I thought were completely ridiculous looking. After reading the manual, I realized they’re actually there because of the speaker and microphone. Without them, sound input and output would be useless. Additionally, they seem to live up to the claim that they in fact amplify sound. At the very least, they do not hinder anything. However useful, I was slightly concerned about the accumulation of dust in these ports. After a full week of use, I can confirm that dust from my pockets does indeed gather in each and every crevice. This is no worse than any other case, but should be noted nonetheless.

Unlike battery addons, the Juice Pack air is a full body case as well. However, there isn’t much of a lip up over the sides of the phone. And while this missing piece won’t protect the face directly, it helps to keep the Juice Pack air relatively slim. One great benefit to this type of design is that it won’t interfere with screen protectors. The case itself is molded from hard plastic.

Power & Sync

On initial inspection, you should notice a small switch on the bottom of the case which allows you to control when the battery provides power.  As far as the iPhone is concerned, the battery is simply a normal power source. Therefore, when turned “on”, the Juice Pack air is drained while the iPhone begins to charge. If you toggle the switch to “off”, the iPhone receives no external juice and is powered as normal. According to the included manual, leaving the Juice Pack air on constantly, letting the iPhone continually “top off” is much less efficient than utilizing the iPhone battery primarily and switching the external accessory on only to charge the phone. To help you monitor the accessory, the Juice Pack air sports a 4 LED battery indicator on the back to indicate current levels and charge status. A simple click of a button and they light up, indicate its status.

Another immediate feature that stands out is the complete lack of dock connector. Because the phone must be charged through this port, one wonders if you have to remove the case to do so. However, the fine folks at mophie thought of this and provided a fairly seamless workaround. Although the dock connector is obscured, a Micro USB power replaces it, allowing you to not only charge the iPhone, but also synchronize it through the provided USB cable. How does it work in comparison to the traditional iPod cable? Exactly the same. Plug the USB cable into a USB port either in a computer or power adapter (such as the iPhone travel adapter) as normal. This is a brilliant and seamless solution.

Despite the good implementation, I’m a bit torn on the Micro USB format. Given the status quo in mobile phone chargers, I think it might the be wrong decision to use Micro instead of Mini USB, mostly because while there is a push for Micro USB to be the standard charging port for mobile phones in the future, they’re not terribly common right now. While this might be fine for long-term products – generally speaking – cellphones have a shelf life of 2 years in the United States. At which point, most consumers purchase a new model. Considering that the iPhone 3G is already a year old, many people will begin replacing their iPhone 3G with a new one in a measly 15 months, at which time the form factor will very likely no longer fit in the Juice Pack air. I would have much preferred for mophie to provide a Mini USB port for now, and switch to Micro USB on a later revision of the product if the standard is more ubiquitous. Fortunately, USB to micro USB cables are cheap, making it inexpensive to furnish them anywhere you might go.

As for actually charging the Juice Pack air, mophie claims the battery is good for 500 full cycles and that partial cycles (i.e. 10%) only count for that portion of a charge, not a full charge. Unless you’re fully draining the external accessory daily, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be good for a solid 2 years. In my practical use of it, I recommend letting the iPhone  drop to 10% remaining battery and perform a full charge of the battery from the Juice Pack air. I tested flipping it on/off at various levels of iPhone battery to keep closer to full, but there’s really no point. It seems that the accessory basically has enough energy stored at full to charge the phone to 100%.

As for the claim of double the battery time? I would say this claim is true  in practicality, but don’t be fooled to think that this will allow you to go two full days without charging. This is of course due to sitting in standby overnight. On day 2, I was able to make it to early evening before I started panicking about a low battery. At the point when you need to plug-in to charge, the iPhone charges before the Juice Pack air. I think most will find this is the preferred behavior.

Conclusion

Overall, I think the mophie Juice Pack air is a worthwhile investment if you’re constantly in need of an additional battery for your iPhone 3G. At $80 USD, the cost should make you stop and thing if you really need this. The pocket feel can be a bit distracting, but it’s a small disadvantage for doubling your iPhone battery life. Overall, I recommend the mophie Juice Pack air if you’re willing to put up with the size increase and hefty price tag in exchange for the increased battery life.