Apple’s iPhone OS 3.1 introduced some great new features, including that MMS thing we’ve all been waiting for, but the update also brought some hiccups, including even poorer battery life for an already thirsty device. Apple’s doing something different with this round of complaints, though. It’s getting involved.

This weekend the company started contacting forum users who had complained about battery life, asking follow-up questions like, “When you notice a power drop, does it seem to be a legitimate power drop, or rather an issue with the battery icon indicator?” The users were also prompted to install a battery life logging profile which then syncs back to Apple when you connect to iTunes. There are also instructions for turning off the logging feature once data has been collected.

Apple has gotten involved with some of the past iPhone concerns. Hopefully this time things will get fixed in a timely fashion.

Apple’s new iPhone didn’t get the aesthetic overhaul some people were looking for, which is a big win for third party manufacturers. Forget clearance prices; accessories like the Juice Pack Air carry over seamlessly, and in the case of Mophie’s gadget, actually improve.

According to Mophie, the Juice Pack Air, a combination protective case and battery life extender, nearly doubles the battery life of an iPhone 3GS. The company cites the following specs for their battery:

* Standby Time: Up to 270 hours
* Talk Time: Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 10 hours (2G)
* Internet Use: Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 8 Hours (Wi-Fi)
* Audio Playback: Up to 27 hours
* Video Playback: Up to 9 hours

For $80 the Juice Pack Air is tough to beat. You can have one in purple, black, or white.

You’re going green, trying to reduce your energy footprint, but that damn iPhone of yours keeps dying. Tremont Electric has your solution.

Called the nPower PEG (Personal Energy Generator), Tremont’s newest device harnesses kinetic energy to generate electricity and power your devices. According to the company, the PEG is capable of charging an average device up to 80% capacity in just an hour of average movement, like walking. Because the PEG comes equipped with a USB 2.0 jack, it’s compatible with just about every device on the market.

I’ve seen this type of thing before, usually in the style of a belt worn around your hips for maximum shaking on impact. The PEG, though, doesn’t need to be worn. Trow it in a backpack, a purse, even just across your passenger’s seat. Virtually any movement will start to generate the juice you need to keep your gadgets at max capacity.

According to Tremont Electric, “If our entire target market used the PEG to recharge their cell phones for an hour each day, instead of plugging into a wall outlet, they would reduce the amount of electricity needed from the grid by 25.4 million kilowatts. That’s enough energy to power 21,000 households for an entire year.” Pretty huge change for a small device.

The nPower PEG is just 9 inches tall with a 1.5 inch diameter and weighs 9 ounces. A release date remains to be announced, but you can sign up and be one of the first to get preorder information.