Accessory review: Mophie Juice Pack Air
I’ve spent some time over the last month playing with my new favorite iPhone accessory, the Mophie Juice Pack Air, which Mophie was kind enough to provide for this review. The concept is simple – provide extra power for your iPhone in as small a form factor as possible – and Mophie’s nailed it. The Juice Pack Air is the perfect case if you need your phone but won’t be able to charge it for some time.
The Juice Pack Air is basically a backpack for your iPhone. The plastic shell is a size increase for every dimension of the phone, as you might expect from an external battery, though the largest increase is just over a quarter-inch on the bottom of the phone. It’s a fully enclosed case with a removable top, a feature that comes in handy if you’ve got an oversized headphone connector. The remaining charge is indicated by four blue LEDs along the lower back of the case, which are activated with a push button. There’s also a power switch on the bottom to toggle between your phone’s battery and that of the case.
As for battery life, which is the big deal for this type of case, the 3GS will get nearly double life out of a single charge. Under heavy use I was getting a 65-70% extended life from the Juice Pack Air, but in most cases it was at or above 80%. The case’s battery has a 1200mAh capacity, which is among the lowest for this style case. As I mentioned, the capacity is a tradeoff for size, which is something I like about the Mophie. If you need something that gets you through two full charges or more, you should definitely look elsewhere.
Though I think Mophie hit the mark on a small, protective battery case, there are a couple things I would change. First, the connection is micro USB, which means carrying an uncommon cable type for charging. That can be frustrating on the road, where I like to pack as light as possible. I also don’t like that the case sits flush with the face of the phone. Just a little lip would mean you could set the iPhone face down without worrying about scratches. If you like to use a screen protector even that will be sitting higher than the edge of the case and without a lip may get peeled back when stuffed repeatedly into a pocket.
On the whole, though, I really like the Juice Pack Air. It’s small enough to still fit into a pocket with enough battery power to get you through most any day. You can get Mophie’s Juice Pack Air from the company website for $79.95.
