Best backup battery for the iPhone?

khkey1818 · 05-20-2009, 07:15 AM

Does anyone have a recommendation for the best backup battery on the market? I'm taking a long flight and would like to bring an extra external backup battery, but can't seem to find many reviews! Ideas/recommendations?

Europa · 05-20-2009, 07:37 AM

I use a Mophie Juicepack.
http://www.mophie.com/products/juice-pack

adnurahs · 05-20-2009, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by Europa

I use a Mophie Juicepack.
http://www.mophie.com/products/juice-pack

How do you like the Juice Pack? I was thinking of getting the Juice Pack Air. People seem to like the new one.

I have been through three Incase Power Sliders. Two of the old one and one of the "new and imporoved" one. One fried my phone the other one just got too hot upon the initial charge to use. This newest unit charged completely and then died so i could not use it at all and that was right out of the box. I don't know why these units suck so bad. What's worse is that I like the slider so much I'm actually thinking I will get a good one one day.

Europa · 05-20-2009, 09:01 AM

I like it. I have the old 3G Juicepack. The new one looks a little nicer.

mdb4403 · 05-20-2009, 09:31 AM

I purchased a black "air" about 5 days ago. Previously I was using something called a "Mobile Power Station" ("MPS") which I purchased on ebay (search iphone battery case). This unit completely incased the iphone including the face (it has a plastic shield which covered the face). It worked great (2100 amh) and charged the phone almost twice from completely dead. Only problem - it was the size of a brick.

Purchased the "air" primarily because of the size. It fits nicely on the phone. It was the same height as the MPS even though the "air" claims to be the thinnest battery case but the Mophie is about .25 inch shorter and about .5 ounces lighter. Doesn't sound like much but it makes a world of difference in terms of how the phone looks and feels when in the case. The Mophie is well constructed, looks good and feels good in the hand without adding substantial weight.

As to how I carry the phone with the Mophie on (I keep it on all the time) I went down to Microcenter here in my home town of Columbus and bought a generic leather "pouch" type PDA case with a rotating belt clip. The phone just slides in the pouch and is held firmly in place by the elastic siding. It works and fits perfectly. The fit is snug enough that even if I turn the phone and holster completely upside down the phone stays in place. It is not too snug however to allow me to remove it easily from the pouch with firm pressure.

As to the performance of the Mophie this is what I have found. It's rated at 1200 amh which means it has about 90% of the capacity of the actual iphone battery. This is what I have found in real life use from a relatively heavy user. My day typically starts about 8:00. By 4:30 to 5 I get the 20% warning. I turn the "AIR" on to charge. I generally try not to use the phone when charging. In about an hour the "air" has charged the phone to about 90% and still indicates two lights worth of charge on the back of the case. I turn the Air off at which time I will use my phone again until it runs down to 20% again. By that time my day is usually done but I went ahead and turned the AIR on again to see how it would charge. It took it from 20% to about 60-65% before it was dead. So all together the Air took the battery from 20% to 90% and from 20% to 62.5% on one charge. Not bad for what I think most people need.

One other comment. I have had no problem with signal degradation or the micro USB port. The only problem I've seen is that you get two different readings with the blue led lights on the back depending on whether the air pack is on or off. It is not unusual for me to get 4 lights showing when the AIR is off and 2 lights showing when the AIR is on. The lights showing on the ON setting I believe are the most accurate.

Hope this helps

Learn to daytrade - www.fpr-tradingsystem.com

bateseric · 06-09-2009, 11:02 AM

I would have to say that for the funtionality/money, that the iPower is the best value and holds the longest charge. The new Air Pack is cool in it's design, but it is a little heavier than expected, costs around $80, and it is pretty hard to take off of your iPhone. The iPower doubles your battery life, has an external amplified speaker, costs half the price, and even works as a protective case for the iPhone. I own both and prefer the iPower. For those of you not familiar with it, I bought mine at http://www.iphonebatterypack.com. If anyone knows of one that's even better, please let me know.

Coolstrategist · 06-09-2009, 11:54 PM

I just ordered the Dexim BluePack S3 2600 mAh from RichardSolo. It is certified by Apple for use with the iPhone and iPod.

http://richardsolo.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=366

Review:

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/rev...r-iphone-ipod/

I have the earlier version of the RichardSolo charger and am very pleased with the performance so I figured I would upgrade to the newest.

At an Apple certified 2600 mAh I believe you can get at least two full charges for your phone.

They state:

"The BluePack S3 will extend your talk time up to 10 hours, video playback up to 20 hours, and audio playback up to 80 hours. The BluePack battery allows you to charge any phone that charges using a mini or micro USB cable (Including BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Bold, and T-Mobile G1 with Google). The BluePack S3 is a rechargeable polymer lithium-ion battery, with advanced charging technology, that automatically switches off to protect the battery from overcharging.

This battery comes with the following features: an ultra-bright LED flashlight, 3 blue LED's indicating charging status and remaining battery life, a button to indicate the battery's charge, and a USB 2.0 charging port. In this kit, you will also get an AC Wall Charger, a Dual USB retractable cable, a USB 2.0 cable for iPhone/iPod, and a USB cable for BlackBerry.

The S3 is built out of a high-quality, scratch-resistant aluminum. The innovative BluePack S3 is both compact and light-weight, making it perfect to take along in your pocket, purse, backpack, briefcase, etc "

RichardSolo had a special last week where they offered a 20% online coupon code. I got them to match Dexim's online price of $69.95 and they took the 20% off of that lower price. So $60 shipped for this level of battery backup and included accessories cannot be beat.

By the way you can find several YouTube videos of guys unboxing and demonstrating the battery. I found it very useful before placing my order.

Napoleon_PhoneApart · 06-09-2009, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by khkey1818

Does anyone have a recommendation for the best backup battery on the market? I'm taking a long flight and would like to bring an extra external backup battery, but can't seem to find many reviews! Ideas/recommendations?

www.imaxpower.com

5000mAh

Look for my review soon.

Coolstrategist · 06-10-2009, 12:16 AM

Just Mobile Gum and Gum Pro

Even though I ordered the Dexim per my post above, I figured I would also post this battery in response to your inquiry. It is "plain jane" but based on some reviews it seems like the "Pro" version is a power monster that gets the job done.

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/rev...b-power-packs/

JWiPhone · 06-10-2009, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by Coolstrategist

I just ordered the Dexim BluePack S3 2600 mAh from RichardSolo. It is certified by Apple for use with the iPhone and iPod.

I would like to purchase this battery but I don't want to pay the $89.95 that is listed on the Richard Solo website. Also, how fast can it recharge the iPhone when the iPhone has zero battery power?