When I wrote about the new Mophie juice pack Helium a couple of months ago I was impressed with the battery life it added to my iPhone. Since then, the folks at Mophie have come out with two new iPhone compatible devices the Juice Pack Air and the Juice Pack Plus.
All the Juice Packs offer protection and full access to the controls, cameras, ports, and so on for whatever phone they’re used on. The Mophie Juice Packs are charged via a mini USB cable and will charge both the Mophie device you have and your phone at the same time.
Not just a iPhone supplier, Mophie also produces battery cases for several other types of smartphones, and although their content is mostly for the iPhone market, if you have a Samsung Galaxy SIII or an HTC One you’re in luck. I would hope that they’ll expand their line to include the Galaxy S4 and other popular smartphones going forward.
The $99.95 juice pack for the Galaxy SIII, like all Juice Packs, adds a layer of protection for your phone. The case comes in two styles, a soft-touch black matte finish or a high gloss white with metallic silver accents. The case doesn’t interfere with the Galaxy’s NFC or S Beam capabilities.
The 2300 mAh Juice Pack for the Galaxy offers up to 32 extra hours of audio, 8 extra hours of video playback, or 9 extra hours of web browsing. It’s 150mm H x 75mm W x 17mm and weighs in at a bit over 145 grams.
The Mophie for HTC One
The $99.95 Mophie juice pack for HTC One is a 2500mAh battery that effectively doubles the battery life of your HTC One in a slim design case that’s only 73mm W x 154mm H x 17mm D and weighs 143 grams.
There are three Juice Packs for iPhone 5; the Juice Pack Helium is priced at $79.95, the Juice Pack Air is priced at $99.95, and the largest capacity Juice Pack Plus is priced at $119.95.
The Mophie Juice Pack Helium comes in black or silver, is 63mm W x 139mm H x 15mm D and weighs in at 69 grams, and it’s 1500 mAh battery will add about 80% battery life to your iPhone 5.
The Mophie Juice Pack Air is priced at $99.95, offers a 1700 mAh battery and weighs about 76 grams. It’s 66mm W x 141mm H x 16mm D. It’ll double the battery life of your iPhone 5.
The Mophie iPhone 5 smartphone lineup
The largest capacity of the Mophie Juice packs made for iPhones is the Mophie Juice Pack plus. The Plus is a 2100 mAh battery that offers a 120% increase in the battery life of your iPhone 5. The Juice Pack plus is the largest juice pack at 67mm W x 142mm H x 18mm D and it weighs 76 grams.
The entire line of Mophie Juice Packs are worth every penny if you’re someone who uses your smartphone a lot. Because the battery packs fit so well with your devices, if you have virtually any version of iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy SIII or HTC One, you’ll be able to realize a significant amount of productivity from your device.
They all offer great protection and since they charge both the Mophie Juice Pack and the smartphone at the same time, they’re really no more difficult to use than just your smartphone. All juice packs charge both the smartphone and the juice pack itself at the same time, and all have three LEDs on the back of the juice pack to indicate the amount of charge remaining in the juice pack. A simple press of a button beside the LEDs lights them up giving an easy to see display of charge remaining.
I know a Realtor who I gave a Juice Pack to for his iPhone 4. He was running out of battery well before the end of his business day because he uses the phone so much for making and receiving calls and looking all the things up he needs to in order to be a successful agent. The Mophie has made a significant improvement to his business – simply because he isn’t looking for plug-ins to recharge his phone everywhere.
The Mophie Micro USB charging port
The Mophie Plus for iPhone 5 adds a bit of thickness to the iPhone
All the Juice Packs are small enough to fit nicely in a suit jacket, so if you’re a business person who just needs longer life from your smartphone or a road warrior whose job depends on a smartphone, then the Mophie products are well worth a look.
PROS: Great addition to the battery life of a smartphone; don’t add a lot of bulk; protective case for smartphone; decent pricing; ease of charging both smartphone and Mophie juice pack.
CONS: Juice Packs are only available for iPhones, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy SIII at this point.
TO SUM IT UP: The Mophie juice packs are my favourite battery case for my iPhone 5. I use my phone a lot and frequently run out of battery before the end of day, so the juice packs really are a great addition. They protect my phone and let me easily get through the day on one charge. I wouldn’t be without one.
Murray Hill is lead tech writer at communicatto.com, a social media marketing agency where this article originated. You can reach Murray by email at murray@communicatto.com or on Twitter at @MurrayDHill
