FUNCTIONAL PowerSlider Type Case with extra battery?

[Megalobyte]

If you have tried the incase powerslider, chances are you ran into the same problem I and many others did, namely, while it did double battery life, it all but ruins 3g and even wifi reception to the point where the phone is almost unusable with the case on, that was my experience, and from what I've read others' as well.

I don't believe the redesign of the powerslider did anything to address this specific and in my opinion, glaring issue.

So, here is my question. Why hasn't incase, or another company designed something just like the powerslider, but designed the battery in such a way as to not block the phone's antenna? Which leads me into my next question, how would it be done, ie. keep the design pretty much the same, but, not interfere with reception?

All I can visualize in my head is a lithium battery that instead of being a solid rectangle, is sort of like a rectangular doughnut, in other words, the middle of it is removed, or whichever part of it is covering/blocking the phone's antenna, can a battery be made that has enough capacity without covering up the entire back of the phone?

Not knowing exactly where or how large the phone's antenna is, I don't know exactly how this can be done, or where the battery should be displaced to allow a window for signal to get through the back of the phone, but surely it can't be that hard?

So, my questions are, first, has any company yet discovered a way to make a good, protective case, like the powerslider, that does not interfere with reception, and if not, why not?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

[gunzmaiet]

well... they discontinued the powerslider so there had to be something wrong, not enough buyers, or the side effects you mentioned

from ilounge review: "Finally, our iPhone 3G exhibited mixed interference test results. On a positive note, there were no noticeable wireless interference issues when used with Power Slider. Five-bar cell, three-bar Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS all appeared to work the same whether this battery was attached or not; any difference there may have been was in no way obvious. Unfortunately, though Power Slider has an attractive plastic mesh grille at the bottom to cover the iPhone 3G’s speaker and microphone while positioning a mini USB plug for recharging, our test caller reported “profound” echoing back of his voice when Power Slider was on in speakerphone mode, some but less echoing in handset mode, and none when Power Slider was removed in either mode. A redesign of the speaker pass-through appears to be necessary to improve audio performance.

Our overall impression of the Power Slider Case for iPhone 3G is mixed. While Incase has done a generally good job on the case’s aesthetic design, it’s no more protective than a typical Incase Slider, which fell below our recommendation level; Power Slider’s additional thickness, height, and speakerphone performance may also be challenges for some users to deal with. We might be able to deal with some of these issues if the battery was a stronger performer, but as Incase is offering lower capacity than virtually all of its peers—at the highest price, no less—we find it hard to generally recommend this case. With Juice Pack, you buy a more powerful battery and a less protective shell; with Power Slider, you trade battery life for some but not complete coverage, and lose longevity."


morphie's solutions:
Juice Pack Air
Juice Pack