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Need more battery life..

A

Andy348

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 18, 2009
423
0
Montreal
I've currently got a 32GB 3GS (it's a friends) but will be picking up a new 8GB 3G soon.

I know right off the bat (because of this 3GS) that I'll need more battery life. I've read up on the Mophies, the Kensingtons, etc. but I can't really decide on what I need.

I classify myself as a moderate/heavy user - most likely a bit more than 2 hours of 3G web browsing per day along with music, a lot of applications (Black Mamba Racer FTW), calling (approx. 30 mins per day), 200 texts and email.. This means that I need an external battery with at the very least 1200ma.

Now for the important part... what do I want? I guess I want something that I can bring to work, school or wherever. The most popular option would be the Morphie Juice Pack Air. Its a great idea, and I was originally going to get it but I love the iPhone naked and this Mophie is quite thick. Then theres the antenna problems which really crosses this off the list for me.

Then my second option is just one of those small add ons that'll connect to the iPhone and charge it in an hour or so (example: .. my problem with that is leaving it in my pocket with the little thing charging my phone could cause some damage (if it snaps or something). I'm not sure if it'll be strong enough or not?

Lastly, the previous Mophie juice case (1800ma) that leaves the top exposed. I could just slide in the iPhone when I need more battery life and keep it in my pocket, then potentially take it off when its done or just leave it on? But the the problem comes of taking that thing around in my bag to school or even to work? And it's $100...

Was anyone in a similar situation?

Thanks
 
Hi Andy,

I was in the same situation as yours, and pretty much I've settled for those add ons but the one I use has a cable that comes with it - so it's like you have a dock connector cable connected to the battery. I have the iMax battery extender, you can search the forums for it but to be honest it is really worth it. I've been using mine since last year and I place it inside my pocket, desks, place the battery in the pocket and can still talk since the cable is long enough. Worth every penny, I highly recommend using it
 
Check out an Incase Power Slider. Works well and they are discontinued, they sell for about $40-50 on eBay. Battery lasts a very long time.
 
Abyssgh0st said:
Check out an Incase Power Slider. Works well and they are discontinued, they sell for about $40-50 on eBay. Battery lasts a very long time.
Click to expand...

When I first bought the powerslider I thought I had stumbled upon the most useful iphone accessory ever, it doubled my battery life, and seemed to offer good protection too, the perfect case.

But, within a week, I realized it pretty much ruined my 3g reception, to the point where many times a day, if I wanted to make a call, or go to a website, I had to remove the phone from the case, otherwise, no signal. Yes, there were a few areas where signal was so strong it made it through the case to the phone just enough to make a call or see a webpage, but clearly the lithium battery on the rear is blocking the phone's antenna, if they ever design a new version which somehow incorporates the battery in such a way as to not interfere with the phone's operation, I'll buy it in a hearbeat, but until then, I do not recommend this case, really wish I could.
 
Megalobyte said:
When I first bought the powerslider I thought I had stumbled upon the most useful iphone accessory ever, it doubled my battery life, and seemed to offer good protection too, the perfect case.

But, within a week, I realized it pretty much ruined my 3g reception, to the point where many times a day, if I wanted to make a call, or go to a website, I had to remove the phone from the case, otherwise, no signal. Yes, there were a few areas where signal was so strong it made it through the case to the phone just enough to make a call or see a webpage, but clearly the lithium battery on the rear is blocking the phone's antenna, if they ever design a new version which somehow incorporates the battery in such a way as to not interfere with the phone's operation, I'll buy it in a hearbeat, but until then, I do not recommend this case, really wish I could.
Click to expand...

Personally, I've never seen much of a difference in reception. I have both the power slider and the juicepack air (I am on the phone a scary amount for work). Both seem reasonable in terms of reception (with the exception of GPS- They both hose the GPS reception).

I MUCH prefer the Power slider because I seem to get a bit more juice out of it. More importantly, if I'm trying to charge in say a hotel room and I need my 3g modem and my phone charging on my MBP, the slider will charge both itself and the phone overnight. The juicepack (for some odd reason) seems to do one or the other.

So, are they replacing the power slider with something else?!?! I hadn't heard it was discontinued. Bummer...
 
Same dilemma here.
For me the only solution is a battery that fits as a case over the phone. Dangling those batteries off the end (monoprice) or via a cable (iMax) just aren't going to work when using the phone, for instance, as a gps in your pocket.

I got one of eBay but it wasnt compatible with the 3G.
Someone in these forums has had good luck with one from DealExtreme but with the new iPhone software update he also got the 'non compatible device' message.

If anyone comes across a functioning battery case please post it here. I would go for a Mophie but at $100 I really am not interested.
 
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