Mophie has built a name for itself with its line of external battery cases for the iPhone and iPod. There’s always been a real problem with these (at least for me), and that was the sheer amount of bulk they add. It appears the company may have finally figured out how to combat this problem from the case I saw in New York City on Wednesday.

Actually, the battery pack looks all but like an typical hard case, but a little thicker. As you can see, the case itself mimics the actual design of the phone itself, so from a distance you may not even notice it.

While I love my Mophie and think that a battery extender is almost a necessity for any heavy smartphone user, the bulk it adds is cumbersome and sometimes slightly annoying. The fact that the company has been able to shrink down the case to eliminate a large chunk of that bulk is very impressive.

Even more so is the fact that the case has a 1500mAh battery, which is bigger than the 1200mAh battery in the current line of 3G/3GS cases. Mophie claims that this battery will give users about double their typical battery life: about six extra hours of 3G talk time, 36 more hours of audio playback, or an additional nine hours of video.

The company says that the case has also been designed to give some acoustic benefit, redirecting the sound from the speakers that would typically be directed towards the bottom to the front of the device. Any of us that have ever used the “cupping” method to amplify the sound when we’re using the speakers know generally how this works.

The iPhone 4 case is already available through the Apple Store and retailers carrying Mophies line for $79.95, the company says.

 
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