An iPhone External Battery Without the Bulk?
By Ed Oswald | Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I’ll admit that I have lusted after Mophie’s Juice Pack Air, especially considering I can somehow go through my battery power on my iPhone 3GS in a matter of a half a day or so. The only problem I’ve had is the bulk: it ads about 3 ounces of weight, and another half inch or so of bulk, bringing it up to a somewhat chunky 3/4″ in height.
Enter Mili and its recently released Power Skin. While its power ratings (at least advertised) are slightly less than the Mophie, the case measures in at 18 millimeters, a hair smaller than its competitor at about .7 inches. Like its competitor, the skin comes in different color combinations: black or white on the outside, and either white, silver, black, orange, blue, or green on the inside.
Mili says it has gotten the product Apple certified to work with either the 3G or 3GS. At a price of $69.95, it’s also $10 cheaper than the Mophie.
Is such a small difference in bulk going to be noticeable? Until I get one in my hands, I won’t be able to say. But it is nice to see manufacturers attempting to deal with the greatest drawbacks of these cases.
4 Comments
Read more:
4 Comments For This Post
April 21st, 2010 at 2:08 pm
i had a mophie juicepack air for a while, but a usb cord-snag messed up the connector
just recently i happened upon a newegg.com deal on an energizer iphone 1000mAh battery (iPower2 i think) – it was on sale for $12.99 (down from 60-something)
this mili thing looks much cooler and slimmer, but you can’t beat 2x batter life for thirteen bucks
April 21st, 2010 at 2:09 pm
I like the Mophie, except for one big problem: its pass-through port is USB, not Apple’s Dock connector. Which means I can’t use an iPhone in a Mophie with the iPhone integration in my car. Do we know if the Mili is similar?
April 21st, 2010 at 2:34 pm
“Pass-through USB/mini-USB allows you to charge and sync your iPhone without removing case”
Looks like the same problem from that wording on the presser, harry. :/
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:06 am
Once you’re done with the battery cases (I sure am), consider the Gum Plus from Just Mobile. For $70, it holds enough power to charge your iPhone up to 4 times (that can be almost a week!) and the 2 included cables are very thoughtfully designed. With them
– you can charge the Gum on your computer’s USB port or iPhone wall charger
– you can charge your iPhone and Gum at the same time (in line)
– you can even sync your iPhone (and charge your Gum if you want)
The cables are very short and fully replace Apple’s dock connector cable on the go.
The little pouch is great, too. Whenever your iPhone is flashing red, plug the phone into the Gum, put both into the pouch (as well as the 2nd cable), put the pouch in your pocket and you’re good to go. After 1 hour, take the phone out of the pouch and put the pouch into your backpack. Much more convenient than a Mophie.
The Gum is the perfect iPhone companion which, I found, has completely elevated me from the “low battery” nightmare. There is one minor quibble with the on/off button that will require you to read the manual once, or iLounge’s review:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/just-mobile-gum-plus-mobile-battery-pack/