Sadly, San Diego Comic Con International comes but once a year. And with it officially behind us, it’s time to remember the fun. Or remember why we had so much fun, being that my iPhone had enough battery power to make it through.
Since having a kid last year, it’s been a while since I’ve covered a convention that spanned so many days. I was more than a little concerned about battery life for our devices, with our teams schedules packed tight with back to back interview madness. But in our hour of need, Mophie certainly came to the rescue with an offer to review their Mophie Juice Pack Air, an extra battery case for the iPhone 5. I took the Mophie out for what I would consider the ultimate test: full-time SDCC coverage, including video, constant photos, and streaming video.
How did the Mophie fare?
Design
Before we break down the Mophie’s overall function, let’s touch base on its design. Boy, would Samsung love this product. It takes the iPhone and essentially adds a plastic backing and rather large format; it resembles the Samsung Galaxy. Except, of course, with a silver outer trim. That being said, while I wasn’t a fan of the plastic this was far from a deal breaker.
The device fit perfectly in my front pocket for easy access for Photos and Video shooting. It’s essentially two pieces that form the large battery unit. Simply pull on the back end to separate, and add your phone. I was a tad concerned with the internal casing, as it lacked any soft materials. (My current case has a velvet interior) I was hoping that I wasn’t going to scratch my precious iPhone. Sure enough, the Mophie left my device scratch free.
Function
Now there isn’t really much to say about the function. It’s essentially just an oversized extra battery for the iPhone, and it performed admirably. Throughout a full day of video, photos and social networking the Mophie handled it like a champ. My iPhone sat at about a 37% after doing a full days work.
That being said there was one area to the function that I really didn’t care for: the headphone jack. The iPhone sits rather high in the case, leaving the bottom portion with the most plastic. Which leaves a rather far distance from the entry point of the hole to the actual headphone jack. If you are good, you can hook up your earbuds. Note that the entire earbud plug will disappear. Leaving you with the only option of eject to tug on the cord. While it was nice for Mophie to supply you an extension for the 3.5mm jack, if you lose it you’re more then a little screwed. This became pretty apparent while recording using the iRig Mic.
The device also featured a Mini USB for charging the case. It converts the existing lighting plug to a Mini USB. This didn’t bother me in the least and actually made the iPhone a bit more flexible to today’s tech. That being said, I missed the lighting jack – especially when hooking it up at night. It took a bit to get used to the tiny, one-sided Mini USB, but I liked the power indicators on the back. (Simply press a button and white lights will light up to let you know how much juice you have.)
Next to that is the on / off switch, color-coded to Green / Red.
Overall 9.0
For getting the job done the Mophie Juice Pack Air certainly proved itself in design and functionality. But I would prefer a smaller format of the case. It felt rather nice in large hands, but I could see others feeling it a bit bulky. (Though if they did shrink it, I’m sure it wouldn’t give you the same battery life.)
This device is great for any hardcore iPhone user that wants the extra security of not having a backup battery.