We love our Mophie juice pack airs for iPhone 3GS. In fact, when Judie, Larry and I were at CES in January they truly saved the day and kept us connected. I was recently sent one of the juice pack air’s for the current generation iPod touch and have been trying it out under a host of different use scenarios. The juice pack air for iPod touch “is a rechargeable Smart Battery concealed inside of a low-profile, light-weight, soft-touch case.” Let’s take a look…
From Mophie-
As the world’s thinnest rechargeable battery case, the mophie juice pack air™ is designed to virtually double the time you have to Rock, Watch, Surf and Send with your 2nd Generation iPod touch.
The juice pack air™ is a rechargeable external battery concealed inside of a protective form-fitting case for the 2nd Generation iPod touch. It offers you the full protection of a hard-shell case while providing virtually twice the battery life of the iPod touch alone; all in an ultra-thin, light-weight, low-profile design.
My Thoughts-
Even though the iPod touch gets great battery life when you use it for playing games it can run down rather quickly. Using the Mophie with the iPod touch pretty much doubles the run-time of the device which is a great thing to have… especially if you are using the touch while traveling this summer.
Look and Feel-
The Mophie comes in gunmetal gray, blue and red. The review unit I was sent came in gunmetal gray. It looks great! The Mophie wraps around the iPod with just a tiny amount added to the sides and top of the case while the bottom extends the device by a full inch.
In the center of the bottom is the word Mophie embossed in the material. While I prefer not having a logo at all this is done tastefully and since it is in the same color as the rest of the case it is not terribly noticeable. The case is made from the same soft-touch material Mophie began using a number of months ago. This is a great change since it not only feels nice in the hand but it reduces (actually eliminates) fingerprints and makes it easier to keep a good grip on the device.
The top of the case has a small piece cut on three sides. This allows the piece to be depressed and activate the Sleep button. It is a great way to protect the button while still allowing it to work fully. The same setup is implemented for the volume button and, like the Sleep button, it works perfectly.
The bottom of the Mophie has a power slider so that the battery is only on when you want it to be on. There is a 3.5 mm headphone jack so that headphones or other accessories can pass through to the device. This pass-through design means you can listen to, and control, the iPod as you would if it were not in the case.
There is also a micro-USB for charging and syncing. That means that, unlike some other form-fitting external battery cases, you never have to take the iPod out of the Mophie if you choose to use it full-time. Mophie also includes a USB cable so you can get up and running immediately. The micro-USB is an especially great if you have other devices such as Bluetooth headphones that also use micro-USB as it means you no longer need Apple’s proprietary dock-connector.
On the back of the Mophie is the now-familiar four-LED indicator and a button to activate it. This is a great way to quickly check how much juice the juice pack has left.
Assessment-
As a case the Mophie looks and feels great. No, it does not have the “lay-on the table” design that raises the case above the screen for added protection but, then again, I do not like using cases that have this feature. Instead, I far prefer to have the case flush with the screen for easier access.The Mophie does provide excellent protection for the sides and back of the touch.
As a battery the Mophie is impressive. It pretty much doubles the time you can use the iPod and, in the process packs in some pretty advanced technology. As the company explains,
Smart Battery Technology instructs the iPod to always drain out the juice pack air™ first. When the juice pack air™ has been full drained, you still have a fully charged iPod.
And,
Built in overcharge, short-circuit and temperature protection. Latest in lithium polymer battery technology offers the most power and thinnest and lightest form factor.
The Mophie juice pack air does add to the size and weight of the iPod. There is no question about that. In fact, in the Mophie the iPod is a wider, longer and a bit thicker than the iPhone 3GS.
It also weighs a bit more. That’s a downside for me since one of the big selling points of the iPod touch is that it is so much thinner and lighter than my iPhone. Then again, with the Mophie doubling the battery life of the touch I can see a host of situations in which the tradeoff would be well worth it.
The Mophie juice pack air has an MSRP of $79.95 and can be ordered directly from Mophie.
What I Like-
Fits the iPod like a glove, protects the device while doubling the battery life, all buttons remain accessible when in the case/battery, micro-USB for charging and syncing, pass-through design means no loss of functionality, indicator lights let you know how much juice is left
What Needs Improvement-
While using the Mophie accessories that use the dock connector are useless, can be a bit hard to remove the device from the case, trade-off between weight/size and battery life.
One other thing to note – the headphone jack pass-through means that your speakers are permanently disabled as long as the jack’s in place… which means that you can’t use the speakers, ever, while in the case.