Mophie JuicePack Powerstation: fast, high-volume charging for iDevices

Mophie JuicePack Powerstation: fast, high-volume charging for iDevices:

I have a confession to make: I do not like external batteries for mobile devices like the iPhone. I especially dislike the case-based ones—the ones that you slide your phone into with a battery strapped to the back like a jetpack. The idea of carrying around an extra battery just for my iPhone is generally distasteful to me. I think they are unnecessary for most of everyday life, which leads to a second reason... I don't like to buy (or carry) unnecessary stuff.
Recently, however, I began to change my tune and opened myself up to the possibility that there could be a mobile battery pack for me. I was traveling frequently and kept finding my gadgets on the verge of death after a long day on the road. My criteria was that it had to be smallish and easy to throw into a bag, but not so small that it's easily lost. It couldn't be built into a case, and it had to be usable with a wide variety of devices—not just my iOS devices. It also had to cost less than $100. I began to hear good things about the Mophie JuicePack Powerstation. I eventually purchased one prior to my trip to San Francisco for WWDC 2012 so I could test it out for myself. And after having used the JuicePack to recharge my iPhone 4 and third-gen iPad over the last month or so, and I am pretty satisfied with the purchase.

What you get

The current version of the Mophie JuicePack Powerstation is essentially "just" a 4000mAh external battery. A previous version of the device only had a 2000mAh battery, which Mophie claimed would double an iPhone's battery life. The 4000mAh version is double that. The battery comes in an enclosure that supports any device that can charge over USB, so it's not limited iOS devices—you can also charge Kindles, Android devices, and any number of other accessories that can plug in over USB. The charging output of the JuicePack can go up to 2.1 amps, making it suitable for charging even the third-generation iPad (notorious for taking forever to charge on lower-output USB plugs).
Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments


DIGITAL JUICE