Extended Battery Options for the iPhone 3G & iPhone 3GS

I’ve touched on the subject briefly in the past, but I thought it was time that iPhone battery life got it’s own post.

As much as I love my iPhone, the battery is pretty poor. Apple advertise up to 30 hours of music playback, 10 hours of video playback or 9 hours of Wi-Fi web surfing. In reality I can’t get anywhere near this – I’m lucky if my phone lasts 8 hours for music and if I forget to put it on charge at night time, the next morning you can guarantee it’ll be dead.

One solution of course is to get yourself an iPhone Dock or an iPhone Desk Stand that will charge your phone while it’s sat on your desk – these work great if you’re office based, but what if you’re out and about or away from your desk?

It’s times like this that you’ll find an extra battery pack essential, and thankfully there are plenty to choose from. Some are external batteries that plug into your phone and others are batteries built in to cases and covers for your iPhone. I’ve been through all the different options available and here are the top 5 extended battery packs for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

Mophie Juice Pack

The Mophie Juice Pack is the most popular external battery for the iPhone. It’s a relatively slimline battery that looks similar to some protective cases for the iPhone. The battery is a 1200 mAh lithium polymer battery that will double the standard battery life of your phone. If your iPhone is already fully charged, you won’t want to charge it straight away, so Mophie have built in an on/off switch so you can choose when to charge your phone from the case. An LED display on the back shows you the battery status. Charging is done using a Mini USB cable rather than the standard Apple Dock Connector, and you can charge your phone and case at the same time – You can also sync with iTunes without removing the case.

It will add a bit more bulk to your phone, but it has to be better to carry around a larger phone that you can use than a smaller phone that you can’t.  The Mophie Juice Pack Air is available in Purple, Black and White.

Case Mate Fuel

The Case Mate Fuel is very similar to the Mophie Juice Pack, the main difference being the battery is a 2300 mAh lithium polymer battery and it has a fixed belt clip on the back.  Having said that, the extra battery life you get from this is the same as the Mophie, as is the price, so deciding between the two will probably just come down to whether or not you want a belt clip.  Again, it uses a Mini USB cable to charge the battery and it will charge and sync your iPhone at the same time.

Because of the Belt Clip, the Case Mate is slightly larger than the Mophie, but it does mean you can clip it on and forget about it, where as the Mophie will fill your pockets.

Charging Case

This is the smallest of the three and a smaller case means a smaller battery – having said that, this compact leather case will still give you an extra 30+ hours of music playback or 4 hours more talk time. It has a 1400mAh lithium polymer battery and charges using a standard Mini USB cable. You can charge both your phone and case at the same time as you sync with iTunes. As with the other two cases, there is an on/off switch so you can choose when to charge your phone. The case has cut outs for your camera and headphones, so you can still use all the features of your phone.

Power Station

The Mobile Power Station is an external battery that plugs into the dock connector on your iPhone or iPod to charge it. It’s designed to be used as and when needed rather than connected permanently. Because of it’s size it isn’t as powerful as some of the cases, but the 1000mAh Lithium-Ion battery is still more than enough to give you a few more hours use from your phone. The Mobile Power Station can be charged in less than 2 hours using your standard Apple iPhone USB Cable or Mains Charger.

Dual Dock

This Dual Charging dock is a great option if you find that you’re often away from your desk but still want to be able to charge your phone. The desk stand has two ports – one with an Apple connector and the other with a Mini USB charging connector. You can use the Apple port to charge your phone while the Mini USB one charges the external battery pack.  When you need to leave the office, just grab your phone and external battery and you can carry on charging your phone where ever you go.  The battery doesn’t fit as snugly as the Mophie or Case Mate, but it’s not designed to be a permanent fixture on your phone. The external battery pack gas a 1200 mAh battery that will provide more than one full charge to your phone or almost double the amount of time you can use the phone.

You can also use this stand to charge 2 iPhones at the same time. The Desktop Dual Charging Dock + Battery Charger is available in Black or White.