The Mophie Juice Pack Air Goes To College
Posted on 27 October 2009, at 9:00 pm, by Dan Cohen
There was a certain check-list that many of my students went through prior to leaving for college this year.
College Admission – √
Emergency Credit Card – √
MacBook Pro – √
iPhone – √
Yes, that’s right, I know few if any students who went off to school with anything but a Mac and many grabbed a Mac and an iPhone. One of my kids, Zack had wanted an iPhone for the longest time. When he got it he was thrilled with everything… everything but the battery life.
Zack knows how much I rely on the Mophie Juice Pack Air. I mentioned to the folks at Mophie that I was afraid my Juice Pack Air would suddenly disappear one day if I left Zack alone in my study. 
They were kind enough to send him one to use, review and keep. A few months later… here is what he has to say.
The Mophie Juice Pack Air is a great product, people on GearDiary have reviewed it before, and we all know this. But I’m going to try and give a different perspective.
Before I headed off to college I got an iPhone 3GS. Mophie was kind enough to send me a review/keeper so that my new favorite device would run through the school day. I’m a college freshmen and lets face it, my first thought every night before I collapse into my bed after doing “homework” all night isn’t “Hey! I should really plug in my iPhone,” and with the iPhone’s already limited battery, this can cause some problems when I wake up 5 minutes before class and need to dash out. This is where the Mophie Juice Pack Air comes in.
The fact that the battery doubles as a hard case that offers great protection is a huge plus. Add to that the fact that it really saves me when I find I may have been a little less than vigilant in charging my phone, and this is an awesome combination. In addition, I’ve found that switching from my rubber Incase case slider to this smooth plastic case, my iPhone slips in and out of my pocket much easier. I also love the fact that there is a switch on the back which allows you to control when the Juicy Air battery kicks on. It is well-designed and well made.
Along with all these great features, however, there is a downside to the Mophie that may be specific to my situation. My cell reception is terrible here at college. I mean, just terrible and there is little that can be done, that’s just how it is where my college is located. It is so bad that I often find myself praying for just one signal bar while walking around campus, so I can get a text to send. While it takes a while and is often hit or miss, I CAN get service with my iPhone case-less or in a rubber case.
Unfortunately, for some reason the Mophie reduces the signal strength ever so slightly. It is not much, but it is enough that when the case is on the phone I see those words we all hate to see… “NO SERVICE.” So while I’m sure the case does amazing things in an area with great AT&T signal strength (sounds like an oxymoron… right??), it adds battery but kills what little signal I have. Not a great tradeoff.
I really do like the experience with the Mophie. Like every product the case has its pluses and its minuses. It is really a great improvement over the iPhone in its current state of poor battery life. It is lightweight, makes the iPhone much more convenient, and does what its supposed to. Overall its a great product, it just has some minor flaws very specific to my situation. And who knows, maybe AT&T will add a tower near-by? Or maybe I’ll spend more time at a school with better signal strength. Then that happens it will be all Mophie all the time…
The Mophie Juice Pack Air has an MSRP of $79.95. It is available directly from Mophie.
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October 28th, 2009 at 11:43 am
My experiences with Mophie…
For starters, I haven’t had the opportunity to have had such a great experience with Mophie. On my current second device from Mophie, the device is iffy at best. Let me explain.
When I first received the Mophie device (and to make a long story short), the battery was diagnosed to not have the capability to hold a charge. In addition, the sync/charge cable was defective in that although it would charge the Juice Air, it would not charge my iPhone in conjuction to when it’s connected together.
On the second device that was sent, the sync/cable again was DEFECTIVE. Although this time around, the juice air is performing as it should (based on the tests I have done) but the capability to hold the charge is very sporatic. There are days where I would only get 3 to 4 hours worth of charge from it before it is depleted, mind you, it is coming out of a full recharge and first use from standby, then there are days where when it did work, I would be able to charge my iPhone from let’s say 30% to 85% and when it goes down to 45% or so, I would charge again to 85% and from there the battery is done for….
From this deduction, I would say that the Juice Air can charge your iPhone a good one full cycle. Of course, I could also have a defective device but at this point in time, after dealing with their customer service time and time again to get it right, I am already at my wits end.
Regarding loss of signal strength. Yes, Mophie will dampen your signal strength. Testing this as well, I was able to prove that. I actually have a video of my iPhone with and without the Mophie Juice and you can literally see it go up and/or down depending on whether you have the case or not. This was tested in a control environment. I literally lost two to three bars.
To sum it up, I wish I had your experience with Mophie, however, I can’t agree especially to the experience I had gone through with this device.
Other than that, tread with caution.