So here I am on vacation in Aruba. The sun is warm, the waves are a bit rough and the WiFi is horrid. Seriously, the WiFi here brings me back to the good old days of dial-up, and they weren’t such good old days.

As a result of the anemic WiFi I have found myself using my iPod touch far more than the HP MiniNote 1000 I picked up prior to my trip. (it is, by the way, an awesome netbook!)

The touch seems to work far better for me when checking email, keeping up with my RSS feeds, and even writing. It isn’t that the WiFi is better on it, but that the optimized interfaces on the Touch just feel faster and work much better for me.

Add to all this the fact that I am having a good time playing some games while away, and the result is a Touch whose battery runs down super fast.

Enter the Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 3G.

photos courtesy of the Mophie site

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Mophie is scheduled to begin general shipments of their extended battery for the iPhone 3G starting October 31. Unlike their prior offering, this version is going to allow syncing through the charging cable - so long as you use a different style charging cable than the default one shipping with your iPhone. While I’m definitely not keen on another cable to keep track of, mini-USB cables are pretty common and it will be nice to sync while charging the extended battery. We previously reviewed the first generation Mophie here. As an iPhone user who typically runs out of juice by early mid-day (2pm-ish) I can vouch for the need for an extended battery. Cost is $99.

Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 3G via Engadget Mobile and Crunchgear

Mophie’s web site is accepting pre-orders for an extended battery designed for the iPod Touch (shipping early August 2008) as well as announcing an expected September 2008 release of their Mophie battery pack designed for iPhone 3G (our review of the original here). The iPod Touch model boasts 24 additional hours of playback and 7 hours of video playback. Unlike their iPhone models, Mophie is using a USB connector for charging as opposed to the standard Apple connector. The pack is designed for 500 full charge cycles (partial topping off charges don’t count).

Mophie Touch extended battery
Mophie iPhone 3G extended battery

It’s day two of our week of iPhone (related) giveaways. Yesterday we gave away a combination Beerbelly/Winerack to Jaxim who posted the answer to our New York trivia question (the picture was of the David Letterman stage door). So today we have a brand new - very easy - trivia question concerning one of the landmarks of New York City. First, here’s what you are playing for. It’s the Mophie Juice Pack which I reviewed a few weeks ago.
Mophie is an an extended battery pack for your iPhone. I use mine anytime I know I’ll be away from a power source for more than the 8 hours I typically get on a regular charge all the time. You can read my review here (Two word summary - THIS ROCKS). Click on through to the next page to take a look at today’s easy trivia question and place your guess. I will select one person at random (from everyone that leaves a correct answer) to win a free Mophie Power Juice (for the first generation iPhone).

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During a recent podcast with the folks over at Justanotheriphoneblog I predicted the 3G iPhone would almost certainly have a detachable battery. If the corporate world is to adopt the iPhone I reasoned that they’d want to have plenty of spare power on hand when out in the field. Turns out I was wrong about the removable battery. Luckily there are third parties to provide the features and functionality that Apple chose to exclude from the iPhone 3G. One such extended battery for the iPhone is the Mophie Juice Pack. Now I know what you’re thinking - big, bulky, yuk. Surprisingly I found that the bulk of the Mophie was a help rather than a hindrance. Keep reading for more pictures and my review.

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