I travel a lot for work related conferences. And when I’m on the road, I’m usually on my phone all day and on the go all day as well, which means I rarely have the opportunity to recharge my phone. Thus, I was “that girl” asking if there was a table near a power outlet in the restaurant for dinner with my colleagues. My husband pretty much knew that I’d be “MIA” from being able to communicate with him at home by 7 PM due to my phone dying a slow, agonizing (for me anyway) death.
Then, about six months ago, my friend Connie rocked my world. I was at a conference, waiting in a cab line to head to dinner with her and some other friends. I’d mentioned being frustrated because I knew my phone was on its last legs and also knew that I wouldn’t be near an outlet anytime soon.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a little gizmo and handed it to me. It was a big square with an iPhone friendly plug on the end of it. Seeing the blank look on my face she told me, “It’s a backup charger. You plug it into your phone for an hour or two and it will recharge your phone to 100%.”
WHAAAAAT?!?! (In my mind, I totally did “the Hustle“.)
When I got home, I immediately went on a search to find a similar gadget – and found there are a TON of options. After asking around, visiting a few stores and doing a lot of research, I found the four options below to be “the best” that were available.
Mophie Juice Pack Plus
The Mophie Juice Pack Plus is a rechargeable battery case for your iPhone 4 or 4s. It can more than double your battery life (AKA, you can get up to an extra 10+ hours) and comes in a wide array of colors.
It’s definitely one of the pricier options at $68.56, but it’s also one of the more sexy and effective options. It’s a little bit bulky compared to a regular case, but you have to expect some trade off for a case that charges your phone.
The Mophie Juice Pack Plus is certified by Apple as an official accessory and comes with a 1 year limited warranty.
RVAPower Dynamo-On-The-Go Power Bank
The RVAPower Power Bank claims it can get up to almost six full charges for your iPhone from only one fully charged RVAPower Power Bank.
The slight downside is that it can take almost 20 hours to fully recharge a completely “dry” Power Bank. It’s also a quite bulky and requires a cord to connect and doesn’t just “snap in” to the iPhone. But, if you’re major concern is simply getting the most power with the least amount of recharging the backup charger, this is a fantastic option – especially at $39.99 on Amazon.
Bonus bang for your buck? The RVAPower Power Bank can not only recharge your iPhone 4, but it’s also compatible with the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch, iPod Classic, iPod Nano, iPad, iPad 2 and the “new iPad” as well.
Stitchway UltraPower Backup Battery Charger
Ok, so let me be upfront that the Stitchway UltraPower Backup Battery Charger is a CHEAP battery backup charger. However, I listed it as an option for several reasons.
Not everyone travels a lot – some people rarely find themselves in need of an extra battery and spending less than $5 for a device to use during those times might be much more appealing that spending up to 10-20 times that amount.
The decide plugs right into the bottom of your iPhone and can charge the batter back to full within about 2 hours (though there are several reports that it takes almost double that time). Also, keep in mind, you’ll only get about 400 uses out of this device (according to the specs). If you’re a power traveler I’d pass, but if you only need the occasional recharge, this is a very economical option.
Me?
I ended up going with the RVAPower Dynamo-On-The-Go Power Bank. My concern is less about having a “look” and more about being able to recharge. The 4-6 full charges I can get from ONE charge of the Power Bank trumps everything else for me, because it means as long as I charge it once before a 4 day trip, I’m good to go even if I forget to re-charge it DURING said trip.
1 comment… read it below or add one
Hahaha thanks for the laugh with the “hustle” video.
But seriously, do you know whether any of these can have a negative impact on the iPhone battery in the future since they are charging so rapidly? I used something similar back in my ipod touch days and it got really hot when I was recharging from it.