Speaking of Mophie...

[RAMd®d]

Well, somebody was, sometime.

Mophie has a new product shipping in March.

It's a 1700mAh case with 16G or 32G of memory. It's accessed as external storage via an app, so it doesn't sync with iTunes.



Pricey, it's $149 for the 16G version, and $179 for the 32G version.

Not for everybody, but if you need extra run time and extra storage, this is one way to get it.

http://www.mophie.com/shop/space-pack-iphone-5s

[testcase]

When I upgraded to my iPhone5s last November, the fellow next to me at the Genius bar had a Mophie already installed on his 5s and said without it, his iPhone5s would NOT make it through the day on the iPhone's battery alone. I opted for the black Mophie (which doubles the battery life). I've experience more than a few days where I've run completely through the on board battery and go half way through the Mophie's capacity so, the extra $100 was money well spent. I have shut off Push Notifications and, am careful to "Close" battery hungry Apps (like Maps / GPS among others). Being very vigilant re: battery use might allow the on board battery to last 18~24 hours (especially if you're a light / casual user) but I'm happy I got a Mophie right off the bat. Another plus for me is that I much prefer how the Mophie feels in my hand versus the iPhone5s alone. The only drawbacks for me (other than the $100 price), is that Mophie uses a USB connector instead of the Apple 8 pin and, it's almost necessary to use the included extender dongle for the headphones.

It's a shame that this new model with addition storage wasn't available when I bought my Mophie. I don't see myself dropping another almost $200 now but, I would have initially.

[sekker]

I've been a big fan of mophie cases since the 3GS. They have great service, and their products are pretty good in general.

I have used my iPhone 5s with and without the mophie. I have good LTE signal, and have push notifications turned on including checking my crazy email regularly. With stock settings, I can get through the day without using the internal battery at all. My understanding is the biggest factor in poor battery life on the iPhone 5 series is if you have poor LTE coverage - the phone has to use a lot of power just to connect.

I find the USB connector an asset over lightning. It tends to be less finicky, and cheap third party cables are a dollar.

I have absolutely no idea why mophie couldn't have made the hole for the headphone larger - brings me back to the ol original iPhone days with the recessed RCA port.

[Bill in NC]

converting the charge port to standard micro-usb is a benefit, not a drawback.

[btfc]

Looks interesting, thanks!

[bwicklander]

I really love my mophie case. However the micro usb charge port doesn't work with standard micro usb cables. It needs a longer metal male end to be used. Which is a shame, cuz I have lots of micro usb cords around. I had to buy another mophie cord which was expensive for a cord.

I would like to see one with an apple charging port too.

[DRR]

Bill in NC wrote:
converting the charge port to standard micro-usb is a benefit, not a drawback.

In my experience the Lightning and 30-pin cables are much more common than micro-usb. I don't have anything that's micro-usb, and not many people carry these around despite being "standard."

Say you're at an airport and you need to borrow a charge cable for 5 minutes to make an emergency phone call - how many people at the gate do you think have Lightning cables? Or 30 pin cables? Now how about micro-USB?

[sekker]

DRR wrote:
[quote=Bill in NC]
converting the charge port to standard micro-usb is a benefit, not a drawback.

In my experience the Lightning and 30-pin cables are much more common than micro-usb. I don't have anything that's micro-usb, and not many people carry these around despite being "standard."

Say you're at an airport and you need to borrow a charge cable for 5 minutes to make an emergency phone call - how many people at the gate do you think have Lightning cables? Or 30 pin cables? Now how about micro-USB?
With non-iPhone users, the microUSB cable is standard.

[silvarios]

sekker wrote:
[quote=DRR]
[quote=Bill in NC]
converting the charge port to standard micro-usb is a benefit, not a drawback.

In my experience the Lightning and 30-pin cables are much more common than micro-usb. I don't have anything that's micro-usb, and not many people carry these around despite being "standard."

Say you're at an airport and you need to borrow a charge cable for 5 minutes to make an emergency phone call - how many people at the gate do you think have Lightning cables? Or 30 pin cables? Now how about micro-USB?
With non-iPhone users, the microUSB cable is standard.
Same experience here. Maybe DRR lives in One Infinite Loop? Anywho, most places outside Apple HQ will find easy access to micro USB.

[silvarios]

bwicklander wrote:
I really love my mophie case. However the micro usb charge port doesn't work with standard micro usb cables. It needs a longer metal male end to be used. Which is a shame, cuz I have lots of micro usb cords around. I had to buy another mophie cord which was expensive for a cord.

That doesn't seem like a good design decision. My old iPod touch second gen cases worked with pretty much any micro USB cable. Wonder why and when the change was made?

My Mophie experience was marred by poor quality button covers.