While it has many, many things in its favour, the battery is not the Apple iPhone's strongest feature
. Many users have complained time and again about how quickly it drains. And add to the frustration one cannot carry a spare battery to change cause it is not possible, iPhone's battery is soldered into it. And in case your battery dies permanently you just can't replace it you'll have to send it to Apple to get a new one, and this wastes an awfull lot of time. And once 3G rolls around in India, this gripe is going to be a lot more common.
Most iPhone users wrap the handset in a cool-looking case anyway. An American technology firm, Mophie, has now developed a case for the iPhone 3G that boosts its battery life while retaining it's sleek and sexy looks. Weren't we all looking/waiting for such a device?
There are other such battery extenders available, but Mophie's Juice Pack Air claims to be the thinnest among the lot. What will you get out of it? Double the battery of your iPhone!
The hard plastic case claims to extend the usage of the iPhone by 4.5 hours during 3G talk-time; 9 hours during 2G talk-time; 20 hours during audio playback; six hours during video playback; 4.5 hours during 3G surfing; and 5.4 during WiFi surfing.
The Juice Pack Air has four LED indicators on the bottom that show the status of the battery, and offer the option of switching to the handset's default battery as well. A microUSB port at the bottom of the piece can be connected to a computer to charge the device.
iPhone power users will surely want to ask any person coming in from US to carry one of these in their suitcase.