Hi Folks,

I'm heading overseas to Europe in early August and my shiny white 16G iPhone 3G will be coming along for the ride. If my previous jaunts overseas with my now "dead" 80G iPod Video are anything to go by, this puppy is going to see a lot of use -- given what I've seen from my inability to put the device down some days, that is going to mean I could do with some way to boost the battery!

Given how new the iPhone 3G is, there isn't a lot of products out there that *specifically* state they work with the iPhone 3G, which may lead you to believe that there aren't products out there that will do the job. That's not true, it's just that they haven't taken the time to update their product pages, readjust marketing/product names, etc.

The fact is, many iPod and original iPhone battery accessories will work with your iPhone 3G -- you just need to be wary when choosing from the flock.

Firstly it is important to realise that the iPhone 3G has everso slightly different dimensions to the original iPhone and of course varies greatly from the different iPods. This means if you are going to look at any battery pack accessories that make any attempt to conform to the shape of the device you should not assume that it will just fit -- given that we are only talking about a millimeter here or there between the two iPhone generations, it might, but I would avoid it myself.

For those into hard numbers the dimensions for each are:

iPhone 3G: 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 inches (115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm)
Original iPhone: 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches (115 x 61 x 11.6mm)

The next thing to check on a potential purchase is the power output rating -- it should be 5 volts. Essentially there are two ways to supply power through the dock connector and the iPhone 3G only supports the USB method and that is rated at 5 volts. The other method uses the Firewire pins on the dock, and can be rated up to 18 volts.

So here is the run down, in my personal preference order. This is by no means an exhaustive list!

1. Sonnet Volta
Pros: Cheap!, Excellent capacity, Conforms to phone well, will stand like a dock and take charger cable, modular design of support clips means that it should have no troubles fitting with the iPhone 3G.
Cons: Not quite as sexy as some others, wont piggy back into a dock

2. FastMac iV
Pros: Sexy, Good Capacity, Conforms to phone well, Piggy backs into your dock or charger cable, has extra features like flash and a USB port to connect/charge other devices.
Cons: Not shipping yet, no indication it will fit an iPhone 3G, Cheaper than the Mophie, but still relatively expensive.

3. Mophie Juice Pack
Pros: Sexy, Good Capacity, Conforms to phone well (unintrusive), Piggy backs into your dock or charger cable while attached
Cons: Expensive, Won't fit 3G model perfectly It will fit, but it's not perfect. (video)

Note: Mophie said they will release a 3G version in September if you can wait.

4. 3G Juice
Pros: Compact, Guaranteed to fit/work with iPhone 3G, reasonable price
Cons: Requires mini USB to charge instead of standard dock connector, hangs out the bottom of phone reducing ergonomics and may be prone to damaging the dock connection if you aren't careful.

Note: There are a bunch of other products in the "hang out the bottom of the phone" genre, but I personally am put off by the way they throw off the ergonomics/form factor of the device.

Amazon.com: Kensington Mini Battery Extender and Charger for iPod and iPhone 1G, 3G (Black): Electronics
Backup Battery for iPhone / iPod - DX001

.. there's even some really cheap Yum Cha ones on eBay ..

Battery Charger Power for Apple iPhone 3G Touch Nano 8A - eBay Other Batteries, Batteries, Mobile Accessories, Phones. (end time 25-Jul-08 04:25:21 AEST)

Note: The one on eBay is only 800 mAh compared to some of the bigger ones at 1700 mAh up to 2100 mAh, so depending on how much you want to extend your battery by, you should keep that in mind.

I've also looked at battery booster accessories that take either AA or AAA batteries, but they generally come in a dongle form factor and are quite ugly, not to mention that I'm not keen on having to continually feed the thing batteries on top of paying for the accessory itself.

From my research so far I'm thinking I'm going to grab myself one of the Sonnet Voltas, as Streetwise have them for 52 AUD. But I'd be first interested to know what battery accessories you guys have tried out or if you have anything else to recommend?

Otherwise, hopefully this post will save someone else a bit of time ....

Cheers!

Due to the overwhelming response and the fact Streetwise only had 1 left in stock, I've already got the Sonata Volta.

FYI, it does work just fine with the iPhone 3G, and on top of that even the clip fits perfectly around the phone.

Yay extended battery life.

Because I usually carry a bag around with me, so I found the bigger Kensington battery to be more useful. It is 1800mAh and because it has a USB port I can use it to charge my PSP when I am on the road.

It doesn't rate highly in the pretty stakes though..

Battery Pack and Charger for iPhone and iPod

anyone ever used a solar usb charger

Dear Asqui


Tnx for the roundup. There's another good one on the web: Several backup batteries can extend your daily iPhone 3G use

I choose the 3GJUICE, because it's small, the power! (1770 mAh), it's a real polymer, not li-on, you can keep the energy for a year with the OFF button and it has a cap. But I can understand why you fell for the Sonera.

URL should be 3G JUICE : portable battery for your new 3G iPhone / iPod -Battery Extender with over 1700 mAh power but looks good

Anyone got stock of these in Australia?

shop.brando.com.hk

Great cheap Hong Kong store that ships to Australia fast (used them for many PDA things over the years). This looks like it might be useful!

Looks like their roundup missed the Volta. Which is a shame. It is less than half the price of the Mophie JuicePack and performs a similar job.

I got this one.

Battery Charger Power for iPhone 3G Touch Nano Video 1A - eBay Other Batteries, Batteries, Mobile Accessories, Phones. (end time 27-Jul-08 10:14:47 AEST)

How about the ipod charger 'Power Monkey Explorer Solar Charger' from neco.com.au, $169.99 + postage?
http://www.neco.com.au/product.asp?pID=1088&cID=165

Anyone used this?

You could have this connected and charging throughout the daytime/in lit areas and have your iPhone/iPod fully charged most of the time.

I am waiting for a free postage offer before I buy.

that 3gjuice is now sold through Amazon, check Amazon.com: 3G JUICE iPhone 3G/2G & Ipod Battery Extender - Certified by Apple: Electronics

i found the easiest way to increase your battery life is just to turn off wifi and 3G and allow push mail to happen over GPRS.
It doubles the battery life, just turn of 3G when you need it.
Otherwise a Macbook Air with a dock cable is probably the most stylish thing to carry around with you.
All other options make your phone look obese, we are trying to tackle obesity in this country isnt that why we are getting rid of those fat overweight blackberry's :P

I have a battery pack (that takes 4 AAA's I believe) that I use for my 30GB iPod Video. Will this still be compatible with the iPhone?

The USB cord will fit, I just want to make sure there will be no problem with the voltage or anything like that.

Mophie Juice Pack 3G - mophie - iPhone Battery, iPod Cases, iPhone accessories and more! - Juice Pack - iPhone 3G (pre-order)

Dead sexy, but a bit expensive. Tempted to get one when I go to Japan at the end of the year.

Edit: Although, this looks the business at less than half the price of the Mophie: shop.brando.com.hk