Poor battery life is the iPhone’s Achilles heel. Surfing, emailing, gaming, navigating and even telephone calling runs down the iPhone’s power in hours.
But there is a way to make an iPhone work harder before its last gasp. The MiLi Power Spring case, with its 1200mAh battery, extended the life of our iPhone 3GS by nearly two days.
Yes, the Power Spring does fatten up the iPhone’s dimensions from svelte to chubby, but not as much as the competition. The protection from knocks makes the extra girth a justifiable trade-off for pocket-friendliness and not being caught short on energy levels. We’ve used rechargeable battery cases before, notably Case-Mate’s 850mAh ‘fuel lite’, which ceased functioning after three days.
The MiLi Power Spring scores form as well as function. Here’s how it works. Pull back the folding top (or lid) and insert the iPhone, mating it with the Apple interface. Then charge the Power Spring and iPhone battery through the supplied mini USB cable. A read out of four blue LED’s reveals the level of charge. The Power Spring will then automatically top up the iPhone battery, so the iPhone is always fully charged if you opt to remove it. Only when it has been exhausted does the iPhone have to survive on its own, which will be considerably longer than when left on its own.
Not that the phone has to be removed, as you can still sync with iTunes by using the USB cable connected through the Power Spring. MiLi says the battery will give the iPhone up to 230 hours standby time and 3.9 hours talktime. It’s also great to have 100% battery charge for so long, as the casing keeps things going. An iPhone 4 version will be released very soon.
Reviewed by Ian White.
Rating: 4 out 5
A slimline, easy to fit (and remove) case that will keep your iPhone going for hours.
Price £45
Specs 1200mAh battery
From www.powerskin.co.uk
