Review: Phonesuit’s MiLi iPhone Power Pack
10:51 pm, March 8th, 2009, Lonnie Lazar
Phonesuit’s MiLi Power Pack will free you — in style — from the tyranny of needing to recharge your iPhone every night, or after say, every five hours of serious use.
The casual iPhone user probably doesn’t need a MiLi Power Pack, which, at $80 is a not-insignificant investment in extra power, especially if one tends to be in the habit of recharging the device overnight on a daily basis.
However, power users, who have adopted the iPhone as their primary telephone, or who spend a lot of time using it to surf the web, pull up Google maps, send lots of email, are into serious gaming, use it as a constant music player, or take and edit lots of photographs — those users will love having a MiLi Power Pack on hand.
Read on to find out why.
Based on a solid two-week test of using one with an original iPhone, I’m pleased to report the MiLi more than doubled the useful time I could go between charges.
I’m a moderate iPhone user who makes and receives lots of phone calls, checks and sends lots of emails, does a fair amount of web surfing, not that much gaming and and probably less-than-average music listening. After more than a year with my iPhone, I’d gotten used to having to recharge it after about 5 hours to 5:30 usage. With the MiLi — and even accounting for more device use knowing I had extra juice — I clocked up to 12 hours of usage between full charges.
The MiLi has beautiful styling. It’s got a very ergonomic feel in the hand, which at first seemed a little “slick” or “slippery,” but with use became very comfortable. And it gives the delicate-feeling iPhone a certain heft with its extra weight that lets you know you’ve entered the realm of power users when you have it cradling your device.
Made to accommodate both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G, the only complaint I have about the MiLi is that, ultimately, it can’t serve two masters. It’s really designed to fit the 3G’s more curved back.
My original iPhone, with its flat-back design, had a little too much “play” even though it sat snugly coupled to the MiLi’s dock connector. I found I had to jerry-rig a more snug overall fit by folding up some paper to slip between the back of my phone and the inside wall of the MiLi.
I mentioned this issue to Phonesuit’s CEO Sumeet Gupta and he agreed it was almost impossible to design one device that would completely fit both iPhone models. I suggested that offering a custom foam insert for original iPhone users might be a good idea and he said he’d have his engineers look into it.
The bottom line, though, is that if you want to extend the useful range of your iPhone, the MiLi Power Pack is a great device. From its beautiful styling to its very Apple-oriented packaging, to the obvious care given to production of the device, the MiLi fits very well into Apple’s gadget ecosystem and, in my opinion, enhances the value of your iPhone in a meaningful way.
With in/out USB connectors, you can charge your phone and the MiLi at the same time while also powering an external device such as an iPod or USB microphone. You can sync your iPhone while it’s in the Mili, and power use priorities dictate that the MiLi’s power is always used before the iPhone’s battery, so using a MiLi religiously will have the effect, over time, of preserving your iPhone’s battery life.
If there’s a better, more stylish iPhone battery extender on the market, I’ve yet to see it.
Posted by Lonnie Lazar in News, Reviews, iPhone | Comment on this article
If you enjoyed this article:
Subscribe via RSS or email, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Hi! Does it protect the iphone at all? Do we have to get rid of our cell phone covers? I’d hate to have to choose between much needed extra juice and save my phone from drops etc. Thanks!
MSF, on March 9th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
now this is a review…great job…makes me want one
going to have to check it out
thank you
alex, on March 9th, 2009 at 3:23 pm