To protect and charge: the Juice Pack Air

The iPod touch is an outstanding media player for the most part. Packing almost all the tech behind the wildly popular iPhone, save for the cell radio of course, and playing host to up to 64GB of storage, there’s a lot to love about Apple’s touchable media player.

Of course there’s one thing that’s nearly always bound to be a let down, and that’s battery life. The iPod touch actually has pretty decent battery life, but there are lots of occasions when you just can’t get to a power outlet to get your pocket pal all charged up, and that’s where Mophie’s Juice Pack Air comes in.

The Air performs two functions: firstly, it’s a fully-fledged case for your iPod touch, covering everything but the screen and chrome bezel. It’s main feature however, is its integrated 1000mAh lithium polymer battery capable to adding up to an additional seven hours video playback or 42 hours music playback. For those keeping count, the Air almost doubles the iPod touch’s playback time.

As additional battery case combos go, the Air has a few nice touches. It’s got an integrated power switch to disable charging of your touch, a four-LED power indicator and a mini-USB socket that essentially replicates the dock connector, meaning you can charge and sync your iPod touch, as well as charge the Air, all from one USB cable. It’s even available in three fetching colours – red (as photographed), ‘Gun metal gray’ and blue.

Of course there is one downside to the Air and that’s additional size and weight it’ll add to your iPod. The Air clocks in at 64g bringing the total weight of your iPod touch to around 174g, while adding an extra 0.6cm in thickness. The battery also enlarges the base of the iPod touch bringing the total length to 13.3cm. Now we’re not talking about masses here, but as the iPod touch is such a svelte device to start with, the Mophie Air is certainly noticeable when on the device and in a pocket. That said, as battery packs go, the Air is one of the most slimline and least intrusive to date, and if you’re after a bit more life from your pocket media pal, is certainly worth considering.

The Mophie Juice Pack Air for iPod touch reviewed here fits both the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod touch. But if you’re packing an iPhone 3G/3GS or iPhone 4 instead, Mophie has you covered with others in the Air line.