Dear Aunt TUAW: What's the low down on battery packs?

I purchased an energizer Xpal battery pack for the iphone for $20 from newegg and it's a beautiful case and 1500amp battery for the iphone but I noticed you said the monoprice one charges your phone to full capacity in half an hour. Is this correct? I wouldn't mind plugging it in for half an hour and having another full charge rather than keeping a fat case on my phone for a couple hours till it gets a full charge. So if it really just takes 30 minutes to charge the phone from %0 to %100 I'd go for that as well. Is this the case? thanks

Now, I don't actually own this so I can't review it, but this is what I've been looking to buy when the money frees up:

"Kensington K33457US Charging Dock with Mini Battery Pack for iPhone and iPod"
http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-K33457US-Charging-Battery-iPhone/dp/B002F9NSOO/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I759HCJSQQOJ2&colid=2CI2DDYNYQ3Y7

It's both a dock for both the iphone and battery backup. I figure, if I'm going to need a dock and an extra battery, why not get them both at once and together?

Tekkeon MP1550 here, AA rechargables, recharge from mini USB, juice up any device that can charge on a standard USB port. About 20 bucks at Amazon, and your power is limited to the # of batteries that you have (great for DC to LA Civ Rev marathons).

I have seen a lot of these iPhone battery cases pop up. They seem to be everywhere. The one I found and use is called SaFPWR, distributed by Cremindustries.com. Apple certfied, crazy color selections, they make them for iPod touch and they will knock the shipping off of you email them before ordering. What hooked me is the way the tech works. Saves my internal battery from premature death. Yeah, it's gonna eventually die but my 2g is still plugging away with the SAME internal battery!

I should add that I also have a powermonkey explorer for more robust charging needs but that resides in my backpack. The advantage of this is that I can charge all my devices (Nokia N800, PSP, etc.) and it even has a solar unit to recharge the charger (though it takes ages)

I've been using an I-UP 5400 mAh backup battery made by LuckyPacks (LuckyPacks.com) for the last couple of months and I love it. It's not outrageously big and it can give me almost 4 extra iPhone full battery charges from a single charge.

It's currently on sale for $59.99, it comes with like a million little adapters, and it even has a built-in LED flashlight which is amazingly strong.

I'd highly recommend it, especially if you use your iPhone as much as I use mine.

I have a Juice Pack Air (my 2nd, read on) and like it very much save two issues, both related.

The good:

1) I find the added weight and size not really noticeable in most usage.
2) While doubling battery life is not a feature, I went from being dead-empty by late evening to having 45+% remaining -- easily satisfying my needs.

The bad:

Both involve the power/recharge plug. While I understand why Mophie didn't implement a standard phone/pod plug, what they implemented has two (major) issues. 1) It's a bit flimsy, apparently bonded to the internal circuit board only and not the surrounding case. An accidental drop of a few inches onto a soft surface while plugged in was sufficient to tear the connector loose from the board, rendering the pack useless. And 2) the plug is very small and, not being bonded to the case, flexes slightly -- that combination makes it very hard to plug in unless you are paying close attention to the plug's alignment. I have excellent vision but can imagine someone with vision less acute finding it nearly impossible to accomplish.

I have two chargers. The Mili powerpack which is okay, but a bit awkward when on the iPhone. However, It can charge othe devices.

I also just picked up the Mili power skin. This is much better. It is a iPhone case and charger, I think slimmer or just as slim as the Morphie. The design is nice and clean and the power button and led lights are pretty cool too. They do not stick out. The connecter is also covered. It ran me about $80 like the Morphie and they are also Apple certified.

The Mili Powerpack has been around for a while, but the Mili power skin is pretty new and a bit hard to find, but it is available on-line.

I recomend the Mili power skin.

Great article.

Are there any battery/charging jackets on the market that have a female 30-pin connector in them so you can sit the iPhone/iTouch in a dock whithut removing it from the jacket?

I have a Mili on my iPhone 3G. It was a Christmas present, and I am very happy with it thus far. I get twice as long on a charge as I did before... the only issue I have is that sometimes you have to slip the phone out and in again for it to recognise the Mili after charging both.