Appletell reviews the Just Mobile Gum Plus Power Pack

Provides: External battery power for USB devices
Developer: Just Mobile
Minimum Requirements: iDevice or other USB device
Capacity: 4400mAh
Price: $69.95
Availability: Now

As your iDevice ages, you may find yourself needing a little extra battery life. Even brand new iDevices may have a hard time keeping up with your demanding lifestyle. Thankfully, you have many options for extending your mobile (un)productivity with an external battery. As such, it’s pretty hard for individual options to stand out among the sea of batteries, but Just Mobile’s Gum Plus Power Pack most certainly does. Designed to fit right in with your MacBook Pro, the Gum Plus Power Pack will keep you topped off for days in style.

Before I get started, I think I’ll let Just Mobile introduce their own battery, since they have such a nice video put together just for this purpose.

Now, what are the two things you care about most concerning external batteries? I think most of us would say capacity and how it looks, with an emphasis on the first. If it doesn’t have a large battery, it’s not useful. And if it doesn’t look nice, you probably won’t want to use it. Well, that’s clearly what Just Mobile thought was important, because the Gum Plus has a capacity that makes most batteries feel insufficient, and a style that speaks directly to the little bit of Steve Jobs that may or may not be inside of you.

I was instantly impressed by the Gum Plus from the moment I opened the box. It comes with all necessary accessories, which are simply a mini USB cable and an iDevice cable. Both are black and noticeably shorter than what you’re likely used to. The only thing that might be missing in this box is an AC charger, which would help recharging times go down. Still, you have everything necessary, and that’s enough.

The outer shell of the Gum Plus is grey plastic made up to look exactly like the aluminum on your MacBook Pro. I wish it was aluminum, but it’s hard to tell the difference without touching it, and honestly, it doesn’t matter. The edge is black plastic, just like the backside of your MacBook Pro. I really love this design; why reinvent the wheel, right? On the top there are 5 LEDs that indicate remaining charge, as well as a button that turns on the battery. One quirk is that you have to turn the battery on before plugging your device into it, otherwise it won’t charge. Not a big deal. And leaving it on won’t drain your battery too considerably. It took three days for mine to drain 20% and have one less flashing LED. The flashing LED will likely drive you nuts far before you lose much battery from leaving it on when you’re not charging anything. It’s best to turn it off if you aren’t using it since this will prolong it’s usability.

Recharging happens like you’d expect—with a standard mini USB cable. As I said before, if you have a USB AC adapter, use it, because this thing takes a long time to recharge. Either way, you’ll probably want to keep this plugged in overnight before using it. That said, it will keep you going for days, so it should be expected that it’s going to take much longer than your iPhone to recharge all the way. The only thing that could be better about recharging is if the USB passed data all the way through and allowed your iDevice to sync while both batteries charge. I’m probably expecting too much. Still, the Dexim P-Flip can do that…

The shining feature on this accessory is its battery, thankfully. It is very high capacity at 4,400 mAh, which will recharge your iPhone 4 times. They quote these stats on the side of the box: 38 hours of talk time, 90 hours of music or 26 hours of video. And what’s great is that this battery is quite a deal since the closest capacity battery from HyperMac (the Micro @ 3600mAh) is almost $90, and it has a lower capacity.

I have to give it to Just Mobile, because they really hit this one out of the park. The Gum Plus Power Pack excels at the two most important features of an external battery: capacity and looks. It could include an AC adapter, and the battery could pass through USB data to allow for syncing, but really, those are just minor details. This battery will keep you powered for days, and that’s what really matters. Plus, it looks great and is a bargain compared to similar offerings.

Appletell Rating:

Buy the Just Mobile Gum Plus Power Pack