Super charger

The new season of 24, positively the best drama on television, debuts Nov. 23 on Fox. Along with the thrill of season seven comes an age-old question for Jack Bauer fans: How the heck can one man's cell phone be put to such heavy use and stay charged for a full day?

Mophie might be the answer.

Along with cases, arm bands and clips for iPhones and iPods, the company offers the Juice Pack (available at mophie.com for $100), an external battery for the iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch.

While the model for the iPhone 3G isn't publicly available until Friday, I had the opportunity to test one over the past few weeks.

Because Apple created their iPhone with an inaccessible battery, users can't swap a freshly charged battery for a drained one. And since the iPhone's 3G and WiFi modes use battery power at a fast rate, iPhone owners do have a constant need to charge their phones.

The Juice Pack is a creative solution to this dilemma. The battery holds enough of a charge that I was able to use my iPhone 3G for a full 24 hours of talking and apps-playing, with the phone's 3G and WiFi modes constantly on. Plus, the pack doubles as a hard-shell case.

According to Mophie, the Juice Pack allows iPhone 3G users to generally "double the battery life" of their gadgets.

A fully charged iPhone 3G offers up to 300 standby hours, and the Mophie Juice Pack adds another 350. The iPhone offers five hours of talk/WiFi time, and with the Juice Pack, you get six more. You can listen to up to 24 hours of audio; the Juice Pack adds an extra 28. Video playback is good for seven hours, and a Juice Pack gives you an additional eight.

To use the Juice Pack, simply slide in your iPhone or iPod Touch, much like placing it in a dock. When you do, you'll notice your phone indicates it's charging as it gets its power from the Juice Pack. Once that power is depleted, the phone's on-board battery supplies the necessary juice.

One problem, though -- my test unit stopped working after two weeks of use. I'm now back to recharging my iPhone two or three times a day.

If that happened to Jack Bauer, I fear we'd all be dead.