My iPad is my travel companion and for the most part the battery seems to last forever. However, for road travel there is a need for some type of external power solution.
My iPad battery seems to last forever, but when I am on long flights or spending a couple of days on the road I do have to make sure to have some kind of external battery solution on hand for it. The folks at Innovative Technology recently released the Justin Power Products Ultra-Slim Power Case that provides you with 11,600 mAh of battery at a price of just $69.99.
I use my iPad with keyboard covers, but instead of a keyboard that fits up to the iPad this Justin Power Case has a large battery. The case is designed to have your iPad slip into the top portion, with the battery in the base/bottom, and the iPad resting on the battery when you carry it around. Unfortunately, there is no short iPad cable provided so I had to use my only long iPad cable and it made the solution a bit messy.
It would be great if Apple supported wireless charging functionality where you could rest the iPad on a battery solution like this and maybe we will see something like that in the future. For now though, the bottom battery part provides a single USB port that you use to connect your own cables to charge your iPad 1 or 2 two times, iPad 3 one full time, and iPad 4 0.8 times. You can charge up the iPad Mini 2 times and most smartphones up to 7 times with the battery.
A microUSB port is located to the left of the full USB port so you can charge up the battery. A microUSB to USB cable is provided in the retail package.
There is a battery indicator light on top of the battery that shows you the battery status from one to four blue LED lights. You press a small button to see the status appear. The battery and iPad holding top are made of synthetic leather material in a dark gray color.
Along the hinge you will find an opening to slide your iPad up and into the top holding position. A flap piece then fits under your iPad to hold it securely in place. There are openings for the camera, speaker, volume, power, and other ports and buttons.
Once you have your iPad in place and close the top onto the battery you will find a flap you can slide into the bottom to hold the combo together. If you want to use your iPad in landscape orientation, say for watching a movie on the airplane, there is a flap on the Power Case that you can pull out to prop up the iPad. You can extend the flap out all the way or prop up the piece at an interim angle on a surface that is a bit textured and allows it.
The Ultra-Slim Power Case (ITJ-4231) feels great in your hand and adds a minimal amount of size and weight to your iPad. There are a few other models of Justin Power cases that provide this same type of capability. I would love to see a way to charge my iPad while docked in a keyboard that has an associated battery. If I am traveling and want to watch movies, without needing to enter text via a keyboard, this is a great solution for road warriors.
Caption by: Matthew Miller
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