As much as I love my Apple iPhone, sometimes the battery needs “help”.

We all know that the Apple iPhone has a lot of accessories and accessory manufacturers. Some are well known, well-trusted. Some… well, not as much. I was approached by HardCE Electronics by one of their representatives and to be honest, since I had not heard of their products, my expectations were automatically lowered.

I was proven to be very wrong.

Based out of Foshan, which is in the Guangdong province of China, this company actually tends to do a lot of OEM manufacturing for their other products, but their iPhone and iPod products are being offered from the company directly. Their flagship product, the iPower for iPhone/iPhone3G is yet another backup battery for the Apple iPhone which also brings along a flashlight/camera flash, a removable cover, USB charging for both the phone and battery when connected, a stylus and all is covered in leather.

The battery at 2300mAh Li-Polymer battery exceeds the internal battery for the iPhone3G (rated near 1600mAh) and is a bit more than the competition from Mophie (Juice Pack – iPhone 3G is rated at 1800mAh) and Richard Solo External battery, also rated at 1800mAh. Unlike most external batteries though, the iPower battery case does not need to dangle in the way – like the Kensington Mini Battery/Charger – or forcing the user to use a different type of connection like the mini-USB connector that the Mophie iPhone3G Battery forces you to use. Just keep using the same Apple supplied connector with the iPower.

HardCE currently has two versions of their patent pending iPower battery case. Their standard iPower case that has just the battery portions and notches out of the way of the camera and maintains the same Apple iPhone connector for charging and synchronizing as its bigger brother, the iPower All-in-One. The iPower All-in-One comes with a stylus, light/camera flash (more on this in a bit) and a power button that turns it on/off. And on first look while still in the package, I thought the “leather” was going to be rough, tough and hard. Instead it was quite soft, pliable and easy to grip. And the All-in-One also includes a magnetic cover on the closing side and a plastic fastener for affixing the face cover. I personally didn’t like the face cover since I’d have to flip it open to answer all of the time to answer/see who was calling or just to use the phone.

Just like the other connecting iPhone battery cases, having this added to your phone is basically like having two iPhones stacked upon each other. So if you wear tight jeans or have a small pocket, don’t try to shove this combo in there. I’ve been placing this into my jean pockets without issue so far though.

The Good: While on an overnight trip, I neglected to take along my phone charger but had packed along the iPower All-in-One. Per usual, the iPhone3G – as much as I love my iPhone, it does have a weak battery if you play games, use the phone more than just a little bit. And since this was an overnight business trip, I had been using the phone plenty. By that night, it was about to die. Attached on the iPower All-in-One and hit the button the back (tap it for the light, hold it to turn it on to use the charge) and the familiar charging icon popped up and in a short time, I had a full charge. The next day while traveling back to my home, there was enough charge on the phone and the iPower All-in-One to top it off before the battery in the iPower gave out.

The fact that I don’t have to use a different adapter – I’m already carrying enough as it is while traveling. And having a lithium-polymer battery, I don’t have to worry about the battery “memorizing” a much lesser charge after repeated usage.

The Bad: Take the sleek profile of an iPhone3G… and double it. The iPower All-in-One does not have a battery indicator level like some of the other offerings out there. Via the manual, you’ll see that it’s a series of blinking lights – Green light blinks, it’s about 80% filled, Orange light blinks fast, it’s 60% filled, and some other combination of blinking lights. Despite this odd measure of lights and blinking, it gives you a visual indicator of the power level in the iPower battery case.

Also, the risk of accidental button pushing on the discrete button on the back of the iPower is all too easy – I’ve had the light go off in my pocket and people have asked why my back pocket was glowing. Oops! The iPower comes from a company that you’ve never heard of… to some, that’s a negative. I’ve been in contact with HardCE’s sales and customer support; put that to rest. Each question I’ve had has been answered in under a day.

The part I don’t like the most though… it forces me to use a different case than my Vaja Leather case.

The Ugly: It seriously doubles the size of the phone in thickness. It’s fine with me for a while – I just pack it and use the iPower as needed instead of keeping it connected. And the “camera flash” portion, it’s not integrated with the camera usage, you have to manually turn it on. Which isn’t that bad either. At least it is there to use.

To be honest, I can overlook the “bad” and the “ugly” and recommend the iPower for the mobile warrior. After a long day of MS Exchange synchronization, a few games of Chop Sushi and while using Safari to hit some sites, like iTalk Magazine among others and you’re not near a wall or car charger, the iPower does the job quite well.

And for the record, my iPower case was black… not the bright orange in the photos.

[ iPower ] [ HardCE ]