Just Mobile Gum++ backup battery review

I use my phone frequently to play games, take photos and keep in touch with my friends. This causes my battery to drain quickly, and it can be annoying to have to place my phone on the charger every night. On my last trip, I was on the edge of a 3G/LTE zone, and my battery drained so fast due to constantly trying to connect to the towers. Thank goodness Just Mobile had sent me the Gum++ backup battery to review! Let’s see how well it performed.

In the box you’ll find the Gum++, a user manual, and a short microUSB charging cable. You will need your own USB cable for charging your device. Rated at 6000mAh, the Gum++ is in the middle range of battery sizes, and it is pretty fast to charge up. The Gum++ also uses 2.5 amps to charge up your devices, which means your devices should recharge quickly.

The front side of the Gum++ has all of the information about the battery and the Just Mobile logo on it.

On the back you find five dots and a button. This is how you check the battery life and turn on the unit for charging your device. Each dot is a green light that indicates the battery level and when charging, will flash at the level it is charged to when you are looking at it. When the battery is fully charged, all five lights will be illuminated until you unplug it from the charger. It took around 4-5 hours to fully charge the battery on an outlet using Apple’s power brick.
The top and bottom of the Gum++ have ridges, both for style and to make it easier to hold in your hand, while the sides are smooth except for the microUSB and USB ports. It is lightweight and felt nice in my hand. Not only that, it fit great in my small purses. On my trip, I carried this around regularly, and I could barely feel the weight difference with or without the battery in my purse.
I tested the Gum++ on three different devices; my iPhone 5, iPad, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus. The battery seemed to work best with the iPhone, as when testing the charge time, it charged 80% of the battery in 1.5 hours, while the iPad seemed to take longer and completely drained the battery right at 50%. The Tab 7 is able to be charged fully, as its battery capacity is smaller than an iPad. I would recommend a larger sized battery if you were going to use it solely for a backup battery to the iPad.
There is a single USB port for charging your device. I feel the battery size is large enough to accommodate two charging ports, and that would probably be my only change to the Gum++. I was able to charge my phone up three times before needing to charge the battery, so in terms of battery life for use with a smartphone, it has the capacity to charge two with no problem.

Overall, the Gum++ worked wonders as a portable battery for the iPhone. Its lightweight, small design makes it ideal for packing into a purse or pocket. I was amazed at how fast it charged up my phone, and was very pleased with the ease of use. The only problem I have with this battery is the cost, since there are many backup batteries on the market at the same price point which have higher capacities. If a pouch and adapters were included, I would feel this as a better value. However, if you have the money and are wanting to splurge on a portable, reliable, and solid backup battery, it is definitely a great device to have. The Gum++ will be a permanent addition to my purse and on trips.