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20 October 2011
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To be completely blunt, I've been skeptical of "battery cases" in the past. I haven't exactly had a clean run with this particularly breed of case, and I was extremely worried that the one I'm writing about here was going to have the same issues. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times - I was wrong.
Design and build quality
The first thing I was wrong about was the quality of the actual case. When I learned that the case actually housed a battery powerful enough to give your iPhone a full recharge, I was expecting one of two things - a ridiculously thick case, or a hugely extended iPhone. The case designers went for both, but in very subtle ways - the phone is slightly extended, and slightly thicker, but nothing serious. The added length is due to the "dock" attachment at the bottom, and the thickness is because of the battery that is spread across the back of the case.
Protection is minimal, but it will stop the basic bumps and bruises faced by your iPhone, but not anything serious. The design of the case leaves your screen completely exposed to the outside world and all its hazards, while the back of the case is thick enough to protect the phone from smashing.
As far as quality goes, it's a very sturdy case all round. It's a two piece, with the main back, sides, and bottom comprising the first piece, and a tiny, slightly flimsy piece making up the top. To get the phone into the case, you simply slide it down in to the case, and pop the top piece over the headphone hole/sleep button. The result of this is a tight fit, while at the same time making the phone easy to remove. If only the top piece was slightly sturdier.
There's one other thing that needs mentioning... There's this stand... thing, on the back of the case. But it's really useless. That's the only way to put it. It's fragile, it's difficult to get out, and it doesn't actually hold the iPhone up. Why it's there I'm really not sure, as the high standard of the rest of the case is somewhat let down by this sad excuse for a stand.
If it weren't for that stand thing, and the flimsy top, we may just have a perfect case
Battery life
Moving on, let's talk about the real selling point for this case - the built-in battery. The battery is supposed to effectively double the life of your iPhone, and it does just that. I'll be honest - I didn't listen to music for 400 hours straight, or spend 80 hours on the phone. What I did do, however, was completely drain the battery, all the way down to 2%, and then hit the cases on button. Sure enough, when I came back just over an hour later, the iPhone was almost full charged, and the case still had a bit of juice. It's good to see a case actualy deliver on what it advertises.
The battery is charged using a provided USB cable, and can be plugged in while in use - charging both the iPhone and the case at the same time. The case acts as a portable charger for the iPhone, rather than a drip feeder. This means that when your battery starts getting low, you can hit the power button on the case and you'll hear the oh-so-familiar sound of your iPhone being regenerated.
Conclusion
So what do we have? Well, in my opinion, we've got a case that is absolutely perfect for the traveller, heavy movie watcher, or 3G web-browser. If you consider yourself a conservative iPhoner, but still find yourself a bit short on the battery side by the end of the day, then a case like this might be just what you need. And if you just need a bit of extra protection, or want something to get rid of the dreaded death grip, then you may as well get this - chances are you'll need extra battery somewhere down the track. If you're looking for one of these, you can pick them up from here, exclusively.
I'd like to thank NZBargain for providing us with the case to review. They've been fantastic to work with, and we look forward to working with them again in the future.
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