As with most users of an iPhone I struggle to make it through a single day without my battery dying.
As I bought my 4s used the battery on it is now starting to show it's age, even with light to moderate use it struggles to last a day. At least I get to plug it in and charge it at work and/or in the car.
So before my holiday I picked up a morphie juice pack to make sure I didn't run out of juice abroad.
It landed through the letterbox well packed and In a neat little box, came with instructions (instantly ignored) and a USB cable.
Snapped straight onto my phone with no trouble, I was really surprised at just how well it fitted, great tolerancing between the case and the phone. The top half just pushes onto the lower half and despite looking like a weak connection never faulted in service. Another great surprise was the size and weight. Although heavier it never felt overly cumbersome to handle, I'd say it is still lighter than some of the monster smartphones kicking about these days. I actually liked the extra size feeling much nicer to hold and wrap my silly big hands round. The finish on it was a double edged sword, a very smooth nice looking plastic but at times slippery to hold due to the smooth surface.
I hooked it up and put it on charge, truly exciting stuff....and waited
It charges well, a warning if you sleep with your phone (nearby) at night. The LEDs along the bottom edge blink while charging and are really really bright. Mine gets buried under a spare pillow these days. On the up side on the bottom edge is a small button which lights up the LEDs showing how much power is in the pack, it makes a decent quick to use light.
I did notice some USB sources only charge the morphie battery and not the iPhone. Plugging into a mains works fine charging the phone then the case.
Out and about it works great, a small switch on the bottom corner toggles the battery mode on or off. When the battery runs low, Flip the switch and it puts the iPhone into charge mode. I got about 70% charge from it. Works faultlessly.
Not that the juice pack is sold as a protective cover as it covers 3/4 of my phone it must protect it. This is where it falls a little short. Although I'm not clumsy with my phone and it spends most of its life in a pocket or a carpeted office or home, it does get dropped from time to time. After only a couple of drops the case is showing some pretty deep battlescars.
I'll try not to dwell on it too much as these sort of tests are punching the product beyond its capabilities and are very subjective and difficult to quantify. The best I can do is state that compared to previous phone covers I've owned, rubber or soft plastic ones the morphie is come off worse from softer blows. As a protective case I would not recommend it unless as in my case the extra battery life is a greater priority. The painted finish has chipped away and the silver band on the outside is split which is probably the weakest part.
I'd highly recommend this case for the extra battery life but not on its durability. Really the balance must be weighed up before buying. In my case the compact case and non stop ability beat out a more rugged case and a spare battery.
Posted with Blogsy
