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Best 'battery' case for iphone 4S?

T

Theraker007

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 3, 2009
247
0
What battery case out there is considered the best for the iphone 4S? Just looking at the amazon reviews isnt giving me a real strong indication either way.

I see these:

boost: http://www.amazon.com/BOOST-Case-Protective-Extended-Battery/dp/B0044TM0OC/ref=pd_cp_cps_1

incase: http://www.amazon.com/Incase-Snap-Battery-Case-iPhone/dp/B004KW8RTK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

mophie: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004DCATI4/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&psc=1


I have the white iphone, and mophie is apparently the only one with a white case. But I had a mophie before and it felt kind of cheap in my hand. I dont know if thats still the case.

If anyon has any experience with these cases, please do share




edit: I also just found this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYB2WW

seems like a great alternative, I can just keep that on my keychain and pump in the etxra juice without the bulkiness of a battery case
 
Last edited:
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Their was a battery case for £25 from a mobile shops.

It was called battery back up.

Probably a cheap imitation of the morphine case.

It felt plastic gives an extra 5-10hrs battery life
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

I have the white 4S and the white Phone Suit and highly recommend it. It looks great and not a bad profile for a battery case. The build quality is really great and it has a matt finish that seems to hold up well against scratching and doesn't show fingerprints at all. So far the charging is super as well. What I like best is that it is all white even on the sides so it really dresses up the white phone. The only minus is that it makes the phone heavier which I would expect is the same with any battery case.
 
well the phonesuit looks like the best case bar none. I just need to decide whether to stay case-less and use mophies keychain thing for a 40-50% charge as need for $20, or buy the case for $80

hmmmm
 
I have the Mophie Juicepack Air white and it's quite nice but not as nice looking as this one by ExoGear which also comes in white:

http://www.exogear.com/products-iphone-4.html

product-main-iphone4-battery-cases2.jpg
 
I actually like the case material of the Phone Suit so well that if I could get a slimmer version for my weekdays when Im not such a power user, I'd be a totally happy camper.

The white of the Phone Suit matches the white phone exactly. It is a matt finished plastic or polycarbonate that hasn't scratched and doesn't show fingerprints. It isn't slippery, has enough grip but not too grippy. Really wish they would also make a non battery slim version of the same material. I sent them an e-mail but I doubt I'll hear back from them.
 
Nhwhazup said:
I actually like the case material of the Phone Suit so well that if I could get a slimmer version for my weekdays when Im not such a power user, I'd be a totally happy camper.

The white of the Phone Suit matches the white phone exactly. It is a matt finished plastic or polycarbonate that hasn't scratched and doesn't show fingerprints. It isn't slippery, has enough grip but not too grippy. Really wish they would also make a non battery slim version of the same material. I sent them an e-mail but I doubt I'll hear back from them.
Click to expand...

There are cases out there made By other manufacturers of the same material. In case slider and case crown come to mind.
 
As for me, I have got a white of iPhone 4 case for my iPhone 4 which said to be suitable for iPhone 4s too. It named Deff cleave iPhone 4s case. We can choose the white color suits for your white iPhone 4s. ;)
 
peapody said:
There are cases out there made By other manufacturers of the same material. In case slider and case crown come to mind.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips on the two you mentioned. I ordered the Incase Slider and hope it fits my white iPhone. Some of the reviews say it is too tight for the white phone. I truly hope not as for me this would be my perfect non-battery case. I'll report back when I receive it.
 
Nhwhazup said:
Thanks for the tips on the two you mentioned. I ordered the Incase Slider and hope it fits my white iPhone. Some of the reviews say it is too tight for the white phone. I truly hope not as for me this would be my perfect non-battery case. I'll report back when I receive it.
Click to expand...

I did order this so I'll see if it will work wi the white iPhone. The other drawback is that it goes over the front edges and reviews show that it doesn't play well with screen protectors causing them to bubble up. So really what I need is a phone in the same matt white finish that either slides together and hooks on the metal edge of the phone rather than going over the top or I could totally be happy with a snap type case with open top and bottom providing the edges hook on both sides. Right now I picked up an Incipio feather but the white is a glossy look that has no grip and also has a full edge on the right but only 3/4 on the left. Interestingly enough some of the colors in this case show matt finish and even sides but I don't see one in the matt white. Let me know if you have any other ideas.
 
Nhwhazup said:
I did order this so I'll see if it will work wi the white iPhone. The other drawback is that it goes over the front edges and reviews show that it doesn't play well with screen protectors causing them to bubble up. So really what I need is a phone in the same matt white finish that either slides together and hooks on the metal edge of the phone rather than going over the top or I could totally be happy with a snap type case with open top and bottom providing the edges hook on both sides. Right now I picked up an Incipio feather but the white is a glossy look that has no grip and also has a full edge on the right but only 3/4 on the left. Interestingly enough some of the colors in this case show matt finish and even sides but I don't see one in the matt white. Let me know if you have any other ideas.
Click to expand...

They don't have matte white cases on the market that are hard rubber. They only come in black and other colors. Your bezel requirement would be skech or case crown
 
Enrico said:
How does the Phonesuit compare to the Mophie Air? Does anyone have tried both?
Click to expand...
I had a Mophie juice pack plus for my original 4 and now have a black phone suit for my 4S. The phoneSuit is hands down better. First it's the slimest iPhone battery case that can FULLY charge your 4S. It also can fully charge you in 2 hours. It comes with 2 top caps in case you break or loose one and also comes with 2 screen protectors and a micro fiber. It adds weight but hardly any bulk. It's not wider and only slightly thicker. Mophies case it very large and doesn't give a full charge. It does have nice colors but that about all it has over the Phonesuit. I bought both colors of the Phonesuit and gave the white one to a friend who has a white 4S and he loves it and it looks way better than the black on black that I have. Not that mine looks bad.
 
xxxsteveoxxx said:
I had a Mophie juice pack plus for my original 4 and now have a black phone suit for my 4S. The phoneSuit is hands down better. First it's the slimest iPhone battery case that can FULLY charge your 4S. It also can fully charge you in 2 hours. It comes with 2 top caps in case you break or loose one and also comes with 2 screen protectors and a micro fiber. It adds weight but hardly any bulk. It's not wider and only slightly thicker. Mophies case it very large and doesn't give a full charge. It does have nice colors but that about all it has over the Phonesuit. I bought both colors of the Phonesuit and gave the white one to a friend who has a white 4S and he loves it and it looks way better than the black on black that I have. Not that mine looks bad.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Regarding the top piece, does it stick with no problems, or is it loose?
 
Go to Costco.com. They have the best offer with some accessories for $15 less than $79 regular price. You just have to wait for their delivery.
 
Obviously how one defines 'best' will differ based on their criteria. Here's my synopsis:

In terms of what's out there, there are a few models that seem most popular (marketing has something to do with this of course). The Morphie (Morphie Juice Pack Air), the Phone Suit Elite, and others. So far I've found that the Morphie seems to have generally less (only 1,400 mAh on of theirs) which gives about 70% of an additional charge. The Phone Suit Elite boasts a full extra charge and has "Quick Charge Technology which incorporates high speed (1 Amp / 5 Watt) charging which is awesome if you're battery is down almost all the way and you need a quick charge for more heavy usage.

My work (event organizing) requires that I'm on the phone A LOT and thus, I need to have a charged phone ready for lots of phone calls, sometimes traveling using GPS, lots of texting, using Siri now to find stuff etc. Although I'm about to maybe buy a Phone Suit Elite, I'm wondering if anyone knows of others that might even be better. That one is 2100 mAh which seems pretty good considering that their design is really pretty thin and sleek. It also allows for itunes synching and other normal things you'd do with a case. There are some cases that due to it's design don't allow for that. Some are all one piece and some like Phone Suit require you to slide the phone onto the bottom section (thus plugging your battery connected onto the charger of the case) and then sliding the top section over. The Energizer which I do like in terms of look & feel is all one rubbery piece. But as I mentioned about that one it does affect in some areas your reception and battery extension on that one is only 1400-1700 mAh compared with 2100 mAh that the Phone Suit Elite gets.

If you're a heavy user and might be away from a charger for a while and looking for he LONGEST extra battery life as your main criteria, here's 3 Options that offer 3000 mAH which gives 2 more FULL charges:

1. NEW MUGEN 3000mAh POWER CASE
2. Mili - Power Pack 4
3. myCharge™ Portable Power Case 3000

All 3 of these offer 3000 mAh which is 2 more charges and each has a different look & feel to it.

The Mugen case has covering for both top and bottom and seem to have a rubbery grip.

The Mili only has the bottom section (no covering for top part of phone at all). The back of the case is kind of bulky but when you need the juice what else are you going to do?

The myCharge case has a hinge type piece that clicks over after you've put your iphone on the bottom charger section.

I haven't actually used any of these cases yet so I'm curious if anyone has what their experience is. The two most popular it seems are the Morphie and the Phone Suit Elite but neither of those have the juice of those 3000 mAh cases. The one I did try (the Energizer) case has a good grip but only 1200 mAh and I actually found it lessened my RECEPTION and put it on Searching mode in an area where with the case off I'd have at least 1 bar and could make calls.

I'm curious if anyone has tried one of those 3000 mAh cases what their experiences are.

thanks
 
Best iPhone 4 rechargeable battery case

I feel like a little bit of a expert when it comes to rechargeable battery cases for the iPhone, I have owned or do own:

Mophie Juice Pack Plus
Mophie Juice Pack Air
Lenmar Rechargeable Battery Case
Incipio Off Grid
XtremeMac Incharge Mobile Battery Case
Phonesuite Elite

In my opinion, those needing extra power will find the convienance of the battery case over those plug in external battery packs well worth the added cost. The external battery packs make it difficult to use your phone in portrait mode and difficult to impossible to operate the phone in landscape mode. Also, finding one that will easily connect with the 30 pin adapter plug with different sized phone cases, especially the more protective type cases such as Otterbox is difficult as well. They fit loose even with thin cases or phones with no case, and if in pocket, easily become disconnected to your phone. Their a real pain in the rear in my opinion and not worth the hassle. The Mophie keychain spare battery is especially cheap and flimsy feeling in my opinion.

A quick ranking of the battery cases I've owned and a brief description of why I places them..

Starting from the best and working our way down to the worst:

1. Phone Suite Elite - Out of all my battery cases, this one charges my iPhone the quickest, as well as provides more than double the battery life. Thinner than the Mophie cases, sexy, I just like the look and feel of the case. A little tweak here and there, and Phone Suite would have a blowout winner.

2. Incipio Off Grid - I'm not a real fan of Incipio's regular cases, but their battery case is downright sexy! It's the thinnest and less obtrusive of all the cases I've owned, and I like that the LED indicator lights face front instead of the back or bottom of the phone. This battery cases fit profile comes at a cost however, it's battery is capable of only charging a dead iPhone to about 60%.

3. Morphie Juice Pack Plus - Mophie is the big name in this arena, and this is their flagship. It does everything right, including having its own button covers for your sleep/wake button and volume buttons. It's design is near flawless, my one gripe is that the camera cutout on the top slide piece of the case makes the plastic too easy to break, especially when removing and putting on the case. This is an issue with many of the battery case designs, however I've only had the plastic on the mophie break, not any of my others. For the steep $99 price, you'd figure they could provide two top covers, much like the Phonesuit does for $20 less.

4. Lenmar - middle of the road performance and I like the looks of the case as well. For the budget minded, I bought this case of bestbuy.com for $35 and at that price it's the steal of the bunch. Good construction, Avg. to above avg. performance. At that price it's impossible to not like this case.

5. Mophie Juice Pack Air - not a fan of this case, had it for a day before I returned it for the Juice Pack Plus.. I think the faux metal siding there on the case in order to emulate the sides of the iPhone looks cheap, the top piece doesn't seem to line up properly with the bottom making it appear crooked when on the phone, the volume and sleep/wake button cutouts make operation of those buttons a difficult excercise. If you have to have a mophie
, do yourself a huge favor going with the superior design and performance of the plus model for $20 bucks more.

XxtremeMac Incharge - This case boasts the largest battery of the bunch. However, my experience puts the actual performance below average. The case is awkward feeling to hold, it's kickstand requires removing the top piece of the case to kick out, it's volume and sleep wake button design is cheap and hideous looking, and so is the on off switch on the case itself. It's the biggest case of the bunch in size, and though I bought mine on sale at RadioShack for $23.99, I wouldn't recommend. Also, the mini USB connector on the case is shoddy, mine broke off in the case when plugging the mini USB cable into the case, rendering the case broken and worthy of the garbage pale after about 2 weeks of use.
 
Just got the Incpio offgrid from their Black Friday deal. Wondering if anyone who has this battery case has problems with the top piece lining up with the battery part of the case. Seems it's not flush with a tiny gap on both sides. I have a back protector on it, could this be the problem? Has anyone been able to fit this on fine with a back protector? Also I have problems just getting the case on right. One side appears to be off slightly and it takes several attempts to line it up correctly. Maybe I have a defective unit.
 
I think I also had the gap when I had the case when first released. Also with a shield on the back it will be a pain in the ass to take the case off. I had the case for a few days ad ended up returning it because it did not charge the phone 100% and hated the glossy case.
 
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