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ChargeTech ThinCharge iPhone Battery Case review

We’ve all been there. You’ve been running around all day in a virtual whirlwind of activity, using your phone nonstop to take photos, chat, check your bank balance, check off a shopping list item, when suddenly it hits you. That red battery indicator. “How could I be at 10% already?!” you think to yourself as you quickly pocket your phone to conserve what little juice you have, just in case a real emergency pops up. A cold wave rushes over you as you realize you don’t have a charging cable or extra battery.

Fortunately, ChargeTech is aiming to take the dread out of scenarios like this with their updated ThinCharge Battery Case, combining a protective, one-piece body with a plentiful battery to create the thinnest unibody battery case on the market.

Fit and Feel

The case itself looks and feels like a fairly standard case. It’s matte black and unassuming, and that’s a good thing. One wouldn’t even know that there is a battery inside other than the fact that it weighs nearly half a pound (0.42lb)! The case is only 0.49″ thick, which, compared to the 0.28″ regular thickness of the iPhone, is basically like a regular protective case.

It’s certainly got some heft, but it’s not much bigger than a regular rubber case.

It surprises me every time I pick up my phone just how much heavier it is. I have a rubber case that is almost as large as this one without a battery in it, and that’s really saying something. Most of the case is rubber, save for the plastic back where the batter is integrated. On the bottom is a small power button, lightning port and a row of 4 LEDs that indicate the battery level of the case. It really is quite thin compared to what you’d expect.

The power button is really small. Like the size of the head of a straight pin. And it protrudes from the bottom of the case a bit, right on the curve of the edge, like a piece of the case that didn’t get sanded down. I’m not sure what else could be done, but I’m not a fan of that little button. It scrapes against my finger almost every time I pick up my phone. Also, it’s pretty tough to press in… I had to do so with my thumbnail.

That rough little power button.

The case was easy to install, a simple matter of bending the top back a bit and fitting the phone onto the lightning stem on the bottom. There is a suede lining on the inside to protect the back of the phone while installing it. It’s a nice, snug fit.

It’s convenient that you don’t need anything extra… the case and phone charge simultaneously through the single lightning port on the bottom, though I think most battery cases work this way. This is the thinnest one I’ve seen, though, the only detriment I’ve noticed would be a bit of extra weight.

Overall, I’d say the construction of the case is fair. You can clearly see where the rubber meets the plastic of the battery and there are some minor blemishes where the seams are, but it’s nothing too worrisome.

Battery Capacity

The battery in the 7+ case sports a 3600mAh capacity. Compared with the 2900mAh battery in an iPhone 7+, one could conceivably completely recharge the phone’s battery 1.25 times. Considering the battery in my 7+ has very rarely been in the 10% red zone at the end of the day, I could go quite some time without having to reach for a charge cable.

That almost begs the question of if I even need to carry an external battery or battery case, considering how good the 7+ battery life is. Most days, that’s a no. But I’ve definitely been in some instances where it would have been nice to have some extra juice… out backpacking, at a concert or amusement park, anytime where I’ll be away from home until very late and didn’t think to charge my phone midday.

All the juice you need in one package.

The battery in the phone case acts like an external battery that’s always attached and connected to the phone, but only begins to charge the phone when you press in the power button for a few seconds to turn it on. You’ll see the LED indicators turn on, and your phone’s charging icon should turn on as well. Then, it merely acts as if your phone was attached to an external battery.

This differs a bit from Apple’s own charging case, which, since it’s imbued with special Apple magic, uses its own battery power first then automatically switches over to using the phone’s battery. No buttons needed. This case, and probably most others out there, require you to manually turn on the juice.

The indicator charge is nice, but sure is bright in a dark room.

I decided to do some tests on the battery and how much and how quickly it charged…

Test Run #1

30% phone battery level at 6:45pm. Switched on the case charge button with 100% charge on the case battery. At 9:24 it was back up to 92% and the case batter was flashing 1 LED. I was also actively using my phone for an hour of that time alternating between Safari and Ulysses, writing an article.

Test Run #2

I didn’t use the cable to charge my phone overnight but rather used the case. Phone was at 50% by the time I got home and I had it back up to 100% by the end of the night. So I left it off the cable downstairs. It was liberating to have that option instead of always have to account for if my phone was on a cable or not at the end of the evening.

Once the power is on, it does automatically turn itself off when the phone’s battery hits 100%, saving any remaining power. I noticed no heat coming off the battery while charging or discharging. It worked fairly seamlessly, once I got into the habit of remembering to turn it on.

It’s worth noting that the case’s battery percentage does not appear in the battery widget on the phone, but that seems like a function that’s only suited to Apple products, like the pencil and some M1 enabled Bluetooth headphones.

You can get a sense of the thickness of the back with this shot, how much it protrudes from the camera.

Weird Thing #1

I plugged in the phone all night and it didn’t seem to charge up the case battery at all. The phone was charged. Maybe I forgot to turn off the case and it was charging the case while the case was charging the phone, so it sort of canceled out the case charging.

Weird Thing #2

I plugged my phone into the charger at home and it didn’t recognize as charging. Restarted my phone and it started working just fine, so it must have just been a strange fluke with the OS and recognizing the cable.

Weird Thing #3

When a charging port is hooked up to the case, the indicator lights glow. And blink. Brightly. Since I charge my phone next to my bed on a nightstand, it illuminates the entire wall with a pulsating light while charging at night and I’ve had to flip the phone around so the bottom faces a different vertical surface.

Verdict

Overall, I liked the ThinCharge case, and will probably keep using it as my main iPhone case. Now that I’m used to the extra weight and girth and know how to work with the case, it’s really come in handy during those times when I didn’t want to hunt down a cable. It’s usefulness outstrips the relatively minor quibbles I could find.

You can order the ThinCharge iPhone case from ChargeTech’s website. The iPhone 7 case is $60 while the 7+ case will run you $70.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by ChargeTech. Please visit their site for more info and to see their other products.

 

Product Information

Price: $70
Manufacturer: ChargeTech
Pros:
  • – Very thin for a battery case
  • – One charging port for both phone and case
  • – Sturdy and protective construction
Cons:
  • – Case has some rough edges where the sections meet
  • – That tiny yet obtrusive power button
  • – Bright charging LEDs, but cannot be turned off

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ChargeTech ThinCharge iPhone Battery Case review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 16, 2017 at 10:00 am.

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Grovemade adds a natural touch to wireless device charging

Grovemade’s newest accessory is the elegant Wireless Charging Pad.  The 5.26″ disk has a stainless steel base with a cork top, available in a natural (shown) or dark finish.  The charging pad has a 6-foot USB cable (120V wall power adapter included); a groove in the base corrals excess cord for a clean, uncluttered look on your desk or nightstand.  It has a 5W output and is compatible with all Qi-enabled devices.  It works with all Grovemade iPhone cases and with most other cases up to 3mm thick.  The Wireless Charging Pad is available at an introductory price of $79 from Grovemade.

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Grovemade adds a natural touch to wireless device charging originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 1, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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Jackery Explorer is a “Jack of all Trades” generator

During the recent Florida hurricane, I spent a lot of money on a gas generator to run our fridge and a couple of fans. I had charged up our small chargers to help keep our iPhones and iPads going. but they didn’t last long. During our week without any power, we could have used something like the Jackery Explorer / Powerpro 500Wh Portable Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery Quiet Generator. That certainly would have helped!

The Jackery Explorer / Powerpro is a massive battery generator that will charge a smartphone 40+ times, a laptop 3-6 times and a mini fridge for 9 hours-all at the same time, yet only weighs 12.5 lbs. It can be recharged in 6-7 hours either by AC adapter or optional solar panel. But that’s not all. The Explorer sports a 110V outlet, 2 12V DC ports, a DC cigarette lighter socket, 2 USB ports, a built-in flashlight, and an LCD display. The LCD displays battery consumption, charge and discharge status. It also shows how much power in watts is coming in and how much load is on the battery.

The built-in Battery Management System (BMS) improves battery utilization, prevents over-voltage, over-current, over-temperature with advanced safety procedures, giving complete protection to your connected devices.

If you live in an area which can lose power for extended periods of time or want a long-lasting power source for camping, The Jackery Explorer / Powerpro may be what you need. Visit www.jackery.com/power-family/power-pro for more information and it sells for $599.99 on Amazon.

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Jackery Explorer is a “Jack of all Trades” generator originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 20, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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ROMOSS Longuard 2-Port 10000mAh Power Bank review

As someone who travels a lot I often find myself in situations where my phone or other device is low or out of power and a wall outlet is not readily available.  Before I travel, I meticulously charge my phones (I carry a personal and a work phone), my headphones, iPad, and computer.  Where these plans fall apart is when I get to the airport and begin draining my batteries while waiting to board my flight.  I don’t know how I made it this long without a supplementary power supply but now that I have the ROMOSS Longuard Power Bank, I will never travel without it.  (Picture is the Longuard next to an Apple iPhone 7 plus) 

The size (2.4 x 4.06 x 1.18 inches) is very manageable and easy to tuck away when not in use and the 0.69 pound weight is what you would expect from a battery that can deliver 10000 mAh.  Included with the battery is a USB to micro USB cord for charging and a padded mesh pouch with drawstring closure for storage and protection.

This power bank features dual 2.4A outputs allowing you to charge two devices at once.  Many other external battery packs only offer one output, putting this in the front of the pack.  ROMOSS’ proprietary Quick Charge technology automatically optimizes the power delivered to your device so you get the fastest safe charging rate.  It performs self-diagnostics to protect your electronics against overcharging, overheating, short circuits and excessive current.  If it detects a problem, the Longuard will turn itself off in order to protect anything you have connected to it.

From empty, the Longuard can be fully recharged in 4 hours and after testing, I found the recharge time to be slightly less than this.  The same battery technology that is found in today’s electric cars can be found in the Longuard.  According to ROMOSS, there are 26650 battery cells in the device and have been certified for over 1000 charging cycles, 60% more than other leading power banks on the market.  There is just one button on the Longuard on which the four LED power level indicator lights can be found.  10000 mAh will charge an iPhone or Galaxy 2 to 3.5 times depending on which device you own.  For my needs, the balance of size and power capacity makes this just right for me.

I was using this for the first time in the field on a flight with some coworkers.  I hadn’t planned on talking about it or asking my colleagues if they had an external power bank but as soon as we took our seats, 3 of the 5 people traveling with me had taken out their own batteries and were charging their devices.  This began a show and tell session that led to everyone explaining why theirs was the best, even though nobody knew anything about the other batteries.  This is what you come to expect when you work in an industry with a lot of alpha personalities and everyone, including myself, thinks that we are all electronics gurus despite our need to call IT in a panic whenever the slightest thing goes wrong with anything that has a power button.  After a brief show and tell I realized that not every power bank has 2 outputs and charge in 4 hours.  Without even trying, one person used his in-flight WiFi to head to Amazon to pick up a Longuard so it was waiting for him when he got home.

One of the things that amazed me was how the price of these power banks have come down from what I remember.  With a price of $23.99, this is an absolute no-brainer for me to recommend for people looking for a power bank that is reliable, versatile (2 power outputs) and small enough to bring with you anywhere.  If you plan on being away from a power outlet for an extended period of time, you will likely need something more than 10000 mAh.  For those times where you just need to get you through a day or two or have a backup in case you forgot to charge your device, the Longuard will not disappoint.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by ROMOSS.  For more information or to purchase please visit their website or ROMOSS.  For more information or to purchase please visit their website or Amazon.

 

Product Information

Price: $23.99
Manufacturer: ROMOSS
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • Very affordable at $23.99 on Amazon; 2 power outputs; quick charging; long battery life (1000+ charge cycles); protects your devices from overcharging or other kinds of damage.
Cons:
  • I honestly don't have any criticism of this power bank. Should I come up with anything after more use I will provide an update.

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ROMOSS Longuard 2-Port 10000mAh Power Bank review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 14, 2017 at 8:37 am.

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Use the magic of fire to charge your gadgets

Can you imagine what the first humans thought when they were able to create fire for the first time? You can experience a tiny bit of that magic by harnessing the energy from fire to charge your gadgets. The FlameStower converts heat from a campfire into electricity that you can use to charge your USB devices.

This small device has a collapsible cup that you fill with water and a metal blade under that cup that you insert into the fire.

The fire heats the blade, which heats the water in the cup, which iturns into 2.5 watts (average) of power. That is enough to charge your phone in about 2.5 Hours or or if you don’t want to wait that long, it will provide about 2 minutes of talk time for every 1 minute of charge time.

The FlameStower is priced at $99.99. You can read more about it at stowerenergy.com and Amazon.

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Use the magic of fire to charge your gadgets originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 13, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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