Alpatronix iPhone 4/4S Battery Case

The Alpatronix iPhone 4/4S Battery Case is a case for your iPhone that can provide more hours of battery to your phone. It charges your iPhone while it is in the case as long as the case has been charged. It is available from Alpatronix for $39.99. Let’s see if it is the iPhone case for you.

Form

There are a few things to point out about this case. First, it does feel good to hold. It feels as though you are holding the phone when it isn’t in it’s case. The same glass feel on the back on the iPhone is on this case. That does come with a downside though. It has fingerprints all over the back. The case doesn’t add any width on the front as it does not have a part to protect the front. It does, however add depth to the back. It also adds length on the bottom. That and the depth to the back is expected due to the fact that it has a battery in it. It actually has a slim profile for a battery case. The bottom has a button to turn the case on so that it will charge the phone. The case comes in black, pink or blue and all the colors look nice. On the sides are your port access. On the left side is the volume and ringer control access, on the top the lock button and headphone jack and on the bottom is not a 30 pin connector but a micro-USB connector. The holes for the speakers on the bottom seem terribly short but the sound from the speakers is unaffected. One thing I wish that you could get rid of are the blue lights that are always lit up so you can see the battery remaining on the case. While it’s a great idea to have the ability to know how much is remaining, the lights are annoying since they are on whenever the case is on. However, the form of the case is pretty solid.

Function

The case does a great job in keeping the phone charged. The phone will last from morning till bedtime no matter how much you use it. That little extra juice keeps the phone charged throughout the day. The case also will protect the back very well from it being dropped. All ports are easily accessible with the exception of the 30-pin port. The speakers are not hindered by the case. The case shows the amount of charge it has left but it does keep the indicator light on which can be a nuisance. The major problem I have is the lack of protection for the front of the case. The case offers zero protection for the glass front of your phone. If you drop your phone on the glass part of the phone, it will break. The case will not protect the glass screen from the evils of the solid concrete or hardwood floor. In addition, another problem I have is the fact that the case has a micro-USB port instead of a 30-pin. If I wanted to plug the iPhone into a dock, I would have to take the iPhone out of the case and plug it in that way. Fortunately, it does come with a Micro-USB cord to plug the phone in the computer should you need to. This will charge and sync the phone with your computer. The Micro-USB port eliminates support for many docks and speakers however unless the said docks and speakers have USB ports. Since not many of them do, people will have a problem with that. In short, it is a bumper case with the backing as an extra power source. This case doesn’t have front protection and it does not work with many docks.

Conclusion

Pros

-Charging is very effective
-Case feels good to hold
-Battery indicator
-All ports are accessible
-Protects the back of the phone well

Cons

-Does not protect the very vulnerable glass screen
-Micro-USB port discontinues the use of many docks and speakers
-The battery indicator light is always on in the front and it can get annoying

Ways to improve

The company can improve this case in two ways. First, either make the case easy to open so you can get it in a dock faster or better yet add the 30 pin connector into the case despite the added dimensions it may cause. Second, the company should add protection for the front by adding bumpers along the front edges.

This case does what it says it will do. It will provide you extra battery time so that you can FaceTime and Siri all you want without worrying that your phone will die within a few hours. In fact, put it on full brightness if you want to as well. The trouble starts where the concrete meets the glass screen. The trouble IS the fact that the glass and the concrete CAN meet. The lack of protection for the front is a terrible idea and while this case is great for extra battery on a whim, I can’t see it replacing my non-charging case just yet. The lack of protection and the docking limits are the line in the sand. Without these flaws, I would definitely be using this case but because of them, I must avoid it. The case, with it’s great battery but not so great protection earn it 3 stars.

Thanks for reading,

Joe