Battery life is a sore subject with Android phone users. These 1500mAh batteries just don’t cut it for the power users of this world. When companies launch extra battery packs, portable battery systems and skins with built in batteries, we hope for something special, something different, something that meets our expectations.
Along comes PowerSkin with a different approach to other manufacturers. PowerSkin have taken the portable battery approach and built the battery into a skin that goes on your phone.  The skin connects to your phone using the USB connector to provide extra power without the need to remove your case and swap your battery. We got our hands on on of the PowerSkin products for the T-Mobile myTouch 4G and I’ve been testnig it out for a few weeks to see how it goes.
Does this approach work well? You’ll have to keep reading to find out more…
What do PowerSkin have to say:
Life charges on.
With twice the power for your smartphone, your life charges on. You can keep working. Keep playing. Keep moving. PowerSkin® is your go-to, go-anywhere, go on-and-on power source. Because battery life is life.
And when (not if) you drop your phone along the way, life charges on. With a sleek, protective design that fits your phone and your style like a second skin, PowerSkin® is there where the silicone rubber hits the road of your life. More, PowerSkin® is XPAL Powered, meaning it’s charged by patented battery technology that reflects the highest standards of safety, quality, and performance. We’ve got you — and your phone — covered.
Keep charging on.
Specifications:
- Power Capacity: 1500mAh
- Input Spec: 5V, 0.5A
- Output Spec: 5V, 0.5A
- Talk Time: 320 Mins*
- Standby:260 Hours*
- Product Dimensions:
- 4.97L X 2.93W X 0.78H inches
- 12.6L X 7.4W X 1.98H cm
- Weight:Â Â Â 0.19lbs / 87.9g
Features:
- One piece tough case
- Soft silicone rubber
- Provides up to twice the power
- 100% recycled case
- Rechargeable
- Lightweight
- Smart battery technology
- LED battery status lights
- Patented XPAL Power® battery technology
How does it work:
The PowerSkin case could be thought of as a backup battery for your Android phone that is always connected. The case connects to your phone using a built in USB cable that is inside the case, embedded in a large protruding ridge on the left side. The connector is on a ribbon cable that sits neatly inside the case. Connecting your phone to the case is very simple as is getting the case on to your phone.
On the outside of the case is an external USB connector that you plug your charger in to charge the PowerSkin battery and in turn your phones battery.
You can leave the case on your device 24×7 and at night you can recharge both the case and the phone simultaneously when plugged into your laptop or wall charger.
Is it a good case:
The case is made of flexible silicone that fits nicely on the myTouch 4G. It’s reasonably thick so it does offers great protection for you phone. From the front the case actually extremely nice with crisp clean edges slightly protruding from the front face to stop the face of your phone from touching any surface when placed face down. The rear of the phone has a large oval cutout going side to side where the camera lens and phone speaker is located. It looks pretty good and given the thickness of the case is probably a better option that trying to cutout holes around each opening on the phone.
How long does it last:
I consider myself a heavy Android users and I’m lucky if my phone will last 12 hours a day without the need for re-charging. The thought of adding an additional 1500mAh battery pack to the back of my device brought a smile to my face and I can confirm that the overall experience of my long term test did the same. I will say is that there are a couple of major flaws for me that may not affect the average user, and I’ll tell you more about these below.
I wouldn’t say that it doubled the life of my battery, but it certainly made a significant difference. I probably got an extra 8 hours or so depending on what I was doing with my phone. So if a device like this can give you 80% more play time with your phone, wouldn’t you be happy?
The issues:
There are 2 major flaws that will prevent me and many other power users from continuing to use the PowerSkin product:
1. When you have power in your PowerSkin battery, that power is always charging for phone battery. This in itself is not a big problem. What is a problem is that it illuminates your LED to indicate that your phone is charging so you don’t get any LED notifications.
2. The USB connection from the PowerSkin battery does not pass through the data connection form your computer when you plug-in a USB cable from your computer to the USB connection on the PowerSkin. For someone who is constantly taking screen shots using DDMS from the Android SDK and flashing new ROMs for testing, this is big pain in rear end. I’m not sure why they didn’t
I am a little concerned about the long term affects of charging my phone battery from another battery and it prevents the internal battery from getting the complete charge that it would from directly connecting it to the AC charging adapter. So far I haven’t noticed much different so this may be an invalid concern.
Conclusion:
I do like the PowerSkin Silicone Case with Built-in Battery even with the issues identified. The average user does not connect as often to a computer and notifications are still present on the phone screen itself. Some phones don’t even have notofication LEDs in the first place, so it’s not too much of a big deal.
The case is an excellent design and looks great when installed. The added bulk does not deter too much from the day to day use of the phone and it stil easily fits into your pocket.
I would definitly recommend this case for the normal Smart Phone user and the extra battery life is pure heaven. For more information, head over the PowerSkin web site, follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook. Just be sure to check them out.
The list price is $59.99, but you can pick them up Amazon for about $39.99.
