Let's Talk Power Cases with Screen Covers! - Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Alright, so today the last of the power cases with screen covers I've been able to find came in, I figure I'd do a quick write up on each. Since the only camera I have is my phone, I'll just be using stock pictures.
First, Sony's Official Power Cover, the CP12: (www.amazon.com/Sony-CP12-3000mAh-Battery-Charging/dp/B00FX2MG3Y/)
Cost: ~$150.
Battery Size: 3000mAh
Pros:
High quality feeling case.
Uses with/supplies the magnetic charging port
Has a slot for/supplies a stylus.
Cons:
By far the most expensive. The other two options aren't even in the same price range.
Makes the Z Ultra bulkier than before; By others accounts it's about as big as a Nexus 7 now.
The stylus isn't tightly held and will slip out with little fuss.
Conclusion: While it's high price is very off putting (I picked it up during the winter sale when it's price was a bit more managable), as a case it's very high quality. Dispite slipping in and out with relative ease, I find it usually doesn't come out unless I want it to. I find for casual to medium use the battery supplies an adequate backup charge. In terms of in the hand feeling it outclasses the other two options without even putting up much of a fight. That being said, at it's high price point, it may not be entirely worth it.
Overall, if you want to use something officially made by Sony with a high build quality that can provide an adequate charge if need be, this is what to go for. Still, price for price, it may not be worth it.
"Brando Power Case" (http://www.amazon.com/Aftermarket-Product-4500mAH-Battery-Portable/dp/B00G9RCSHG/)
Cost: ~$30-$40
Battery Size: 4500mAh
Pros:
Thinnest case with the most minimum bulk added.
Feels decent in hand
Charges with the proprietary magnetic port, but takes a Standard Micro USB for input.
Cons:
Cover feels flimsy
Questionable build quality
Conclusion: OK, so first, I put the name in quotations because for the life of me it's hard to find what on earth this case is actually called; The one I bought came straight from a shop called Brando; Google it if you desire. However, the one I received flat out didn't work. My phone neither recognizes being plugged in nor does the case act like it's charging something. Which is unfortunate, because I actually like the overall feel of this case. If it were to work (And if I weren't just one of several cases where this case is reported as faulty, I'd write off my experience as a one off), I'd say it outclasses the Sony case without question. The lack of stylus support isn't, in my opinion, worth mentioning; If you need a stylus, just carry a pencil with you.
Overall, if you're willing to risk getting a dud product, go ahead and go for this one. If it works, you'll get a nice feeling case with a much better charge than the CP12
"KingsMansion Battery Case" (http://www.amazon.com/5000mAh-Portable-External-Rechargeable-Battery/dp/B00FWP8FKU/)
Cost: ~$30
Battery Size: 5000mAh
Pros:
Biggest battery of the lot
It's textured back grants protection against slipping.
Has the best grip on the device of any case here.
Cons:
Textured Back feels weirder in the hand.
Even when plugged in, it will only charge the phone when the switch is on.
Conclusion: I haven't had much time to deal with this thing yet, since it just came in today, however, I like what I have for the most part. While it's the hardest of the lot to put the Z Ultra into, it also has the best grip on it. It will NOT come out without you meaning to take it out, but it's also fairly easy to remove when you do. It provides the best charge to the Z Ultra, clocking in at 5/3 as strong as the CP12, and being as thin width wise as the Brando one. However, the textured back feels different in the hand compared to the smoothness provided by both of the other ones. I don't get the same feeling of questionable build quality from it as I do from the Brando case, however. Oh, and like the Brando case, I have no clue what to actually name this case; I got the name "King's Mansion" from the seller on the Amazon page, but the actual box doesn't have any company name on it as far as I can see. As a side note, it's a thick case... I'd say just eyeballing it that the back of the case is as thick as the Z ultra itself. I personally think this is fine since I think the Z ultra's a tad too thin anyway, but it's up to you.
Overall: Cheapest, best grip, thinner than the CP12, and has the biggest battery. While it feels a little worse than the other two, it'd definitely worth the price. I'd pick it up on Ebay over Amazon (I did), just because the amazon one has aweful delivery times to the US, but choose as you wish.

I have the 4500mAh too and it is a hit or miss to get it to charge indeed. :/

... Oh wow, it's only been 3 days.
The "King's Mansion" case that I recieved earlier broke today- The USB charging port now only can connect a charge straight to the phone, and it's internal battery readers simply don't respond. That's when the USB charging port does work- it got insanely loose yesterday and just won't do anything anymore.
So, final conclusion: You're going to have to spend some decent money (Either Mugen's case or the CP12) if you want something guaranteed to work.

Related

Desktop Stand option!

Just noticed this on eBay. Looks pretty substantial and possibly an acceptable option for the non-existent desktop stands from Asus.
Ordered one. Will post up some pictures once I get it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140583405716&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
FWIW, there are a handful of other generic stands like that on Amazon too. Most of these stands that are marketing for iPads will work fine too.
True enough. First one I've encountered while waiting for Asus!
I've bought a self-made in a german-forum (android-hilfe.de).
If somebody is interested i will send the link (At the moment it's not possible to post --> < 8 posts)
I've got these:
Folding wire stand
...and:
Folding milled aluminum stand
I like the first one better because it's super light and super adjustable. But you really have to tighten the thumb nuts if you don't want it to slowly collapse.
The second one claims to be made of aluminum, but its as heavy as brass or steel and it's a noticeable addition to a shoulder or backpack.
I am using one of these i got at burlington for like $6. use for the kitchen. Only issue is the angle could be back alittle bit more.
I think I will go and play around with some card tonight/over the weekend and see if I can come up with an Origami/pepakura-style stand (dual-angle of course) which I can make from thin Plastic-card. I have access to a greeting card creaser and would really like a light and portable stand that gives the ability to plug in the charge cable. If I get anything worth taking a snap of I will stick it up, with plans of course.
amazon.com/ gp/ product/ B000CKVOOY
This is a magnificent stand that I bought two of. It folds away to an easily storable size and has plenty enough flexibility and stability to be used in multiple orientations. The only negative is that the charging plug won't fit if you orient the tablet right-side-up though this is easily solvable if you invert the tablet.

Zero Lemon Nexus 6 Slim Power case review.

**ZeroLemon contacted me about a week ago asking if I would like to receive a free review unit of the Nexus 6 Slim Power case, and I accepted. This is a non-bias review on the case. I received it 9/16/2015 and promptly installed it. This review will be updated for 7 days.**
I have previously used ZeroLemon products for my Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S4, and my girlfriends Nexus 5. I have found that the internal replacement batteries are much better than the externals, but the external ones come with cases that may actually give your phone a chance to live during a drop. I have so far enjoyed all of my ZeroLemon products.
9/16: Received ZeroLemon slim power case in the mail and installed it immediately, replacing my SUPCASE Unicorn Beetle Pro.
The first thing I notice was that this case literally doubles the thickness of the phone. Not only that, but it adds nearly half an inch to the bottom of the phone below the speaker. The battery included in the package fits very will in the case, but I'm still a bit shocked that ZeroLemon thought 3500mAh was enough.
The case comes with a Z-shaped connector to keep the phone and the battery connected, and allows pass-through charging via a micro-USB port on the left side of the phone. There is also a decent sized cutout on top for the 3.5mm jack, though they decided to include a 3" 3.5mm extension with the case.
To turn the battery on, you hold the power button on the back for a few seconds and you will have confirmation by your phone beginning to charge, as well as 4 blue LED lights on the back of the case. This works exactly the same as all of their other cases for phones with non-user-replaceable batteries.
First impressions:
-This thing is big. It's got a nice weight to it and makes it feel solid. Fits well in my hand (I have fairly large hands for a 25 year old male).
-The power and volume buttons are EXTREMELY SENSITIVE. I can't tell you how many times I have accidentally pressed something when just picking the phone up.
- No Qi-charging. Unfortunately, ZeroLemon does not give us a Qi capable battery, and the case is so thick that even a 3-coil charger will not penetrate it. (Now I have 2 nice Qi chargers that I can't use)
-No Quick Charge 2.0. This (as well as not having Qi) was a real bummer. ZeroLemon had previously sent me one of their Quick Charge 2.0 chargers, but it seems that it is now useless as you are actually charging the external battery, which in turn charges the phone.
-Single piece construction. The case itself feels solid, but I was hoping that it would be more like the one for the Nexus 5 that was 2-piece and had a plastic screen protector.
They really needed to include a belt clip with this case. It's that big. Because of the size and the buttons being so sensitive, I can't really carry the phone in my pants pocket. When I put it in the breast pocket of my shirt, half of the phone sticks out, and the thickness almost prevents it from sliding in at all. Not including some sort of belt clip was a very poor idea.
9/22:
So I've been using my ZeroLemon SlimPower case for about a week now.
More things of note:
-NFC does not function with this case on
-Full charge of the battery in the case gave me about 40% charge (went from 30% to 71%)
-Buttons are WAY too sensitive. Just from being in my pocket and walking around, My battery life has been terrible (screen keeps turning on and off)
-The case does not do a very good job of protecting the phone. The two times that my phone fell (once from the arm of the couch, the other from the coffee table), the case literally just popped right off. A case this large really needs to be 2-stage or have some way to hold the phone in better.
-My cullular signal also seems to be hindered with this case installed. Where I would normally have a little bit of service at my office, I have no connection with this case on. Immediately when the case comes off, I have service again.
-Have had the phone randomly restart on me 3 times since having this installed. Never had an issue with this before.
All of my initial impressions stayed with me the entire time using this case.
I can see times where having the extra battery could be useful, but honestly, you are better off getting an External battery for the same price as this case or likely even less. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this case.
keep a eye out for reboots, mine would reboot several times a day when i was using my case. i absolutely agree on the case needing a holster. its like having a vhs tape in your pocket, the over sensitive buttons was a big problem as well. i took mine off as im in meetings the rest of the week so its def overkill. got a 14 hour mountain motorcycle ride sunday though
forsaken82 said:
keep a eye out for reboots, mine would reboot several times a day when i was using my case. i absolutely agree on the case needing a holster. its like having a vhs tape in your pocket, the over sensitive buttons was a big problem as well. i took mine off as im in meetings the rest of the week so its def overkill. got a 14 hour mountain motorcycle ride sunday though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I am going to give mine a week of testing and updating the review. Before deciding if I will continue using it or not.
I just ordered this. Excited for it to come in and see how it goes.
How's it so far ?
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
My brother just got it and seems the buttons on the vase are too sensitive. Expect your phone to turn on easily and if u hit power button it also hits the volume buttons at the same time
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
I've had mine a couple weeks. Haven't needed to use the battery too often but also haven't really been able to because it takes so long to charge both the phone and the battery I seldom manage to fully charge it. I hated how much it screwed with my ability to screenshot so I cut a strip out to expose my buttons lol. When I used AOSIP screenshot was built into the power menu but I'm on Chroma Marshmallow now. Good news is battery life is so solid now that I may not need the case after all. I'm looking at over 6 hours on screen with the ROM, Hells Kernel and Greenify and it hasn't even had the chance to optimize apps yet
zerolemon sent me a review unit that ive been using when needed for a week or so. its not something id use all of the time due to the size, but overall im very happy with it. it is a brick, but surprisingly comfortable to use in the hand and doesnt feel too bad in my pocket all things considered. it charges my phone while im still using it even though it doesnt support qc, so thats a big plus in my opinion. on days where i know i wont be near a power supply ive brought this with me and its much better than bringing an external battery pack imo. phone seems to slide down just a hair in the case as sometimes when i hit power it actually activates volume up, but thats not too often and easily fixed. i would definitely recommend if you need the extra juice.
I took a knife and cut out the buttons and now they are perfect. Unfortunately when I put this case on, it makes my tempered glass nillkin screen protector get some lift on the edges (which it never has when the case is not on). So I don't use it now. I have it for a backup case for trips to keep extra juice, but honestly with Android 6.0 the battery life is so much better now with doze, this case isn't really needed as much.
I tried this case and returned it to amazon. It is very poorly designed.
It's literally one giant piece of rubber. No way to secure it to your N6, so it falls out when tossed on the couch! What a horrid design flaw!
The battery also constantlyrubs against the back of my N6 and made a few scratch marks after only a few weeks of use! There is also a ton of space left in the back, ZL should have gone with a much higher capacity battery for a case that thick.
Hate this case, absolutely hate it. Coming form three past ZL cases, which were all great, this one feels incredibly rushed.
Broke down and bought this case..straight garbage will be returning mine .zerolemon should be ashamed to sell this product
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
So update after owning this case for a while. Seldom had the chance to fully charge my phone as well as the case. Wasn't really worth it, with Chroma Marshmallow I'm averaging 6 to 7 hours of SoT now so it was more of a waste not to be able to fast charge honestly. When i had the ZL case on my Nexus 5 it was way more worth it. At least I could pull out the plug and charge both batteries at the same time. Took the case off today, ripped the screen protector off my Supcase and put that back on.
So to sum it up, battery is too small, buttons are so bad I had to cut them out, and for someone who doesn't sleep 10 to 11 hours a day or sit at a desk all day with their phone plugged in, its pretty useless
I'm actually considering buying a Note 4 and slipping on a Zerolemon 10,000 case. Just need to figure out what the best ROMs are and if it would be worth it. I'm tired of seeing manufacturers phase out removable batteries
From the moment I saw that case, I knew it was gonna be rushed garbage. Pathetic move from ZeroLemon. But can't blame them as much as phone makers that make non removable batteries
Better get used to unibody phones and honestly when I can charge my phone as fast as this one charges, extended battery isn't necessary for daily use.... PS...greenify.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
No thanks. I'll be switching to LG for removable batteries. Besides, quick charging or not, not everyone can easily access a charger. Especially in my case being overseas
I'm a little surprised by all the negative reviews. I've been using this case since it came out and it's been totally fine for me. Granted it's absolutely massive but serves it's purpose. My phone has never popped out of it and haven't had much by way of random reboots. It has definitely gotten me through some tight Jams but yes, as stated above the buttons are extremely sensitive.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
I think people just expected better from ZL based on past experience. I own the Note 2 and 3 batteries. They were excellent, well designed, made good use of space. This one looks rushed, and doesn't make good use of space, for a small increase in capacity. Well, small by ZL standards anyway. To be fair, they are somewhat limited by the design of the Nexus 6. The non-removable battery makes their standard methods impossible. That is unfortunate, I would absolutely buy a Note style battery from them. Having 20+ hours SOT available was exceptional. If they had supported quickcharge on this one, I probably would have still bought it.
At this point, I'm just hoping Sony makes a good device next year that is available from T-Mobile (Jump). With their open source support, if they keep removable batteries and SD, that would be a killer combo.
If you think this case is tolerable then you must not screenshot often
thanks
thanks
Ugliest thing I have ever seen. It is more of a punishment to use this case than a benefit.

Has anyone tried one of these wooden cases by Carved.com?

http://www.carved.com/satellite
These are quite beautiful and almost remind me of Earth wallpapers....Wonder how it works with QI charging?
A little on the pricey side, but if anyone has one, can you give me your thoughts?
This is interesting to me. I just came across these last night. They simply look amazing. I am curious about this too! Hopefully someone else can chime in!
Looks kinda nice from photos but no matter what it looks like, i can't justify the price for a thin layer of wood covered in plastic for frickin 50$.
Since nobody has chimed in yet and I received mine today (was shocked that Amazon used USPS Sunday Delivery) I will say a few words about my initial impression. First of all, I did not get that custom $50-ish dollar one linked in the OP even though I thought it was very pretty, I just bought one of the standard ones.
So here are my impressions so far:
1. It is a relatively thick case as it makes the phone's back almost completely flat and it has to allow for the thickness of the wood.
2. How the top, bottom, and buttons are somewhat exposed, it reminds me of the Spigen "Thin Fit" case (aside from the thickness).
3. Because I did not get a single solid wood finish, the inlay (bike in my example) is not completely flush with the main wood background. It is slightly recessed.
4. I generally do not use a Qi charger but I placed it on my Incipio Ghost 100 pad and it "seems" that it is a little pickier about placement compared to my Ringke Fusion case most likely because the phone is much higher off the charging pad (so to speak). But as I said, it seems like it to me. I could be wrong. I do not have a triple coil pad handy, but I'm guessing if you have a triple coil Qi pad, this will have no issues with alignment of the phone's charging coil.
5. It fits my Kenu Airframe+, barely. This was the most important factor for me. However, because the buttons are recessed, it doesn't matter where the Airframe+ sits on the phone.
I have attached some photos (please excuse the dust and lint as my camera's macro mode loves to focus on that) and an Ampere screenshot. Hope it helps a little.
I like the ship case made from 18th century naval timbers. But $50+ for a case is not in my budget right now.
While I do not have one of their cases. The company I work for owns the building that Carved is in. I work maintenance and am over at the building fairly often to work in the half of the building we occupy. The people that work there are really nice and have some awesome equipment. Really top notch products.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
@buzzwyzr sweet case, how much was it?

Maxdara 4500 mAH Battery Case

Picked this up because at $27 it is significantly cheaper than the name brand versions that will or are already available for release. You can check it out HERE.
First, this case is 4500 mAH so that is a lot of juice. You can go a pretty long time without having to charge your phone. The case is matte and easy to pop the phone in and out. The led indicators on the back let you know how much power you have and the case is charged with a micro usb cable. The kickstand is also nice because when you're watching movies or youtube, it's pretty convenient to just lean it on a table. The case is also relatively slim...meaning it doesnt have size to the sides, or the top and bottom. It does however make it much thicker due to the large battery.
The negatives, the kickstand seems wobbly and could pop out easily. The case also does not fast charge, nor is it a charger that works in conjunction with your phone. What I mean is, you can't charge your phone by charging the battery pack. They charge separately from each other. In essence this is an external battery pack in a case form factor.
Again, at $27 I thought it was a fair cost considering the price of name brand alternatives, but the small quirks maybe enough to persuade others to use more well known brands.
seoulbrova said:
Picked this up because at $27 it is significantly cheaper than the name brand versions that will or are already available for release. You can check it out HERE.
First, this case is 4500 mAH so that is a lot of juice. You can go a pretty long time without having to charge your phone. The case is matte and easy to pop the phone in and out. The led indicators on the back let you know how much power you have and the case is charged with a micro usb cable. The kickstand is also nice because when you're watching movies or youtube, it's pretty convenient to just lean it on a table. The case is also relatively slim...meaning it doesnt have size to the sides, or the top and bottom. It does however make it much thicker due to the large battery.
The negatives, the kickstand seems wobbly and could pop out easily. The case also does not fast charge, nor is it a charger that works in conjunction with your phone. What I mean is, you can't charge your phone by charging the battery pack. They charge separately from each other. In essence this is an external battery pack in a case form factor.
Again, at $27 I thought it was a fair cost considering the price of name brand alternatives, but the small quirks maybe enough to persuade others to use more well known brands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought this too. I was streaming the Laker game from the Time Warner app and the charging couldn't keep up with the phone. Perhaps it would perform better if you aren't actually using the phone.
thisguyinoc said:
I bought this too. I was streaming the Laker game from the Time Warner app and the charging couldn't keep up with the phone. Perhaps it would perform better if you aren't actually using the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't that every charging case?
Does the case support fast charging the phone and the case? How hot does it get?

Accessories ZeroLemon Battery Case

https://a.co/d/1PR4DIo
Just wanted to provide a quick review for this case ... This thing is a lifesaver if you're in a bind and don't have access to your standard charging options! It is a bit bulky, obviously, but the trade off is worth it! 10,000 mAh gets two full charges so with this case your phone can easily last a few days ... great while camping!
There's no obstruction of the camera (any lense) so snapping pics isn't a problem. Also, you can charge the case and phone while the case is installed with superfast charging! I found Samsung DEX also works through the case too!
Would highly recommend this case! I also love having it around for when we lose power due to storms (which unfortunately has been quite frequent in my area) ... The piece of mind knowing that my phone won't die and I'll be able to stay informed of the situation and make emergency calls if needed is indispensable!
While I too think big numbers are better. This looks way too massive to actually be useful, their own description says it's as thick as 3 s23 ultras, that wouldn't fit in my pocket. Personally I'd just stick with the tiny 5000mAh Anker charger that is magsafe compatible for those that have a magsafe case and it has a nice USB c to c cable for charging the phone and itself. It's smaller than the phone and fits in my pocket with the phone.
This looks like a great concept for extreme users not everyday uses.
I have a 20000mAh portable battery pack that is less thick than this case would make my S23 Ultra so I'll probably just bring the battery pack when my husband forces me to go camping this summer lol
I also have this case, thanks to ZL for sending me a test unit. I really like the case even though it's something I'll use very sparingly. But for camping trips, this one will be a must. Low signal usually means awful battery and I'll for sure be slapping this case on to keep the phone going the entire weekend. I know battery packs are good too and I have one, this case really excels when you need to move around and still use your phone, and don't have to deal with extra cords.
I will say that ZL customer service is awesome too. I had a minor issue with my first test unit and they were willing to get another one sent out right away!
My suggestion is to get a magsafe case and a magsafe powerbank (I have ESR 10000mah) they go hand in hand and is much less uglier!

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