{"id":13692,"date":"2011-10-27T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2011-10-27T14:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/?post_type=con_product_reviews&p=13692"},"modified":"2024-01-08T06:31:04","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T12:31:04","slug":"incipio-offgrid-iphone-4-battery-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/2011\/10\/incipio-offgrid-iphone-4-battery-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Incipio offGRID iPhone 4 battery case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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PRODUCT OVERVIEW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price:<\/strong> $70
Brand:<\/strong> Incipio
Categories:<\/strong> Phone Accessories<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udc4d Pros:<\/strong> Slim, convenient, nearly doubles battery life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc4e Cons:<\/strong> Slim, convenient, nearly doubles battery life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Bottom Line: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>Rating: 4.5 out of 5.<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Confession: even though the iPhone 4 is often celebrated for having a fantastic battery life, I still burn through mine pretty quickly. I guess I just use my phone a lot or something, but I don\u2019t quite get the amazing usage time out of mine that other people do. If I don\u2019t plug in and top off around midday, I\u2019m pretty hurting for power by the evening (which can make going out after work pretty stressful). I\u2019ve looked at some of the external battery pack cases in the past, but they\u2019ve always been too bulky for my taste. As much as I need to have my phone alive, I also like it fitting in my pocket without feeling like I\u2019m carrying around a 1989 Game Boy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fortunately, the folks at Incipio have a solution to both of these problems with their offGRID case. Not only will it recharge your iPhone when you can\u2019t get to an outlet, but it\u2019s small enough to fit comfortably in your pants (hey-oh!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept is a pretty simple one: built into the case is a secondary battery that holds its own separate charge. Your iPhone slides into the top and plugs into the case\u2019s dock connector. Once you see your meter start to dip into the red (or whenever you want), just press a button and the offGRID will start recharging your phone. It’s that simple and you can continue to use your phone as normal the whole time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What sets the offGRID from other products of it\u2019s kind though is that it is incredibly slim and adds very little in terms of excess mass. Obviously there is a degree of extra thickness involved, but it\u2019s very acceptable. With the case on, it\u2019s about the same size as an iPhone 3G\/S. There is some added weight as well, but the whole package is still quite light overall. In fact, people who appreciate a bit of heft in their mobile devices will probably appreciate the extra few ounces (personally I always found a bare iPhone 4 almost frighteningly insubstantial).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So how does it perform? First, let\u2019s look at it as a regular case. It’s adequately in this regard, but that mostly depends on your personal preferences. The back is curved (like a 3G\/S), which I was never very fond of. I like to lay my phone down flat on a table sometimes while I\u2019m using it, and the concave back means it wobbles when you tap near the edges. But on the other hand, it does feel more comfortable in your hand and wedges into your shoulder better when you\u2019re in a pinch. The front of the case sits flush with the sides of the screen and doesn\u2019t feature any kind of lip around the edges. Again, this is totally a preference thing. While it does mean your screen is directly on a surface when you lay it face down, it is easier to get right up to the edge when swiping around. The plastic is fairly sturdy, but it will do absolutely nothing to protect the face of your iPhone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aesthetically, it does look pretty sharp and is available in a variety of glossy colors. I have the white one and I quite like the way it looks with my black iPhone. Ironically though, it does look kind of stupid with white phones; the little black bar at the bottom with the power button and charging lights stands out too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The main draw of the offGRID though is obviously it\u2019s back-up battery. You\u2019ll be pleased to know that it does its job fantastically. It won\u2019t quite<\/em> double your battery life, but it will deliver an extra ~75%. I tend to turn it on when I get the 10% warning, and by the time the auxiliary battery is depleted my phone reads around 80%. Charging the offGRID itself does take a little while though, around 3 hours. But usually this is done overnight so it\u2019s not that big of a deal. I also ran into a little bug where the phone won\u2019t charge if the case is already fully charged. This is easily remedied though by unplugging it, turning on the offGRID, then plugging it in again. A neat little unintended perk I\u2019ve found is that if you have WiFi syncing enabled in iOS 5, you can easily sync at the press of a button if you\u2019re on your home network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, there are a few<\/em> problems with the offGRID. Because the case surrounds the bottom of the iPhone, it does block the speakers. There are little vents to let sound through, but it does muffle a little bit. Also, the hole for the headphone port is sometimes too small to allow for certain thicker jacks. And while removing top part of the case can easily solve that issue, this presents another problem: that piece is small and a bit fragile (I\u2019ve already bent mine). I’m afraid that frequently removing it might break it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The offGRID charges via microUSB, and this is both a blessing and a curse. The benefit is that it means you likely won\u2019t encounter a situation where you can\u2019t find a suitable charging cable. Since almost all other modern phones use the same charging input, if you go over to a friends house and find yourself running low there\u2019s a good chance they can set you up. The downside, however, is that all of your docks and charging cradles are now useless.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The biggest issue with the offGRID, though, has to do with the iPhone\u2019s camera, specifically the flash. Because the back of the case is a bit thick, the camera is recessed. Then when you use the flash, the light tends to bounce off the sidewalls of the little hole it’s in and creates a haze across the picture. It looks pretty terrible and makes shooting in the dark even more crap than it was before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other than that, the offGRID is pretty great. Honestly, the few problems I had were more nitpicks than legitimate complaints. I’ve been using mine for a few weeks now and I’ve yet to be disappointed. If you\u2019re anything like me and always find yourself in want of an outlet, this is the case for you. It’s so liberating to be able to use my phone as much as I want and not being afraid of it dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MSRP is $69.99<\/a>, but you can find it through various online retailers for cheaper if you shop around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discover the Incipio offGRID case \u2013 the slim, pocket-friendly solution to boost your iPhone’s battery life on the go. This case seamlessly integrates a secondary battery, offering an extra ~75% charge when you need it. Explore its design, performance, and minor quirks, including the impact on the iPhone’s camera flash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":13699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[318],"tags":[2460,2459,44,2461],"class_list":["post-13692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-battery-case","tag-incipio","tag-iphone","tag-offgrid"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/photo-3.jpg?fit=2592%2C1936&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pelghY-3yQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13692"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22890,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13692\/revisions\/22890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedyoda.com\/noisecast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}