Pros & Cons
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- Inexpensive.
- Compact design.
- Charges quickly.
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- Top part of case fits loosely.
- Makes volume buttons difficult to press.
In a crowded sea of battery cases for the Apple iPhone, you need to offer something special in order to stand out. The ChargeIt! 2X for the iPhone 4/4S from Digital Treasures provides good battery life in a compact design, but so do plenty of other cases. The real standout feature here is its price. Whereas most battery cases, like our current Editors' Choice, the PhoneSuit Elite ($79.95, 4.5 stars), will set you back about $80, the ChargeIt! 2X is available for $49.95, which makes it worth considering if you're looking for some extra power on a budget.
Design and Features
No matter the case, adding an additional battery to your iPhone also means you're going to add some serious size. Thankfully, at 4.92 by 2.44 by .70 inches (HWD), the ChargeIt! is only slightly larger than the 4.90 by 2.40 by 0.67-inch PhoneSuit, which places it among the more svelte options available. And at 2.70 ounces, it's actually slightly lighter (the PhoneSuit weighs 2.78 ounces). Even so, you can kiss the sleek form factor of your iPhone goodbye—these cases require a wide pocket. If size is your primary concern, the slimmest case we've tested is the Exogear Exolife Battery Case ($89.99, 4 stars), but even that measures 5.1 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.1 ounces.
Like the PhoneSuit (and many other battery cases), the ChargeIt! is made of soft-touch, rubberized matte black plastic. The edges are tapered, and cutouts are in place for the Volume buttons, lock switch, camera, headphone jack, and Power button. Unfortunately, the fit of these openings is pretty tight, and the depth of the case makes it somewhat difficult to access your volume controls. There are also cutouts at the bottom front of the case designed to "redirect audio" from your phone's speaker. That's cool in theory, but I didn't notice any real difference.
The ChargeIt! employs the same two-part design as the PhoneSuit and Mophie Juice Pack Plus ($99, 4 stars), which allows you to remove the top of the case so that your iPhone slides in and docks with the 30-pin Apple connector. While it's super easy to take your phone in and out of the case, I'm afraid the top piece feels a bit too loose for comfort. It stays on fine as you use the phone, but you can easily pull it off if you're trying to remove the phone from your pocket.
Along the bottom back of the case are a power toggle switch and micro USB port, which allows you to connect the case to a computer for simultaneous charging and syncing with an included cable. The back also contains a battery status button that triggers four blue status LEDs.
Performance and Conclusions
On its own, the iPhone 4S lasted 9 hours and 22 minutes on a continuous 3G call. The ChargeIt!, with its 1900 mAh battery, added 9 hours and 25 minutes, which essentially doubles your phone's battery capacity. This isn't as much power as the PhoneSuit, which added 10 hours and 43 minutes of talk time, but it's a respectable amount of power for the price. It charges fast, too. The ChargeIt! gave a full charge to a drained iPhone in about 2 hours and 15 minutes.
While the ChargeIt! may not provide as much power as the PhoneSuit Elite or the Mophie Juice Pack Plus , it does so at a more appealing price point. I wish the top of the case was more secure, but it's hard to fault it much otherwise. If you want a battery case for your iPhone, and you want to spend less than $50, the ChargeIt! 2X is a great choice.
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