Looking to spruce up your iPhone, or extend its woeful battery life? Business Traveller tries out a choice few of the cases now on the market that will do just that
Incipio Dotties
For those iPhone 3G/3GS (or iPod Touch) owners looking to jazz up their handset, while at the same time protecting it, the Dotties case is a fun option. It is made of pliable rubber with spots that can be pushed out and swapped about to create different patterns.
There are nine different colour cases: black, navy blue, red, turquoise, orange, neon pink, purple, white and charcoal grey. Each comes with 15 coloured dots (plus 30 spares) in three different colours that you can mix and match. For example, a red case with grey, white and black dots, or navy blue with grass green, light blue and yellow dots.
There is also a hole in the right place for the camera lens, as well as cut-outs for buttons and ports. Changing the dots is easy to do, although some people may deem the pursuit a bit of a waste of time.
The Dotties case is somewhat of a novelty item but does offer good protection for your handset and is light and ergonomically friendly, although a far cry from the chic-looking iPhone itself, which is almost a shame to cover up.
PROS Fun colour schemes, flexible rubber case that offers good protection from knocks and drops
CONS Looks a bit childish, quite expensive
PRICE £24.99
CONTACT amazon.co.uk
Incipio Feather
Another good option from Incipio is the Feather, a thin, ultra-light, smooth, matt-finish shell in a range of colours, with cut-outs for ports, camera lens and buttons. It’s made from less than 1mm thick polycarbonate material and comes with two transparent screen protectors and a cleaning cloth – a handy touch.
Suitable for the iPhone 3G/3GS, the product comes in an excellent range of colours, including black, pearl, white, yellow, red, magenta, sea-foam green, Capri blue, neon pink, midnight blue, turquoise and purple.
It’s nice to have a case that doesn’t detract from the already slim dimensions of the iPhone and offers excellent protection from scratches and knocks, but if you drop it on the floor it might not save it from the shock.
PROS Slim design, good range of colours
CONS Might not save it from serious impact
PRICE £15.95
CONTACT amazon.co.uk
Mophie Juice Pack Air
Most critics of the iPhone fixate on its poor battery life, which if listening to music or making a lot of calls may not last a whole day, so the Juice Pack Air from Mstation Mophie is the perfect solution.
Effectively a glossy case with a built-in rechargeable battery, the product allows users to control when they want to use the extra power stored in it at the flick of a switch. The Juice Pack provides additional standby time of up to 270 hours, talk time (3G) of 4.5 hours, 3G internet use of 4.5 hours or 5.4 when using wifi, audio playback of 20 hours, and video playback of up to six hours.
A four-light LED indicates how much remaining external battery life there is, and the phone can simultaneously charge and sync with iTunes via a micro USB cable that is provided. The Air is available in three colours – black, red and grey – from the Apple online store, and also comes with a one-year warranty.
The 75g unit, which comes in two parts (top and bottom sections) that slot together, is easy to use – the charge port simply slots into a built-in connector, and cut-outs allow for the buttons and camera lens.
An excellent buy for anyone concerned about their iPhone not making it through the day, and ideal for business travellers who may be abroad without access to charging facilities for long periods of time.
PROS Extends talk time on 3G iPhones by about 4.5 hours, attractive glossy design
CONS A little chunky, fairly expensive
PRICE £69.90
CONTACT store.apple.com/uk
Jenny Southan
