Case-Mate Fuel Battery For iPhone 3G (And Now iPhone 3G S)

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Among the good news with the upcoming iPhone 3GS is the additional battery life of anywhere between 10 and 20%. That will be a welcome addition as the iPhone 3G was, at best, problematic with regard to battery life.  At the same time, however, even with 10 to 20% of additional run-time there is no question I’ll be burning through my iPhone’s battery long before the day is through. (Yes, I use it that much.) Thankfully, there are a host of extra battery options available and every one, while designed for the iPhone 3G, will continue to work with the iPhone 3GS.

One of the newest is also one of the more unusual. The Fuel from Case-Mate is a form-fitting battery pack, rather than taking a  “piggyback” approach functions as a hip holster while delivering 2300 milliamps of additional power to the device. That translates to 2.5 times the runtime for the iPhone 3G!!!

Let’s take a look…

As the company notes on the box —

A road warrior — yeah, we’re talking to you. You know how sometimes you got to make a plane at 6 AM — which means you had to head to the airport at 4:15 AM — so, you know, things slip. Things like, oh, say, your phone charger. Now you can charge on the go. Yep, on the go. Welcome to fuel for iPhone 3G — protective case, carrying solution and backup battery all in one.

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Stats-

Extended Battery Life Features (For iPhone 3G)

  • Talk time: up to 9 additional hours beyond standard iPhone 3G / 3GS battery life
  • Internet use: up to 7 additional hours beyond standard iPhone 3G / 3GS battery life
  • Video playback: up to 8 additional hours beyond standard iPhone 3G / 3GS battery life
  • Audio playback: up to 24 additional hours beyond standard iPhone 3G / 3GS battery life
  • Stand by time: up to 250 additional hours beyond standard iPhone 3G / 3GS battery life

Additional Features

  • Power on/off button makes more efficient usage of the fuel by only engaging when you decide to
  • Rechargeable through a standard 5-pin usb cable (included)
  • Fully supports syncing while iPhone 3G / 3GS is docked in the fuel
  • Fully ratcheting 180-degree belt clip
  • Easy slide in/out access to your iPhone 3G / 3GS

My Take-

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The first thing I should mention is that the review unit arrived in a huge box. I couldn’t imagine why something so small would be shipped in a box as large as it was and I thought to myself, “How incredibly wasteful”.

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It turns out the large box was due to a rather unusual promotional item that was included with the battery as part of the reviewer’s kit– a 1 gallon gasoline holder to advertise the “Fuel” aspect of the backup battery. Very smart, a bit humorous, and certainly notable.

The battery itself has a nice design. It’s far lighter than I expected and it feels more than sturdy enough.

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On the side is a mini USB port for charging the battery.

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On the front are two pass-through areas to allow both the speaker and microphone to function when the iPhone is in the case. In addition there’s a small, unobtrusive button on the left-hand side that turns the battery on and three LED lights in the middle that let you know how much charge is available.

Case-Mate Fuel

On the back of the case is the belt clip. A typical ratchet design, it seems sturdy enough to take a good bit of use. This holds both for the part that clips to the belt and for the connection between the belt clip and the battery itself.

Overall the design is excellent, feels exceptionally sturdy and is subtle enough that, to the casual observer, it would simply look like a belt holster. It isn’t — since it provides a huge amount of additional battery life without adding too much additional weight.

What I like —

Well-designed.

Offers an unusual approach to an external battery for the iPhone 3G or 3GS.

For those who use a belt holster it’s a great way to carry your device and ensure the would have a full day’s  charged at the ready.

What needs improvement —

If you use the fuel rechargeable battery pack you can’t use any additional case for your iPhone 3G or 3GS. You can’t even have a permanent skin on the device since the fit tends to be quite tight.

I tend to not be a huge fan of hip holsters. Then again, you don’t have to put the battery on your hip in order to use it.

The Fuel is available from Case-Mate for an MSRP of $79.99. Between the build-quality and the extra battery life provided it is an excellent value.

Review also posted to www.whatsoniphone.com

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.

2 Comments on "Case-Mate Fuel Battery For iPhone 3G (And Now iPhone 3G S)"

  1. Jason Reese | June 15, 2009 at 6:48 pm |

    If anyone is “on the fence” Case-Mate Fuel Battery holster due to the cost, I have to say go for it.

    I recently picked one up and got immediate use on a trip. Sure, I carry car chargers and regular AC-chargers; but on this trip I was out most of the day with very heavy usage (up sunrise, back well after sunset). The Case-Mate Fuel Battery rapidly recharged my Bold to a full 100% charge to give me several hours more use (and much easier than the previous solution of keeping up with a separate fully-charged OEM battery). Although I have not gotten one for the iPhone (yet), based on my experience this is a must-have accessory.

    I just hope Case-Mate gets more Fuel Battery holsters out for additional devices. Even though I am also not a “hip-holster” person the function and portability of this accessory is top-notch. Great review.

  2. I’ve got this extended battery/holster now (thanks Dan!), and it clips just fine to the inside of a purse, bag, or a car visor. If you don’t like to wear a belt clip, no worries – just find another place to clip the thing, so that you can enjoy the extended battery life. 🙂

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