PhoneSuit Elite Battery Case for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S

Quick summary:* One of the thinnest battery cases* Largest external battery* Switch to use case battery or phone battery first* Button on back to see how much charge leftDetailed Review:Like almost everyone out there, I've been thrilled with my iPhone 4S. It's fast, responsive, has tons of apps, and lets me do more than I've ever done with a phone. If there was one strong criticism of the 4S, it's that the battery life, despite the latest firmware updates, suffers and indeed is probably worse than the iPhone 4.Enter Phonesuit Elite. Over the holidays and after I had bought an iPhone 4S, I realized that I was a heavy user. Surfing the web, checking email, using apps...I would consistently hit 50% battery life before 12 noon. As I work a full day, there was no way the iPhone was gonna last unless I tied myself to a desk and a charger.A friend gave me an Energizer Silicon Battery case to try to see if I liked the extra juice. It added bulk for sure, but I immediately noticed an improvement in battery life as expected. Instead of 12 noon, I would typically get to 2-3 pm. It was a huge plus. One charge for the day, instead of two. Unfortunately, the Energizer stopped charging well (it would only charge if the phone was not inserted), so I began to look for another battery case solution.Brian Lam (former editor of tech site Gizmodo) at Wirecutter wholeheartedly recommended the Phonesuit Elite. I trust his tech recs. I bought it the next day from Amazon, via a 3rd party seller.Main points:- it has one of the largest capacity batteries out there, better than better known Morphie, that Energizer, and others- it is one of the slimmest battery cases out there, on par with the Morphie. It was only slightly slimmer than the Energizer, but it noticeably fit into holsters better.- the finish is smooth, instead of silicon, and adds solid heft and protection. It is def slimmer than some extra tough cases (Otterbox, etc.), but is significantly bigger than my friends with slim cases.The ultimate praise is that the performance has been amazing. Though it is about 20% more capacity than the much cheaper Energizer I tried, the performance is night and day. Instead of hitting 50% by 2-3 pm, the majority of days, I go home at the end of the work day still at 100%!!! I have not changed my use at all and it continually amazes me how much juice this thing has.It easily has made the iPhone that much better as I never worry about battery life AT ALL. About the only time I ever check is if I use something very draining like GPS turn by turn directions.I am super happy with this case and recommend it wholeheartedly. About the only criticism I have is that it consists of two parts: a main, heavier, bottom battery component and a smaller, thin, top, plastic component that slides together. This top, thin component is frail and simply slides into the bottom half, instead of latching or attaching. As such, if I pull it out of my holster, it occasionally slides loose. It's also a weaker part and a part has frayed off after 4 months of use. They include a replacement of this part, which shows you they realize it's a weak point.My guess is that they'll probably redesign it to be a latching part or something, but it's not that big a deal. The battery life, size, and quality of the charging way outweigh that minor complaint. If you love your iPhone, but hate the battery and are willing to deal with some added bulk, the Phonesuit Elite may just be the perfect case for you.UPDATE #1 After 4 months, I've managed to break the fragile top plastic component. First the thin piece around the camera hole cracked and then the piece around the power button cracked. As those are the two thinnest components, it's not surprising they would break. I did not drop the phone and simply pulled it out daily from a phone holster. I've gone on to the replacement top piece.UPDATE #2 After 6 months, the on/off switch has also fallen off. I am still able to turn the switch off, but it cannot be done by hand. I must use a flat screwdriver or pen to maneuver the switch into the on/off position. Again, like the top piece, the on/off switch was a fragile plastic piece on top of the main mechanism. I mainly leave the charge to on (as it will not charge the iPhone in the off position) and still love this product, but minor issues could be improved.

This product does exactly what I expected it to do. It extends the life of the iPhone 4s battery enough that heavy use does not lead to any concerns about battery life. The product is also reasonable protection for the phone itself. My only concern long term is the lack of accessibility to the docking port. The mini USB port is definitely sufficient for charging and data transfer/syncing. Devices like my iHome and any other dongle style devices I might want to connect will require me to take the Phonesuit off which means I probably wont use them after a while just to maintain the convenience of a case that I want to leave on the iPhone all of the time.However, I bought the Phonesuit to power the iPhone and protect it and it does those things excellently.A word about the Phonesuit COMPANY - I had a unit that seemed to be malfunctioning out of the box. The switch at the bottom of the case was slightly stiff and it was not in the position I thought it was in when I did the first two charges. I emailed the company to find out if I was using it right. Even though I managed to get things right myself - within hours I got a response from Wes at Phonesuit saying they were sending me a new unit with a PAID return label as soon as I gave them my address. I experimented with the unit through a few more charge cycles and told him that since the unit was performing flawlessly I did not need a replacement, but I thought that their support was superior.Very good product and excellent support. Well worth the purchase price.UPDATE 8/1/2012The top piece broke after a fall and I received a replacement no questions asked. THEN I noticed about a month later that on the main body of the case a small piece of plastic had cracked off from around the switch. This time I had to send the case back, paying for the return shipping myself. I considered it a small investment in a new unit. I received an entirely new (not refurbished) Phonesuit. Not only was the case replaced they replaced it with the newer matte case finish which is WAY better IMHO.UPDATE 12/13/12Almost a year and I still feel that this is a great product. Yes, the top piece is fragile. I deal with it. I have no battery worries at all no matter how long my day is. To those that are worried about the reviews that say the switch breaks I have this thought. I use the phonesuit in the mode where the Phonesuit battery power is drained FIRST, then the Iphone. This is the mode where you do not see the red dot. I have no need to use the switch. I only switch it to the "red" position when I want to completely drain the iPhone battery (about once a month or so). I don't see the value of draining the iPhone first and then manually switch to the phonesuit. It's more "automatic" and "set and forget" for me to just let the iPhone take over after the phonesuit has been discharged rather than remembering to switch back and forth all the time. Just my $.02UPDATE 3/1/13Once more with feeling... I have had this case for over a year now and the company support has been exceptional and the communications with them has been exemplary. The extra battery life is so great that I cannot imagine using the iPhone without it. I start using the phone when I get up at 6AM and I usually have power left at midnight. At that point the Phonesuit has been totally drained and the iPhone is at about 15 to 20 percent. I may not "pound" my phone as hard as some but I always have power no matter how long or active my day is.

Yes, it was love at first snap-in, until it went and betrayed me. It stopped working cold, a lemon, after only 2 weeks of use. I returned it to Amazon for a full refund since it was within the 30 day window, but first, before I did that: Just to check the company policy, I called PhoneSuit, and they said I could return for an exchange, but I'd have to pay the shipping fees to them, and I'd have to pay the shipping fees for the replacement. I told them this is not a warranty issue, this is a LEMON issue, and they should cover all shipping, or at least the shipping to send me a new one. They said it is not their policy to do so. I said in so many words their policy stinks, and may I check with a manager. To their credit, the manager said he'd cover the costs to ship me the new one, but I'd still have to ship them the old ("OLD"??) one at my dime. So I logged into Amazon, and hit return, never to buy from PhoneSuit again. (NOTE TO PHONESUIT: CHANGE YOUR POLICY!)It was sweet sweet sweet while it worked, with heavy usage 2 days on a charge. I'm just thankful mine failed at the 14 day mark instead of the 31 day mark when I'd have been beyond the Amazon return window. Perhaps you'll get lucky, or perhaps not, if you hit "Buy." For me, I don't feel up to gambling $80 or more (shipping costs being an add-on for warranty claims, even if after 2 days of use when it should not be considered warranty but instead: Lemon). I've just ordered another brand, this time a slim solar version. I'll review that one after a couple of months of use, or sooner if it fails too.