Usage
First before we used the iConn+ we charged it completely. When you plug in the USB cable there is a small LED on the side of the case that will light up. When it is green that means the battery is fully charged.
Once I had the battery charged I went ahead and installed my iPhone 3G. The phone easily slides in and starts to charge. This is one thing that I did not like, there is no way to control if the battery charges or does not charge your phone. The iConn+ does add quite a bit of protection for your iPhone including screen protection. This does have its downside though as you have to open the case up to use your iPhone.
One thing I did notice was that if I folded the top part of the case back I sort of made a stand, which was pretty cool. There are small holes on the left side of the case that are for the speakers on the iPhone. There is quite a difference in sound using the iConn+ and not using a case at all, the sound is sort of muffled when using the iConn+.
Final Thoughts
For their first iPhone product Nitrox has done a good job with the iConn+. It provides quite a lot of protection for your iPhone, looks good and of course charges your iPhone. It also has a very solid design and is quality made.
There are a few things that concern me though. The first thing is that there is no way to control if the iConn+ is charging your iPhone or not. So when you plug in your iPhone it automatically starts to charge it. I don’t like this because when I leave the house my iPhone is normally charged so when I put it in the case I don’t want it to start charging I want to be able to press a button for it to start charging. This way when my battery is low I can charge it.
It seems like the leader in iPhone battery cases is Mophie. We absolutely loved their Juice Pack Air case, I used it almost exclusively a few weeks ago during CES. It offers a few things that the iConn+ does not. First you are able to switch the battery to charge your iPhone at any time. Also it has a battery level indicator on it so you know how much reserve battery power is left.
I think if Nitrox improved a few things this case would definitely be able to compete with the Mophie devices. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Nitrox iConn+ iPhone Battery Case a 7 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Provides a lot of protection
– Easy to use
– 1200mA lithium ion battery
Cons:
– No on or off switch for the battery
– No battery level indicator
– Muffled sound
