Splash O2 Lite Rechargable Battery Case

A little while back, I purchased an external iPhone battery from Monoprice for a friend and it worked great. He loves it. However, Monoprice shortly after have discontinued sells of the product. My friend gave the battery to a family member and am now stuck without an extra iPhone battery for his travels. Now, he could purchase a similar external battery elsewhere as they are fairly generic but he wanted something different. Why lug around another piece of equipment when you can carry that extra battery right on the iPhone itself?! There are definitely a lot of different extended battery cases out there for the iPhone but one that stood out from the pack is the Splash O2 Lite Slim-Profile Case and Extended Rechargeable Battery (Splash O2 for short) for iPhone 3G and 3GS.

I really don’t have to explain to you the benefits of having an extended battery for your iPhone (or any other smart phone for that matter). With smart phones these days being able to perform so many feats, you’ll be incredibly lucky if your phone lasts you for the entire work day. Carrying an extra piece of accessory with you may be OK for some users but for many others, it’s simply a hassle. Therefore, many companies are embedding these extended batteries directly into a cell phone case itself. This makes it much easier for the user to carry it with them since it’s directly attached to their phone.

The Splash O2 case for the iPhone 3G and 3GS aims to help users double the battery life of their iPhones. If you’ve ever ran out of battery, you’ll know exactly what a hassle it could be. Also, once you’re out and about, it’s not always possible to find a outlet to charge your phone. Even if you do find an electrical outlet, chances are slim that you’re also carrying with you the charging cable. By utilizing the Splash O2, you can comfortably work with your iPhone during the day without having to constantly look at the battery life. Come on, I’m sure you’ve done that at one point or another where you had to decide what you could and couldn’t do on your iPhone due to battery life. Eliminate that need by purchasing the Splash O2 (or another similar product).

You can purchase the Splash O2 Lite Slim-Profile Case & Extended Rechargeable Battery for iPhone 3G 3GS here from Amazon.

Unboxing the Splash O2 will get you the case itself along with a USB charging cable and a very small manual.

Here is a picture showing the case itself. Notice the iPhone connector at the bottom.

The Splash O2 case is actually a two-piece. The top part easily comes right off so you can slide your iPhone to the connector dock which locks it in place along with providing the means to charge the phone. Once your phone is connected, simply reconnect the top piece and you are set.

Here are two pictures showing the Splash O2 case with my iPhone 3G in place:

Features and Usage

For just an extended battery case, the Splash O2 still gives you some pretty cool features.

- Let’s start with one of the most basic and that is how much more juice the Splash O2 can give to your iPhone. From their product page on Amazon, it states that it can give you an additional 5 hours of talk talk along with 5.5 hours of Internet usage. To be honest, that isn’t jaw dropping as other similar cases can squeeze out more but I have read numerous problems with those cases that doesn’t seem existent on the Splash O2. As with all figures provided by companies, you should really take them with a grain of salt.

- At the back of the case, there is a small circular button you can press that accomplishes two things. First, it quickly allows you to view the current battery charge the Splash O2 is holding. This is represented with 3 separate LED lights. As stated in the manual, only 1 LED light means less than 33% energy level. 2 LED means anywhere between 34%-66% energy level. Having all 3 LED lights mean that you have anywhere between 67%-100%. The second usage for the circular button is that if you hold it, you will activate the flash LED light next to the camera lens. That’s right. The Splash O2 case comes equipped with its own flash LED light to help you take better pictures in dark environments! Or, you can use it as a simple flashlight during times when you are in the dark. Very handy!

- The Splash O2 gives you the freedom to decide how you want to use its external battery. There is a On/Off switch at the bottom of the case that allows you to determine whether or not to use the external battery. In the Off position, your iPhone will first drain its own battery before tapping into the reserve. In the On position, the opposite holds true. Your iPhone will get a constant charge of energy via the Splash O2 case and when that runs out, your iPhone will then tap into its own battery source.

- One of the best advantage of using the Splash O2 is that you do not have to pull the iPhone out of the case when you want to charge it! The Splash O2 is smart enough to allow you to charge both your iPhone and the case via the case itself. When charging the Splash O2 via the provided USB cable, simply slide the switch to the On position and now both your phone and case will charge simultaneously. A portion of the charge will go to the iPhone and another portion will go to the extended battery in the case. Whichever one finishes charging first, all energy resources will then be directed to the other. When all three LED lights stop flashing, you’ll know that the case is fully charged.

- Syncing your iPhone with iTunes is also not a problem with the Splash O2 case! Using the included USB cable, iTunes will still recognize your iPhone as if nothing has changed. Once again, this is a very convenient feature to have because it prevents you from having to constantly pull the phone out of the case.

- All of the buttons on the phone are still accessible. However, with the Splash O2 case on, it’s more difficult to press the volume rocker and the silent mode switch. With the volume rocker, rather than being able to press it with the flat of your finger, you now have to use your fingernails to accomplish the same task. This is so because the area surrounding the volume switch is raised a bit. Even equipped with tiny fingers, I couldn’t press it with the flat of my finger. This will definitely take some time getting use to.

- One of the biggest disappointment I have with this case is the material upon which it is built from. Long story short, it feels pretty flimsy. The plastic material feels only slightly stronger than the iPhone case I’ve purchased via Monoprice for $2. This case goes for almost $40. It feels as if one drop of the case to the floor will completely shatter it. Definitely not good at all. The front of your phone is completely bare. The case is flushed against the iPhone (look back at the side picture of the case above for evidence of this). Surprisingly, the case didn’t add to much weight and bulk to the iPhone. Obviously, it is bigger and heavier when compared to a bare iPhone with nothing attached to it but it’s manageable. Holding the iPhone with the Splash O2 case on can be a disaster waiting to happen for some. The plastic case is very smooth and therefore, can provide for some gripping issues for some users.

Pros:- Very easy to use
- Packs a lot of features into the case itself
- Allows you to dictate when to use the extended battery
- Charges both iPhone and case with a single USB cable
- Sync with iTunes via same USB cable

 

Cons:- Case itself feels very weak for the price paid for it
- Volume and silent mode buttons hard to access
- The front of the phone is completely bare
- Side of the top piece of case is not as tight as can be

 

8.5/10

 

In the End…

If it wasn’t for the pathetic battery life of the iPhones, there wouldn’t be a need to look for an extended battery case. Smart phones these days can definitely pack a lot of features into it but surprisingly, battery life is still short. Companies can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on research and development and yet it seems as if nothing is being done to enhance the one important thing that drives these awesome devices: the battery.
With the Splash O2 extended battery case, we can at least now forget about whether or not we will run out of battery life and actually focus and perform the many tasks that’s possible on a smart phone. While definitely not perfect, the Splash O2 can be a pretty good investment in the long run if you can forgive the weak material that consist of it. I mean technically speaking, the material of the case would be the last thing a person thinks of when their iPhone is out of juice and they need to make an important phone call.