In an ever more-crowded field, PhoneSuit has released an interesting charger for iPhones, iPads and iPods. It’s not a big brick to plug your official cable into, but a svelte little tube that connects directly to your device and provides about a full charge. I was sent two for review, in black and a deep blue. I have been putting them through their paces, and found… well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Note: Photos can be tapped or clicked for a larger size.
The Lightning connector was Apple’s first big change in the iOS device line’s power port, and it spawned a world of criticism. Many blamed Apple for gouging users, and the threat of lawsuits was all over social media. MFi manufacturers (those making things that pass through the company’s “Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod” program) were caught flat-footed, as were users and stores that cater to them. Adapters flooded the market, as did cheaply made cables that have done everything from melt into devices to shocking users. Now, three years later, the 30-pin connector is gone along with the iPod Classic. Thankfully, the MFi process has started producing a range of good quality, compact and useful chargers that can compete with the more cheaply produced goods that can damage your devices.
The PhoneSuit Flex XT is just a little larger in diameter than a lipstick. (What can I say? I live in a house full of women!) It has a plain end on one side and a microUSB charging port on the other. On the end with the charger, there is also a dimple which, when touched, shows four power LEDs. (See photo above.) The unit is not a perfect cylinder, however, it’s more of a teardrop profile. The point of the narrow edge “tear” actually clicks off to reveal a Lightning connector that is built up at the base about a quarter inch or so. This means that it sits up high enough to fit into most cases without having to remove them for charging.
At 3”, the length of the device is a bit longer than the width of an iPhone (even the new iPhone 6, but about the width of the iPhone 6 Plus!), so it’s not something you’d use while talking on the phone. Holding it while playing a landscape-screened game, slipping it into a pocket or bag, or sitting on the table at lunch or in a friend’s car while you’re just chatting on a road trip will be quite natural, however. Snap the cap back on and it’ll slip into a pocket with no more care than a tube of – lip balm. Or a decent pocketknife. (Is that better, guys?)
In use, I found that I could reliably get about a full charge to my iPhone 5s from the PhoneSuit Flex XT. It charged up the phone as quickly as the official charger does, and was very fast charging itself. I’m much more pleased with it than I thought I would be. At $70, it’s not cheap, but it’s a good value for your power peace-of-mind. Four out of five stars.
Source: The samples for this review was provided by PhoneSuit. Please visit http://phonesuit.com for more info.
Product Information
| Price: | $70 |
| Manufacturer: | PhoneSuit |
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The gender references are unnecessary. Lipbalm or chapstick would have sufficed for everyone. And why should a woman not carry a pocketknife? Stuff like this, especially on sites as useful as this one, damages us all, and makes it even harder to parent, no matter the gender of our kids.
@Ted speak for yourself, I thought it was humorous, the writer wasn’t saying a girl shouldn’t carry a pocket knife, in fact most girls I know carry one. this in no way “damaged” me, and I don’t see why it would make it harder to parent your kids. you got offended far to easily and made a big deal out of something that was absolutely harmless.
@Ted I think you’re been overly sensitive about Smythe’s references to the size of this device by comparing it to a tube of lip balm or lip stick. I don’t see how this harms anyone or makes it more difficult to parent children. If I would have reviewed this product and said it is similar in size to a tube of lipstick, would you have called me out in the same way?
It’s more than a “bit” pricy. I’ve got a life-charge case that can charge my iphone 5 about 3 times in a day which cost half as much. Granted, it makes my phone noticeably larger, but I also don’t need to carry around yet another “thing”.
I can’t see this being a “popular” accessory at $70. I can’t deny the utility of the device as being able to charge your phone on the “go” away from power can be a life-saver. I’m just saying that for what it is, $70 is to $pendy.
Yeah, I was going to say, $70 is a bit ridiculous. I picked up a universal charger, it looks like a small maglite, for about 2 bucks. you do have to supply your own cable to use it, but it’ll charge a phone from flat to full in about an hour
I actually think Smythe would have been incorrect if he had said it was the size of a tube of Chapstick. Everybody knows that lipsticks are bigger than Chapsticks, so we would have expected the charger to be smaller than it is!
I’m a female who doesn’t carry a pocket knife. I carry three knives in my purse in the same pouch with my makeup and one huge knife in my gear bag.
@Janet just in case you run into a herd of walkers right? 😉
@Julie Right! My crossbow just doesn’t fit in my purse. 😉