In Operation: Otterbox  Defender Series with iON Intelligence iPhone 4/4S Case

Many of us rely on our smartphones pretty much the majority of each and every day. Battery life on a smartphone, although in some ways is better than ever, is still an on-going battle – there is just never enough. One of the killer features of this particular case is the built-in battery.

It’s unusual that Otterbox opted use Micro USB for charging the device as it means to use any 30-pin connector accessories the iPhone needs to be removed from the case.  Also, if you regularly use headphones you may find the little flap gets in the way – it might have made sense for Otterbox to have included a small cut-out here, instead of a flap, but we may change our mind about that the next time we drop our iPhone.

The case can be powered off by holding the button under the row of LEDs for 5 seconds. Pressing and holding the same button whilst the case is off will power the case back on.

Power: Otterbox battery capacity matches the iPhone

The built-in battery is the “Power” component of the “Protection, Power, Prediction” idea.

The battery capacity of the Otterbox unit matches that of the iPhone 4S. It’s a lithium ion 1450 mAh battery (input: 5V 2.1A, output: 5V, 1A), which Otterbox say essentially doubles the battery life available to the iPhone. As expected it adds a little weight (around 200g) so you have to balance that against the advantage of having two times battery life.

Prediction: iON Intelligence App

The intelligent power management app, “iON Intelligence”, is a free download from the iTunes App Store and once installed works in conjunction with the additional battery to monitor power usage.

The iON Intelligence App is the “Prediction” part of the “Protection, Power, Prediction” idea.

The app can be used to keep a check on the power levels of both the iPhone battery and the Otterbox battery. On the standard portrait view of the app the iPhone battery life indicator is displayed at the top whilst the case is displayed at the bottom. A circular meter offers a visual indication of the remaining battery left. Swiping the screen offers a secondary screen which shows the total estimated time remaining and the estimated shutdown time.

During charging the app shows the charging state of both the case and the device with a lightning symbol appearing on the iPhone icon whilst a plug symbol appears on the case icon.

Otterbox say that the app can predict when the battery is likely to run out and the more you use the app the smarter it gets.