Intocircuit 2nd Gen Power Castle 15000mAh Portable External Battery Review

Intocircuit 2nd Gen Power Castle 15000mAh Portable External Battery Review

You could always pick up a well designed external backup battery from a well known brand at some ridiculous cost, which in most cases barely has enough of a capacity to keep up with all of your gadget charging needs. Or you can take a seemingly riskier bet on an unknown external battery that offers ten times the capacity of a popular brand name battery, but at more than half the price. It'll always seem to good to be true, and in some cases it is. We're always up for testing out faster, better, higher capacity portable external batteries and this one in particular turned out to be a solid winner. 

So that's why we've been hard at work testing out Intocircuit's new 2nd Gen Power Castle backup battery pack and all of its promising advertised charging prowess. It's a 15,000mAh external battery bank with dual USB charging ports that can simultaneously deliver 2.4A of charging power for quick charging of pretty much anything that charges over USB. Intriguing consider most other similarly sized batteries will only have one high-speed USB charging output while the other will only deliver a measly 1A of power. More on the Power Castle's charging performance in our in-depth review after the jump!

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Apple iPhone Lightning Dock Review

Apple iPhone Lightning Dock Review

Apple is unforgivably late to the accessory game with its new iPhone Lightning Dock it only just recently released...yet again. There are plenty of really great options available from third parties, however, none are quite as minimalist as Apple official offering. Low in profile and as compact as a functional dock can get, Apple's iPhone Lightning Dock is an upright iPhone charger equipped with a very useful audio line-out port and made from the all too familiar sleek white plastic as every other dock that came before it, only it's more versatile than ever before. Well, not exactly as versatile as some other third party alternatives. 

The iPhone Lightning Dock is a universal iPhone dock that supports any iPhone or iPod touch with a Lightning connector. It's also the first dock Apple has introduced that plays nicely with protective cases and skins. It stands to reason that many hardcore Apple fans will prefer the Apple-made Lightning dock for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but is it truly worth forking over $39 when you can get great docks like the Twelve South's HiRise or the Fuz EverDock with support for the iPhone and iPad?

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Magpul Executive Field Case for iPhone 5s Review

Magpul Executive Field Case for iPhone 5s Review

The case that we have been using on our devices for years has just recently been promoted to an executive. That’s right, Magpul has finally duplicated its fan-favorite Executive Field Case to fit the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5. Magpul continues to rank extraordinarily high on our top favorite list of case manufacturers year over year due to its relatively inexpensive and expertly made tactical-inspired cases for iPhone, iPad and Android devices alike. And to think that this is a company that doesn't primarily make cases, but rather tactical and military-grade gear says a lot about the dedication and attention to detail that Magpul puts into manufacturing cases for mobile gadgets right here in the U.S. But enough of that, our in-depth Executive Field Case review is waiting down below!

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Rubix Augment Case + Charge for iPhone Review

Rubix Augment Case + Charge for iPhone Review

Always find yourself with a near-depleted iPhone battery, lots of spare time and no wall socket to plug into? Two very helpful solutions are already widely available such as the battery case and the ever so popular backup battery charger. But the problem is that battery cases are bulky, heavy and impede on the way your device functions. On the other hand, most backup battery chargers charge your device separately requiring a cable to be used, often times come in very small capacities or are quite large and cumbersome to carry in your pocket. There has to be a better way, right? Rubix, a newly launched case brand, thinks that it has solved this problem with its rather unique and cleverly designed Augment Case system.

You see, it’s a divergently engineered protective case with a modular battery attachment module design called the Augment Charge. It’s a case and a battery module designed to connect seamlessly with one another in order to save space whilst letting you use a slim and lightweight protective case when you’re all juiced up. It really is as Augment describes - a “seamless integration of power and protection”, without the bulk and uninspired styling. We were given an exclusive first-look at Rubix's Augment Case and Augment Charge before their official release, so be sure to check out our full in-depth review down below!

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CalypsoCrystal CalypsoCase Cabrio Case for iPhone 5s Review

CalypsoCrystal CalypsoCase Cabrio Case for iPhone 5s Review

Over in Slovenia, CalypsoCrystal is making a different kind of iPhone case, handcrafting one case at a time using meaningful materials. CalypsoCrystal's new CalypsoCase Cabrio is another high-end and very much premium protective case made for the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s using elegant materials like beautiful genuine Italian leather merged with the rigid qualities of a machined aluminum chassis. It's certainly a very different kind of CalypsoCase compared to the hard leather and titanium sleeve-type we liked so very much back when we reviewed the very first CalypsoCase variant for the iPhone 4S. The CalypsoCase Cabrio edition encases your device with the same luxury and sophisticated style, but it's a proper case that protects and gives you instant access to your iPhone without having to pull it out of a separate protective accessory. The question is – will it be worth your $159/€139 investment? Let's go find out!

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Unu Aero Wireless Charging Battery Case for iPhone 5s

Unu Aero Wireless Charging Battery Case for iPhone 5s

A wireless charging iPhone 5s battery case? Why, yes please! You mean you can finally experience what it is like to wirelessly charge an iOS device and be protected with the convenience of a slim battery case? Stop the madness. And no, this isn't sarcasm but a genuinely thrilled response to what may be one of the most practical accessories made for the iPhone that we have ever come across. It's called the Aero, and it's made by a company called Unu. While not entirely distinct, the Aero is one of the very few wireless charging battery cases available for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 that packs a fairly large internal battery capacity (2000mAh mind you), into a very sleek and slim form factor. To some this may be a dream come true. To others however, the thought of adding bulk no matter how useful it may be is a ridiculous idea. So how good is the Aero as being both a battery case and a wireless charging gateway all in one? You can of course find out when you reach the full and very much comprehensive review down below.

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Magpul Bump Case for iPhone 5s Review

Magpul Bump Case for iPhone 5s Review

The one case that had everyone fall deeply in love with its tactical attributes, feel-good ribbed design and sensible price is bested by a superior look-alike. The Bump Case for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 is Magpul's dual-layered case version of its greatest hit - the Field Case. It supposedly fuses the best of both worlds by using two types of materials similar to Speck's CandyShell, albeit done up in Magpul's unique and one-of-a-kind exterior texture. With a hard outer shell and a softer, shock absorbing interior layer, Magpul's Bump Case serves a slightly more protective purpose compared to the more flexible, standard all-thermoplastic TPU Field Case. For quite a few years now, we were known to rave about Magpul's Field Case case for the iPhone, but that may change now that the Bump Case is here to please. Read the full review down below to see which Magpul case we find triumphant.

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