We received the Brando Powerjack for Lumia 920 a couple of days ago and I am pretty happy to share that the product has left me impressed. Brando Powerjack is a Case + Battery pack which makes sure that not only your Lumia 920 is not only safe but also provided with backup charge.
Physical Aspects:
The case is little bigger than the Lumia 920 and weighs almost 85 gms. The front portion has a USB connector out which is where the Lumia 920 microUSB port will fit.
The back portion has cutouts for Camera and Flash. Apart from this it has battery charging on/off, battery level indicator and a stand. This stand comes in handy when you want to watch a movie.
- Its tough when compared to the regular cases in the market. Even when pressed hard the case did not fold.
- The material used in the case is hard rubber. This makes sure that it can take impacts.
- The finishing of case is surprisingly smooth. You don’t have any pointy curves. Since Lumia 920 slides inside it, the smoothness makes sure that your Lumia 920 is not hurt at any angle.
- Precise cut outs for camera and speakers makes sure your experience with the device is same as before.
Video Review
How to use the PowerJacket:
The good thing that it is simple but you have to be careful for the first time. The upper part of the case extends out when pulled. Just don’t pull it too hard. Even though the case is strong just avoid it.
Once the upper portion is pulled out, all you need is to slide your phone and make sure the microUSB Connector fits in the phone comfortably. Right after this, slide in the upper portion and it will fit in your phone nicely.
Then turn around and press this silver colored power button. You should see the four blue LED indicators turned on and one of them will keep blinking. This tells you that the phone is charging and also indicates the battery life.
Why you will love it or hate it ?
Advantages:
It gives you freedom for sticking to a wall for charging. As an example, when you are traveling in a train and your battery runs out. You take your wall charger, locate a free port and then wait till the charge completes. This is the tiring part because of the fear …phone getting stolen
The worst part is when you need to attend the call while the phone is on charge. You cannot move out of the small radius!!!
Charge on the go and when you wish. Since you don’t have any wires attached, its your wish when you want to start charging and when to stop. All you need is press the button. Compared to traditional charging packs, you have no wires, almost no additional weight. If you feel like you have enough charge for a while, you can stop it with press of a button.
Watch a Movie: Once you have the Lumia 920 inside the case, you can use the stand when watching a movie. Make sure to use it carefully as its not as solid as the case.
Disadvantages:
Apart from the additional weight, it will also need bit of more space in your pocket. This can be an issue if you wear tight fitting clothes.
Also the case seems to be blocking microphone partially. Out of 5 calls 3 or probably 4 said my voice was squeaking. Not really sure but its a possibility since its all packed in on solid case.
The battery pack does not charge the phone completely. Its a maximum of 80% of the phone battery capacity. This means that it will be charged from 10% to 85 or 90%.
Where to Buy from ?
You can buy it from the Brando Shop. I was shipped via AirMail and it took more than 2 weeks to reach India. The price of the product is 37$ (USD) excluding the shipping charges.
Thanks for the review! Diggin’ my Brando Power Jacket myself. It came in real handy for a trip I took last week. The flexibility to charge just the phone and the Jacket individually, or charge both at once is great. Having a kickstand also is great. Workmanship and attention to details are top notch – the case matches my white 920 perfectly.
Here was my experience last week – a 2.5 plane ride with my 920 in Airplane mode. Listened to music, played games and took a couple fellow passengers on a “tour” of WP8, including about an hour waiting in the terminal for the flight. My 920 stayed charged the whole time.
Was out and about on vacation, taking pics and vids, texting, catching up on email and news, playing games, etc. It was nice never having to worry about my phone dying.
Sure, there is the extra bulk, but it’s not that bad.
Also, you really can’t beat the price. Highly recommend.
I have on of those as well and to be honest I’m little bit disappointed. Manufacturer says that it has 2200mAh capacity, so 100mAh more than original Lumia 920 battery, but when I put that on (I had 7% battery left on 920) it could only charge max to 78% so its not as much as I would expect (and no, I didn’t expect full charge, but at least this should give you additional 90% not 71%!)
I would agree to that. I guess I said a bit about it in the video as well. Updating in the post now.
For me it charges up to 80% which is close to what you have. As a matter of fact I have a 10K mah pack which also works upto 80%. So it has to do something with the internals.