[Galaxy S6 Edge Accessories] mickeywdw1254:
Zerolemon Case Review

Dislcosure: I received my Zerolemon Case for free in return for posting this review.

So I have had this case for about a month now and a few things really stuck out to me and were the determining factors on whether or not I will be using this as my everyday case.

Packaging/Design - Overall I think the packaging and design are great. The product was well packaged/protected and the case itself is a very nice fit with maybe two minimal flaws. For the way the battery has to be connected and positioned I think the case does a great job of being snug enough to keep the battery in place and protect the phone. I didn't notice any "shifting" of the phone while it was in the case as was a problem with previous/similar Zerolemon cases on my previous phones. That being the case, I did notice after the first time I installed the case that it was so snug it pulled up the screen protector (skin) at the bottom corners of the phone. Luckily with the skin I installed I was able to just press it back down and no harm was done. On future installs I was able to develop a method to putting the case on where it didn't pull up the bottom portion of the screen protector anymore basically eliminating this issue. The other issue though with the case, that has been mentioned in other reviews is that the sides of the case aren't quite as snug as the rest of it and actually bow down and slightly away from the side thus not being quite as snug on the sides as well as causing a bit of a weird "gap push" when trying to press the power or volume buttons. For me it required a little bit more pressure to actually press the buttons which I guess to some can be a positive as it helps avoid accidentally pressing them while in hand or in your pocket.

Functionality - So when I first got the case I was actually headed down to the 24 Hour Disney Day at Walt Disney World. It was perfect timing because this would be a great way to test the performance of the battery and its practicality. By the time we got to the event at 9pm on Friday my phone was at 100% and the case was had 3 of 4 lights lit indicating it was somewhere around 75% capacity (Note: it had not had a full charge/cycle yet, it was right out of the box). By the time we left the park at 7am Saturday morning my phone was at 23% and the case had 1 of 4 lights lit. I was definitely using my phone heavily throughout the event taking tons of photos and video and checking social media mentions of the event. There was however one issue that I haven't been able to replicate but only experienced while the phone was in the case. There was a good bit of time where I couldn't access the phone's video camera because I was getting an "overheating" warning which would grey out the video camera until the phone cooled down to whatever the acceptable temperature is. That was a bit annoying because of course it happened right when I was wanting to take some video of the event. Other times I have used the case I haven't had this issue and overall it has performed as advertised. However, it has it's drawbacks even when performing as advertised. First of which is the loss of NFC. I have actually been able to use Google Wallet fairly regularly around town as many of the merchants that I shop at accept it and it is quite convenient. To all of the sudden not be able to use it seems like a step backwards. The other drawback is the charging rates, both input and output. I mean, HOLY COW, did it seem to take forever just to charge a 3500mAh battery and the phone versus just charging the phone and my external "myCharge" 6000mAh battery. Not to mention it's charging rate back to the phone was around 1-1.5A whereas the myCharge is around 1.8-2.4A. I tend to lean more towards the myCharge because it charges my phone faster and I don't have to be tethered to it or carry the extra bulk with my phone when I don' t necessarily need it.

Conclusion - Overall the case/battery performed as advertised and for the price ($29.99) it is actually a really good deal considering you get a battery and a case. Unfortunately, with the advancements of fast charging and fancier/larger external batteries that can allow you to charge multiple devices at once I see this kind of battery eventually falling by the wayside especially given the loss of certain functions as I and others have mentioned. Would I recommend this case to someone, honestly.....probably not. I would probably recommend an external battery charger with a higher capacity and multiple ports for charging multiple devices that would probably cost $20-$30 more but with a lot more to offer. Suffice it to say, I will most likely not be using the case again.