The literal mobile computers we stuff into our pockets, purses and backpacks every day are a scientific wonder and modern marvel. Even just 10 short years ago, the thought of a phone being able to stuff a quad-core processor, 4+ inch HD display and plenty more specs that now rival actual computers would have been laughed at. And yet here we are with just that – mobile power stations. But while mobile processing power has advanced many times over ever few years, perhaps the most important secondary technology, battery tech, has not.
Yes. There are some more exotic battery technologies currently in testing in various labs around the world. But truth of the matter is, end-user batteries are really no different now than they were 5-8 years ago. (What did you average cellphone look like 5-8 years ago? Exactly.)
To make up for the increasing gap between power requirements and todays batteries’ capabilities we use “brute force”; either a battery case is wrapped around a device or a bigger internal battery swaps places with the default one. Today we’re taking a look at Seidio’s 3500 mAh Galaxy S III replacement battery that carries a substantial bit more power than the stock 2100 mAh battery, and enough that we being the ultra heavy data users that we are, should be able to make it through an entire day without searching for an outlet.
The Battery
What can we say here. It’s a black brick that is a good amount thicker than the old brick that shipped with the Galaxy S III. It’s thickness is considerable enough that a replacement back door is required, which Seidio happily provides.
The back is either going to be a love it/hate it object. It is matte black and matte black only. No other color options are currently available. On our white Galaxy S III it’s a stark color difference but not one that is too painful on the eyes. The pebble blue Galaxy S III, though, would almost certainly look pretty awful (black and blue?). That said, when we’re talking about day-long battery life for even the heaviest of data users, we’re not going to complain (too much).
The hump on the back door adds about half an inch to three quarters of an inch at its thickest point. And while it may sound like/look like a lot in the images within this post, we actually find the battery hump makes the Galaxy S III much easier to hold and more comfortable to use for extended sessions. While purely subjective, of course, we find this more center-heavy Galaxy S III as the device Samsung should have made (with a better looking back door of course).
Sun-up to Sun-down
A pretty face is great and all. But…what about battery life? It is after all the number one reason you are considering a bigger battery. In short: It’s awesome.
Our typical day starts off around 5am long before humans should be required to rise. With the Galaxy S III specifically, the stock power brick gets us to noon, ~7 hours later, with roughly ~30-40% still in the tank. By 3-4pm it’s lights out if a wall outlet is found to donate a few billion electrons.
A typical day with Seidio’s battery, however, is literally a night and day difference. Instead of watching the meter fall with each and every task that requires turning on the Galaxy S III’s display, we could actually crank up brightness to 90-100% to make reading the S3′s Super AMOLED display — which are known for being dim to begin with — much easier to read at any surrounding brightness level. Even with brightness cranked up and our habits perhaps even more exaggerated than normal (for testing the battery of course) we were able to go from 5am all the way until 11pm-12am that night with a solid 10-15% left. If we were a bit more “normal” in data usage, we easily made it a day and a half. For a phone with a massive 4.8″ display and super fast dual-core processor (LTE access was mixed in our testing) it’s simply awesome.
If you have to ask, you probably need this
If you already can routinely go 1-2 days between charges on the S3′s stock 2,100 mAh battery, then keep it. But, if you’re like us here at Gadgetsteria and fall into the medium to high-end data user groups, or find yourself constantly looking at a red battery meter by midday/early afternoon, you really need to give the Seidio 3,500 mAh battery a look. It’s only $69.95 ($74.95 for an NFC supporting version) and greatly increases your productivity possibility as well as simply bringing more peace of mind that you won’t run out of juice when you need it most. Price and performance aside, Seidio has a long history of providing outstanding customer support. It’s a win-win-win.
3500 mAh battery (non-NFC) – $69.95
3500 mAh battery (w/ NFC) – $74.95
