Accessories: Nokia N8 External Battery Pack built into N8 case, unboxing, video demo, gallery and review

To charge just flick the switch on at the bottom. A green light will come on and you will see the N8’s battery icon do the charging animation.

It’s up to you when you want to turn this on or off.

The bottom of the case also has two charging ports, one for another 2mm pin insert and a microUSB slot – giving you the option to charge it either way.

When charging, the LED light is red. When finished, the LED light just turns off.

2. USABILITY.

The case adds about 5mm on top of the recessed camera portion. It’s a thickness a N97/N900 owner would not mind.

Since the case doesn’t completely enclose the N8, you’ve still got direct access to the microSD slot  (not that most people change this that often anyway) and the volume and power key.

The cutout for the micro-USB slot makes this accessible, and there are new charging ports at the bottom (2mm and microUSB) to charge the case).

The cutouts at the side though do make it difficult to reach the lock switch with your thumb and the shutter button with an index finger. A good tip here is to follow the design of the otterbox, which didn’t just make a hole for access to the switch, but angled the entrance to that hole so that even a fat thumb can still use it with a case. Similarly the camera shutter portion could have possibly been improved by having a layer of silicone to press over it. The camera shutter button is still usable, though I’d recommend using the touch button. With the lock switch, my fat index finger had to resort to using the nail. (If you can’t do that, you can still lock using the power button).

There is no elegant solution for the wrist strap. It does fit but looks odd.

I love how I can just be away from any charger, essentially just holding one product and if I see by battery is dropping, I just flick a switch and the N8 will charge itself. It reminds be of the phantom Symbian bug where the charger keeps doing the charge motion when it isn’t connected to anything. But actually, yes it does charge.

3. Battery life

This is possibly the most important part since this is what you wanted from the case-charger.

As noted, 1500mAh from this pack. Add the 1200mAh already in your N8 and  you’ve got 2700mAh altogether.

Well, we started our test on Saturday and in normal use the N8 itself still holds charge. We will update this post accordingly after longer testing.

There are some battery life times printed on the case packaging – this looks to be just the case on its own. Note: extend battery life by reducing what’s being multitasked. i.e. if you’re just watching a video, turn off the browser, gravity, games etc in the background, Bluetooth and WiFi too if you can.

Videos in H.264 and in standard definition will improve on battery life.

Most likely, unless travelling, you’d be doing a combination of these on a day to day basis. What ever you can get with your N8 now, you’ll double it and a little more.

4. Conclusion:

Now this case isn’t going to be for everyone. Immediately, it will not be for any fans who don’t like cases full stop and just want the naked glory of the N8 on its own.

Nor might it for someone who might not be able to handle the extra chubbiness, and as noted there is a little difficulty in getting to the lock switch and shutter button. The general aesthetics may also be a concern, but looking at similar cases for other phones, this does look to be the standard design (e.g. versions for iPhone 3GS, though recent iPhone 4 ones to blend in better, possibly helped by the simplistic flat rectangular design).

However, if you want a convenient way to have extra battery power (more photos and videos to capture, more music listening, longer maps use, longer gaming, more films to watch etc) then I highly recommend this.

In comparison with dedicated portable chargers, you don’t have that extra step of having to plug the N8 in, and also it’s much easier to use the N8 whilst it is simultaneously being charged – no dangling wires. However, being built into the N8 case, it does mean of course it will only be suitable for the N8 (unlike other portable chargers that can charge any Nokia and other gadgets too).

I’ve already seen many tweets and facebook posts that seem really happy about this product for the Nokia N8.  This is a worthwhile accessory to consider. The folks at MobileFun do offer a 30 day window by which to return this power pack case if you don’t want it. If you’re travelling often, on holiday, going on a day out or away from a plug for some time, this is a useful piece of kit to have for your N8.

Comparison with the OtterBox