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extra battery, extended battery, or extended case batter

cesiumxrs

Newbie
Nov 22, 2011
11
0
I apologize if this topic has been covered before. I understand there is a search function on this site, but it is not working out to well for me. I was wondering if anyone could share their first hand experience with their battery options for the gs4. I'm planning on switching to the GS4 soon and wanted to get some opinions on what battery options people are using. If there are any complications with NFC/S-beam or if they can still use wireless charging feature. So if you could post how well the battery options you chose it would be greatly appreciated. Maybe like what you chose and maybe a case that went with it or what you tried and didn't like. Thanks in advanced!
 
You may want to just try the phone with the standard battery when you get it to see if you even need anything in terms of backup.

When I got my S4 I was coming from a Droid Bionic with an extended battery. I hated the extra weight and bulk of the extended battery, but loved the extra operating range that it gave me. Shortly after purchasing the S4 I also purchased an aftermarket charger with two batteries on Amazon. I have found that I am getting better battery life out of the standard battery in the S4 than I did out of an extended battery on the Droid Bionic, to the extent that I don't really need the spare batteries.

When you buy the phone and register it online with Samsung you'll get a code for 50% off any accessory they sell that costs up to $50. They have a second OE battery and charger combination that comes in at $49. Probably all you're going to need.
 
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I have a Samsung OEM spare battery and charger as my backup. It comes with its own battery case and charging cord. It has NFC as well.

Amazon.com: Samsung Galaxy S4 Spare Battery Charger (2600mAh Battery Included): Cell Phones & Accessories

With moderate to heavy usage, I can make it get 14 hrs on one charge. I prefer this way better then using an extended battery since they are bulky and add additional weight. Having a stand alone charger takes to plug my phone into, is just to long. (I want my phone at 100% as quick as possible.)
 
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You may want to just try the phone with the standard battery when you get it to see if you even need anything in terms of backup.

When I got my S4 I was coming from a Droid Bionic with an extended battery. I hated the extra weight and bulk of the extended battery, but loved the extra operating range that it gave me. Shortly after purchasing the S4 I also purchased an aftermarket charger with two batteries on Amazon. I have found that I am getting better battery life out of the standard battery in the S4 than I did out of an extended battery on the Droid Bionic, to the extent that I don't really need the spare batteries.

When you buy the phone and register it online with Samsung you'll get a code for 50% off any accessory they sell that costs up to $50. They have a second OE battery and charger combination that comes in at $49. Probably all you're going to need.

Registered my phone and never got that code
 
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I bought the S4 because it's thin and feels pretty good in my hand. Due to this, the only option for me is to keep a spare battery. I bought the Samsung spare battery charging system on ebay and it came with a battery, charging cord and a place to put your spare battery in that charges it while you still use your phone. I keep an extra battery in my car, at work and one at home since Samsung stock batteries aren't that expensive on ebay. When I go on a all day trip where I'll be taking pictures/videos I just take a spare battery with me. I don't even feel it in my pocket and while everyone else is suffering from dead batteries I pop another in and keep going. People are then asking to use my phone and I have to send them pics, let them text from my phone etc. I ended up buying them the same system I have but they always forget to bring it...haha

So, if you remember to bring the battery with you it is the best system.
 
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thanks for all the reply's everyone!! I forgot to give a little background about my cellphones... I'm coming from the HTC rezound and amazing as this phone is its just a paper weight when it has no battery... for this phone I went with the extended battery option... the added weight was not a problem because it actually felt better in hand( and i have a pretty decent sized paw), but with a five inch screen I dont know if the added mass on the back will be a hindrance or a help like it was on the rezzy... I never really like the idea of switching out batteries because then I would have to power down the phone... take off the case... switch batteries then power the phone back up... that was something i was willing to sacrifice for this phone because I wanted to try the wireless charging, but then i found out that is not an out of the box feature and you have to buy a separate back plate... so with that in mind i'm now leaning towards the droid maxx with the maxx i wont have to worry about battery life and it has some interesting features with google now and active display... but of course there are some features on the gs4 that i want to try as well... deciding on a phone is such a hard decision to make... thanks again for all the input it was greatly appreciated and will definietly factor into my final decision..... glhf ~cesium
 
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I got a snowlizard 7000 mA-hr external battery pack. It's about the size of a deck of playing cards. I carry it in my right front pants pocket.
Amazon.com: Snow Lizard Power Tek Charger White-7000 mAh: Cell Phones & Accessories

Important to go with it - I have a "platinum" style quick-release holster for my phone clipped on right side of my belt. (It's the same setup I had on my last phone).
Seidio Surface Case for Samsung Galaxy S4 (Best Buy Platinum PT Case) w/ Holster - YouTube
I had the holster long before the battery pack and I love it. It protects the phone well (screen side is covered by the holster, back of the phone faces out). You don't have to worry about phone screen getting scratched like you would if you put it into your pocket or into a bag. It's always right there and with a little practice you can quick draw the phone from the holster with one hand like a wild west shooter (just kiddin... sort of). There are two quick release clips: one to relase the phone from the holster and one to release the holster from your belt. So you can also pull the holstered phone off your pants and throw the whole thing into a bag and still not worry about the screen getting scratched.

If I do have to recharge, I just connect the cord from the powerpack in my pocket to the phone in my hoster (about 3" of cord exposed, nobody notices). Much easier than turning off the phone for a battery swap. If I have to pull the phone out of the holster while charging, it still works fine because the cable is 3' long and can reach from my pants pocket to phone positions in front of my face or by my ear. Actually I rarely need to charge on either phone... just having the powerpack readily available gives you the confidence to go down a little lower like 15% before thinking about charging.

If I'm with someone that also has an Android phone who is sweating their battery level, I can lend it to them for awhile.

I'm sure it's not for everyone but works very well for me.
 
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thanks for all the reply's everyone!! I forgot to give a little background about my cellphones... I'm coming from the HTC rezound and amazing as this phone is its just a paper weight when it has no battery... for this phone I went with the extended battery option... the added weight was not a problem because it actually felt better in hand( and i have a pretty decent sized paw), but with a five inch screen I dont know if the added mass on the back will be a hindrance or a help like it was on the rezzy... I never really like the idea of switching out batteries because then I would have to power down the phone... take off the case... switch batteries then power the phone back up... that was something i was willing to sacrifice for this phone because I wanted to try the wireless charging, but then i found out that is not an out of the box feature and you have to buy a separate back plate... so with that in mind i'm now leaning towards the droid maxx with the maxx i wont have to worry about battery life and it has some interesting features with google now and active display... but of course there are some features on the gs4 that i want to try as well... deciding on a phone is such a hard decision to make... thanks again for all the input it was greatly appreciated and will definietly factor into my final decision..... glhf ~cesium

I have a new S4, also coming from a Rezound. I never turned on the Rezound without the big, factory battery. Same deal with the S4. I went with the 4300 mAh Seidio battery, matching case, and holster.

I haven't done a real test, but it looks like it will go 24 hrs with heavy use on the big battery. The added bulk is no worse than the Rezound with a similar case-holster combo.

I can't fit a phone this size in my pocket comfortably and safely with or without a big battery so this arrangement works well for me.
 
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