GreenZoner egypt: mophie

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/1mophieoutride1.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Over the years, Mophie  has become synonymous with extending the iPhone's battery life. The  outfit's range of battery-filled iPhone cases has garnered rave reviews  across the industry, and even I religiously used one  on an iPhone 3G. In more recent days, the company has cautiously  expanded into a few new areas -- namely, building battery cases for non-Apple phones,  and creating the contraption shown above. The Mophie Outride is an  action-cam case that's designed to be strapped onto helmets, automobile  hoods and any other place where your average X Games wannabe would look  to capture extreme sports footage.</div><div style="text-align: left;">But, unlike the myriad rivals on the market today, the Outride  doesn't actually include a camera. Instead, you're supposed to strap  your iPhone 4 or 4S into it (an iPhone 5 model has yet to be announced),  allowing the smartphone you already own to handle the bulk of the work.  At first blush, it sounded like an ideal solution to me. After all, I'm  generally in favor of convergence and consolidation, and as an avid  traveler, having one less thing to carry (in this case, a dedicated  camera) is a godsend. In practice, however, the Outride did little  outside of convincing me that GoPro exists for a reason. </div><div class="post-gallery" style="text-align: left;"><h3 class="title"><b>Mophie Outride action cam case review</b></h3><ul class="thumbs"><li class="thumb" data-count="40">    <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/mophieoutrideiphone-4-case00421_95x95.jpg" />  </li><li class="thumb" data-count="40">    <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/mophieoutrideiphone-4-case00422_95x95.jpg" />  </li><li class="thumb" data-count="40">    <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/mophieoutrideiphone-4-case00423_95x95.jpg" />  </li><li class="thumb" data-count="40">    <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/mophieoutrideiphone-4-case00424_95x95.jpg" />  </li><li class="thumb" data-count="40">    <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/mophieoutrideiphone-4-case00425_95x95.jpg" />  </li><li class="thumb" data-count="40">    <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/mophieoutrideiphone-4-case00426_95x95.jpg" />  </li>See all photos</ul></div><h3 id="title0" style="text-align: left;"> Hardware</h3><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Mophie Outride review actioncam case for iPhone can't replace dedicated shooters" data-src-height="412" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/outrideopen.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It should surprise precisely no one who's touched a Mophie case that  the build quality here is exemplary. The $150 kit includes two cases  (one that's entirely sealed for underwater use; one that's sealed save  for a cutout so that you can actually use the touchscreen), a variety of  sticker-backed mounting brackets, a handlebar mount, a tripod mount, a  safety leash and a few other minor accessories. Each case also has a  wide-angle (170-degree) lens apparatus that sits just in front of the  iPhone camera, and Mophie provides a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7080182682816192337" target="_blank">gratis app on the App Store</a> that lets you view other Outride videos from around the world while also capturing / editing your own.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The cases themselves close tightly -- very tightly. It takes a fair  amount of force to actually unclip the thing once your adventures are  over, but that's probably for the best. It's also worth noting that the  app enables the volume down button to toggle recording off and on, and  conveniently, each case has a button extension (shown below) so you can  do the toggling even with gloves on. That app also provides the option  of recording at 720p30 or 1080p30 (iPhone 4S only), but outside of that,  you won't find any video customizations at all. Granted, Apple doesn't  provide any detailed manual controls on its own Camera app, so I wasn't  exactly shocked to see this.</div><div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Mophie Outride review actioncam case for iPhone can't replace dedicated shooters" data-src-height="412" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/outrideswitch.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The wide-angle lens works fine when recording video (although it  definitely bends the edges as if you were shooting with a bona fide  fisheye), but it's no good for photos. For kicks, I loaded up Apple's  standard Camera app while the Outride case was on, and found that image  captures possessed black triangles in each corner. (Yes, this is the  expected action with such a lens accessory strapped on, but I wanted to  make clear that you'd need to take your iPhone out of the case if you  want to take usable photographs.)</div><div style="text-align: left;">I also want to point out that  sticker-backed mounts aren't infallible, and there's definitely a  downside to having something as large as an iPhone strapped atop your  helmet. While navigating an off-piste run in Montana, I routinely found  myself having to duck more than I normally would for fear of branches  ripping the Outride off of my dome. The cases managed to come into  contact with a few trees, and amazingly, the sticker-backed mount held  tightly... for about two hours. At one point, when I was attempting to  get the phone out of the case while it was still affixed to my helmet,  the sticker finally gave way and detached completely. Thankfully, I was  stationary at the time, but had this happened on a run, I would've  probably never found my phone. Why? Well, 95 percent of the Outride's  shell is white. Snow is white, too.</div><h3 id="title1" style="text-align: left;"> Usability</h3><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Mophie Outride review actioncam case for iPhone can't replace dedicated shooters" data-src-height="412" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/outridemounted.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In a nutshell, here's how Mophie expects you to use the Outride. You  open up either of the cases, slap your iPhone into it, strap it onto a  helmet or tripod, and start recording. It actually sounds like a  blissfully simple solution. But the reality is quite different,  particularly if you actually <i>use</i> your iPhone during the course of  most days. You see, I found it far more difficult than I had imagined  to have my iPhone captive in a case, exclusively used for recording  video, and I'm guessing you might as well.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Once the iPhone is in  the waterproof case, you'll have access to shockingly few of the phone's  features. You can't touch the screen (which I get), you can't touch the  power button and you honestly can't do anything beyond starting and  stopping a recording. On the non-waterproof case, all of the above  applies except for being able to touch the screen. Believe it or not,  that gets pretty frustrating. You see, I first wondered why Mophie  didn't place a button extension above the power button, much like it did  with the volume rocker. The reason? If you ever toggle the screen off,  you'd need to touch the panel to unlock it again and restart recording  -- an action that's impossible with the waterproof case. That's an  iPhone limitation, but by extension, it becomes an Outride limitation.  What this means is simple: once you get your iPhone into the Outride,  that display is staying on for the duration. And if you haven't tried it  lately, leaving your iPhone panel on indefinitely is an <i>outstanding</i> way to drain its battery in around two to three hours.</div><div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Mophie Outride review actioncam case for iPhone can't replace dedicated shooters" data-src-height="412" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/outridescreen.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's strange, actually -- a product produced by a company that made its  name on extending the iPhone's battery now has a product that'll render  an iPhone's battery lifeless in record time. You might argue that other  action cams won't last beyond three to four hours, but here's the  thing: when your GoPro dies, you can still make calls using a separate  device. And if it's you waiting at the bottom of a ravine from a dare  gone wrong on a Double Black, you're going to want that phone to work.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In a less dire example, it's simply annoying to have one's phone  reserved for video duty. Thinking of checking the trail map while  waiting on the ski lift? Tough luck: your phone's strapped in a case on  your head. Considering a quick email to your boss while recording some  clips at the skate park? Hopefully nothing awesome happens while you're  pecking away. In other words, you're giving up a lot when you give your  iPhone the ability to do nothing but capture video. For those with an  iPhone 4S hanging around collecting dust and an iPhone as their daily  driver, you'll be in a much better spot to take advantage of the  Outride. But, let's be honest -- that doesn't describe too many people.</div><h3 id="title2" style="text-align: left;"> Quality</h3><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Mophie Outride review actioncam case for iPhone can't replace dedicated shooters" data-src-height="412" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/outriderecording.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's the easy part: the quality is great for the iPhone 4S, and  pretty decent for the iPhone 4. Unlike most action cams, the Outride  actually relies on you to provide the camera equipment. If you've ever  recorded video with your iPhone 4 or 4S, you know what to expect. For a  phone, these two do some pretty outstanding work, and the Outride's  wide-angle lens does a great job of not diminishing the overall quality  while providing a noticeably wider field of view. On the downside, both  of the cases essentially mute any and all audio input. As in, you best  only shoot video that you plan on laying an audio track over. Even  voices are muffled to the point of being useless, so you're going to  need an external mic setup of some description if you want to mix in any  audio with your Outride video captures. You can hear what I'm talking  about in the video below, which was ripped straight from the iPhone and  uploaded without any post-processing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">It's also important to note that the length of your captures will depend on how much free space is available on your phone. Needless to say, it's fairly aggravating to be out on the slopes and have an excellent run go unrecorded due to a dearth of available memory. And, because it's an iPhone, you can't just pop a microSD card in and solve it on the fly. <iframe frameborder="0" height="349" id="viddler-4a330f9b" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="//www.viddler.com/embed/4a330f9b/?f=1&offset=0&autoplay=0&secret=80349583&disablebranding=0&view_secret=80349583" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="545"></iframe></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> The above video was shot in February 2013 at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7080182682816192337" target="_blank">Whitefish Mountain Resort in Whitefish, Mont</a>.  I managed to capture around 28 minutes of off-and-on footage on my  iPhone 4S, with my handset going from fully charged to entirely  exhausted in just under two hours. I cut together some of the less  boring parts using iMovie in order to overlay audio onto an otherwise  quiet / muffled track.</div><h3 dir="ltr" id="title3" style="text-align: left;"> Wrap-up</h3><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Mophie Outride review actioncam case for iPhone can't replace dedicated shooters" data-src-height="412" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/outriderear.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Mophie's Outride case is fabulously built, but flawed on a number of  important levels. First and foremost, it requires the use of perhaps the  most important piece of technology that you'll have on your person:  your phone. It's frustrating to have your handset held captive to a  recording case, unable to send emails, reply to texts, easily receive  calls or even check in on Foursquare. More problematic, however, is  having your lifeline drained for the sake of a cool video -- if ever you  needed your phone for emergency purposes while skiing, skating or  enjoying any other extreme sport, it'd be the shame of all shames to  have that device depleted when you needed it most.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> There's no  question that the iPhone 4 and 4S both record above-average video, but  the case's design prevents audio from joining the party. That means  you'll need to think up an external microphone arrangement, or be  content with overlaying an audio track atop whatever footage you cut  together. The real killer, however, is the price. One may be willing to  deal with those aforementioned nitpicks if the cost were low, and being  able to utilize a camcorder that you already own certainly <i>sounds</i> intriguing. But at $150, it's just $50 less than the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7080182682816192337" target="_blank">GoPro Hero3 White</a>, which offers a far more compact package, a microSD expansion slot and bundled software for managing the clips.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> The Outride is an interesting concept that proves remarkably  compromised in real-world use. The thought of using a camera you already  own to capture extreme sports footage sounds all too appealing... until  you realize that camera is also your phone, your emailing machine and  perhaps your lifeline in a pinch.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"></div></div>

Mophie Outride review: action-cam case for iPhone can't replace dedicated shooters

Over the years, Mophie has become synonymous with extending the iPhone's battery life. The outfit's range of battery-filled iPho...

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