Fresh from my case selection for the Nokia Lumia 1520, let's go down to the other extreme, to the best selling Windows Phone ever - the budget Lumia 520. Again, I'm going to take three of the best selling cases from a major retailer, with very different characteristics, and see which one comes up trumps.
It's a fair cop, the world of phone accessories (or, in this case, 'phablet' accessories) is now so large that it's impossible to be comprehensive - so we thought we'd get in three cases at various price points and give them the once over, to give you some ideas for your own (renowned 'slippery') Lumia 1520.
Guest writer Adrian Hughes brings us a review of an accessory that is 'a little different, and one that intends to be more useful than the usual plethora of rugged cases and covers'. He looks at the Nokia Treasure Tag (WS-2), a little box that can attach to your keychain or other object of your choice, so that you may never lose your keys again (or your phone, or the tag itself)!
Originally an Indiegogo project, Shoulderpod has just released its first product, the S1, and I've been testing it with my Nokia 808 and Lumia 1020. It's a combined stabiliser/grip/mount - it's fabulously constructed and it works really well. Here's to better smartphone-shot video (and, of course, you might find my tutorial helpful!)
The concept of a portable power bank/emergency charger isn't new, of course, especially in these days of smartphones with sealed batteries, for which the only emergency option is usually to plug something in via microUSB. The Lumsing 10400mAh option is new and reviewed here - build quality is excellent and - I contend - the value for money utterly unrivalled.
Regular readers will know that I'm a big fan of the Proporta emergency chargers, from the tiny credit card sized Pocket Power to the mighty Turbocharger 7000. But, of course, there are many other brands on the market, especially at the higher capacity end of the market. Which is why I've been taking a look here at the new 'Kinkoo Infinite One 8000mAh Portable Backup Battery Charger'. In white. And yes, the colour matters, as I shall explain!
The world of accessories fascinates everyone, of course, the drive to make everything smaller and smaller, yet still doing the same job. In this case, the ChargeKey microUSB, a full data and charging cable (i.e. all pins are connected through) that cuts bulk to the nth degree and fits nicely on a key ring. It's even shaped like a key and is a really neat accessory, albeit a little pricey.
The DT-601 Wireless Charging Plate is the most recent addition to Nokia's line-up of Qi compatible charging accessories. There are now a decent number of Qi wireless charging pads on the market, and the technology, while not exactly mainstream, does feel more established than a year ago. So, for this review, the key question is what makes the DT-601 different and who should look at buying this accessory?
We've seen large portable USB chargers (e.g. the Turbocharger 7000), we've seen small all-wireless chargers (the Nokia DC-50), but the Mugenizer N11 seems to offer a feature set that's a very useful compromise. With 4800mAh capacity and both USB and Qi charging output, could the N11 really be the all-purpose mobile charger than many have been waiting for?
The Lumia 1020 makes a great Windows Phone flagship but there's arguably one major feature left out - Qi wireless charging, as featured in the Lumia 920 over a year ago. The Qi coils add about a millimetre to a phone design, which is presumably why they were omitted on the 1020, but as I've enthused before, wireless charging utterly transforms the way I use my smartphone, which is why I was very glad to get my hands on the official 'Wireless Charging Shell' and bring my 1020 well and truly into 2014.
