iExpander Case Boosts iPhone Memory, Camera and Battery

By Tuan Mai
published

An all-in-one solution for all of your iPhone woes.

As popular as the iPhone is, there has always been one problem with every generation that Android users are quick to bring up: Since the first generation of iPhone, Apple has skipped out on the microSD expansion slot many of its Android competitors have. Without the possibility of expansion of memory, users with lots of data are forced to pay a premium for the higher capacity models.

Now, thanks to Kickstarter designer Charlie Corry, they might not have to. The iExpander case for the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 is an all-in-one solution that addresses many of your iPhone's flaws. Like any smartphone, the iPhone can run into battery issues for heavy users, so the iExpander has another battery built in for some extra juice.

Although it has since been corrected, older iPhones also lacked an LED flash for lowlight photography. The iExpander takes care of that issue as well, with a high powered LED flash. Most importantly, the iExpander brings along the microSD slot that has eluded the iPhone for generations, finally giving iPhone users the option for expandable memory.

Additionally, the iPhone 5 model also features a built in lightning-to-30-pin adapter, letting you use all of the iPhone accessories you already spent hard earned cash on. With 24 days left to go, the project has achieved $47,281 towards its $125,000 goal. If it does get funded, a contribution of $75 or more will get you your very own iExpander in white or black.

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Tuan Mai
Tuan Mai
Tuan Mai is a Los Angeles based writer and marketing manager working within the PC Hardware industry. He has written for Tom's Guide since 2010, with a special interest in the weird and quirky.
13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • lahawzel
    I kinda wish manufacturers would start releasing more bulky phones. What's the point of slimming down the design if people end up wrapping it in a huge case to get features that you skimped out on to make it small anyway?

    (Worse yet, I see people walking around with huge iPhone cases that do nothing other than physical protection, just because of how fragile the product is. What the hell? I remember dropping my old phones down a flight of stairs when I tripped and it didn't even get dented. Why can't new electronics be more durable? Apple, you're already charging people $849 for $230 worth of parts, the vast majority of which isn't even attributable the mechanical packaging. Make your damn phones more durable or some shit.)
    Reply
  • EVILNOD
    skimped out battery and sd slot got nothing to do with slimming down desgin. but got everything to do with pushing new product. without sd slot the only for you to have bigger storage is pay 4x more then sd cost. same with battery, all battery got recharge limit. once it ran out only thing you could do is pay 100 buck replace the battery or better yet.. upgrade the phone.
    i do agree large case for protection make the slimming smart phone pointless.. but no one force you to use it.
    Reply
  • alexthager
    I've owned a few flip phones, a Moto Droid, an iPhone 4, and an iPhone 5, yet I've never once purchased a case. I wholeheartedly agree that buying an iPhone with a case is ironic, because one of reasons I like the phone is because iPhone's are quite portable.
    Reply
  • unksol
    So to be clear... I can buy a better phone with modern features for less.... Or I can buy a flawed iPhone for more, then pay extra to slap a thick case on it to make up for its deficiencies?

    Um....
    Reply
  • shqtth
    Cool, i own the mediasonic EIX power skin. Has a 1300mAh battery in it as well as an LED light. 90% charrges my iPhone 3G. althought if I charge my iPhone at 10%, i get 100%.


    The only downside is, that the iPhone is not in power save mode while the external battery is plugged in, so any usage goes threw battery like crazy until the external battery is depleted. so ideally it would make more sense for the external battery to be at least 1.25x to 2x the capacity of the iPhone internal battery. Also when the iPhone i dead, it uses even more battery power just to charge up to 10%, so that why when using an external battery i never let my battery go below 10% before turning the external battery on. Would be nice if the case came with a power management app, to turn the external battery on/off.
    Reply
  • freggo
    Simple solution, will instead buy a phone that has all the features I want in the first place.
    I would NEVER buy a phone where I can not change the battery myself in under 1 minute without any tools.


    Reply
  • alidan
    apple will allow this to go through? hell i wouldn't post this to kickstarter till you get the app through... seeing as how apple is set to lose out about 200$ on more flash alone, but lets also look at the not needing new cables, thats another what, 30-100$ and than the battery as stated above, by the time that thing dies, the next phone to upgrade to is out, so really why would they EVER certify an app to allow any of this?

    i mean the battery they cant do anything about really, but everything else, they can block you from approval.

    freggoSimple solution, will instead buy a phone that has all the features I want in the first place.I would NEVER buy a phone where I can not change the battery myself in under 1 minute without any tools.
    personally, i want a no hassle battery swap, as in i don't risk killing the phone. batterys dont need to be quick swapped, they just need to be swapable.
    Reply
  • majudhu
    i like it thin, and choose my own cover and battery expansion
    Reply
  • wemakeourfuture
    EVILNODskimped out battery and sd slot got nothing to do with slimming down desgin. but got everything to do with pushing new product. without sd slot the only for you to have bigger storage is pay 4x more then sd cost. same with battery, all battery got recharge limit. once it ran out only thing you could do is pay 100 buck replace the battery or better yet.. upgrade the phone.i do agree large case for protection make the slimming smart phone pointless.. but no one force you to use it.
    Even Class 10 SD cards perform nowhere near the speed of the built in storage memory.
    Apple wants to have a seamless experience for all users, and someone putting in a Class 4 micro-sd then complaining that loading pictures, storing things, etc takes forever defeats their purpose. This is their justification of course, some people want the option and flexibility of this and know the downsides others don't.

    But as you also mentioned, the make huge margins off the larger size.

    I have used micro-sd on 2 different Samsungs (S2 and Wave ) and there's a very noticeable performance issue, I understand the performance issues of using these most consumers do not and my family always asks why is it slower this is what apple wants to avoid but at the same time maximize their profits, shitty and sneaky but logical too.
    Reply
  • mavroxur
    So, this case basically turns an iPhone into a thick Galaxy?

    Reply