Your phone goes through a lot at a show like CES, so gear up!
It’s the last day of CES 2014. People are heading home. Stalls are being taken down. Feet are being dragged. Batteries, both human and otherwise, are drained. Well, most batteries. When we got to our freakin’ sweet stage in South Hall a few short days ago, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the show, we were greeted by a giant pile of accessories from our gracious sponsor, Seidio. Before long, I had my Galaxy S4 decked out with their extended battery and purpose-built Active Extended case, plus their Charging Vault as a back-up. Of course I slapped one of our new AC stickers to represent while out on the show floor. For all of its usefulness, I normally don’t rock the holster, but at a show like this, the fashion police aren’t exactly going to be writing me up.
I had used a few Seidio cases in the past, and even their extended battery for the Galaxy Nexus way back, but it was great to get reacquainted. It also reminded me about how absolutely vital extra battery life is at a show like CES. We had a huge crew coming, so we all leaned on our phones for chatter on Google Hangouts, figuring out who’s grabbing what taxi, where we need our video guys, and finding our way through the massive, sprawling convention area to our next meeting. I expect that the last week has been the busiest ever for any phone I’ve had in my pocket, and it wouldn’t have made it through any day without some extra juice.
My phone wouldn't have made it through any day at CES withough some extra juice.
To that end, the Charging Vault handles great double duty as a wall charger and back-up battery and the extended battery didn't fail me once. The extended case adds much needed protection for when you inevitably drop your phone in the midst of conference chaos, and the kickstand comes in handy as a bedside stand. I also really enjoyed their Ledger iPad Air case, if you're into that kind of thing.
If conventions are a thing that you go to at all (or you just have a busy as hell week coming up), get an extended battery. There’s too much moving around and too many last-minute changes for you to be able to count on having time to plug in throughout the day.
