ZeroLemon has been making a name for itself in the aftermarket battery world with their cheap, huge capacity batteries for various smartphone models. This review is based on the enormous 9300mAh battery for the Samsung Note 2, which I’ve only had to recharge 5 times over a four week testing period.
ZeroLemon prides themselves in making quality batteries for various smartphone models. Even their name is a testament of the level of detail in their work ethic. ZeroLemon is a name which makes you feel very comfortable using their product right away. It tells you that you can expect your new battery to work perfectly each and every time you power on your smartphone. Over the course of my testing period, I’ve come to know this to be true.
First off, let me say that this battery is HUGE. You already know to expect a large battery for the Note 2, since even the stock battery is very big. At 9300mAh, the ZeroLemon battery is three times the capacity of the stock 3100mAh Note 2 battery. It is also three times the size.
The battery comes in a package with a TPU case of either black or white. I chose the white to match my white phone. The TPU case feels rubbery, but not to sticky, as some rubber TPU cases tend to be. It feels more like there is a fine coat of baby powder on the case, which keeps it from having a “sticky” feel to it. It isn’t too slippery either. The case slides in and out of your pocket without getting stuck, and doesn’t slide off my truck’s dashboard when I make a turn. They’ve done an excellent job at getting the texture correct on this case.
The case fits the phone and battery perfectly. There are cut outs for the stylus, microUSB, speaker, and microphone on the bottom. The cutout for the stylus is perfect. I have fairly large hands, and my fingers fit in the opening easily to remove and replace the sylus without having to fight it to get back in there. The stock microUSB cord for the Note 2 fits in the cutout for that port with ease. There is no need to force it or move the case around to get it to fit. They’ve done an excellent job at making sure all the ports on the bottom are easy to get to.
The speaker opening sometimes helps and sometimes hurts the sound on the Note 2. The sound coming from that little speaker isn’t all the great to begin with, but the cover adds a mystical element to it. You never seem to know if it’s going to sound good or bad. I’ve found that the low end sounds are a bit better with the case on, but the higher the pitch, the more the sound gets bounced around before coming out, so it tends to have a slight echo to it. I rarely play music through the loudspeaker, but it was worth noting. Sound quality of calls on speakerphone do not seem affected by the case.
The top of the case has cut outs for the headphone jack and ambient microphone. The camera and LED flash are notched out of the case as well. The Headphone jack cut out is tricky for some headphones. I have a few Sennheiser headphones with rather large plugs, which had issues fitting properly with the case. This also happens with other TPU cases, though, so it is always a gamble in this regard.
The camera and LED flash notch is perfect. There is no wash out form the flash being reflected by the case. Pictures come out unhindered all the time as though there is no case at all.
The sides have raised bumps for volume and power buttons, which are as functional as any other TPU case. They work most of the time, but expect to have to mash the power button once in a while.
The battery itself is enormous. It covers the entire back of the phone, so the TPU case is needed to hold it all in there. It isn’t without merit, however, as the trade off for the size is being able to go untethered from the wall power for nearly a week.
My testing period lasted through the month of July for just over four weeks. I planned to go through five charge cycles to really get a feel for the battery, but this took much longer than expected. It took me about four weeks to get through five whole cycles of this battery. I went from 100% down to between 1-5% each time and recorded my times.
The first charge cycle took me about 12 hours to get it to 100% per the instruction provided by ZeroLemon. I recorded about 20 hours of screen time and got a whopping 4.5 days of use on my very first charge. This impressed me enough to keep going.
I continued to charge and discharge over the rest of the month, recording my times as I went. I didn’t care for the added weight and bulk of the battery at first, but this changed over time. The battery doubles the weight and the thickness of the Note 2. If your own Note 2 has trouble fitting in your pocket already, then you might be better off just carrying around a spare battery. It fit nicely in my back pocket, however, so this wasn’t as much of an issue for me.
I came to notice how much more sturdy the phone felt in my hand with the enormous battery installed. It no longer felt like cheap plastic. It felt stronger and more durable with this battery. I didn’t feel like the phone was going to break in my pocket all the time. The weight and feel reminded me of the build quality that HTC puts into their phones.
Anyway, after getting to my last charge cycle, I was noticing the battery lasting longer and longer. I guess it was to do with the ROM finally adjusting itself to the battery’s capacity, but maybe it was the battery being broken in. Either way, this last charge cycle saw an enormous 6 days and 5 hours of time with almost 24 hours of screen time. Color me impressed.
My conclusion to this is that I think the 9300mAh ZeroLemon battery for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is worth every penny. You can find them on Amazon, and I strongly endorse it. The TPU case has a few minor flaws that can be overlooked by your ability to survive without a charge for nearly a week on the battery power alone. Take your phone camping and never worry about finding an outlet to use your GPS app. Take it fishing and don’t fear for having no phone to send a picture of your latest catch. You’ve got power to spare with the ZeroLemon battery!
