Cell phone cases now provide power, memory and security

New accessories allow charges with solar energy and include self-defense devices.

Cases with extravagant designs, with striking colors, with or without a lid; Surely you think you have seen all kinds of cell phone cases. But have you seen one that has a built-in bottle opener, a selfie stick or a solar battery?

While covers for mobile devices are essential for those who want to protect their mobile in the event of a fall, they can do more. Much more. These are some of the available options.

Two very unique

Like Swiss Army Knife

Multifunction ZVE seems more like a kind of Swiss army knife. It is an iPhone case that includes a bottle opener, a USB port, a tripod mount and a flameless heating coil that can light up to 250 cigarettes for each full charge. The case can be purchased at a price of 90,000 pesos on Amazon and is available for models of iPhone 5 / 5s and 6.

Personal security

Finally, your cell phone could go from being a target of thieves to help defend against them. That's what the company says 247 Korea, which created a housing that provides security to the phone and the user. This is because the case incorporates a self-defense electric discharge device capable of delivering up to 50,000 volts. And when you use that function, an application that records everything that happened is also activated.

Two prototypes

An 'air bag' for mobile

The developments have only just begun; proof of this is a prototype manufactured by an engineer at the University of Aalen, in Germany, which detects when the cell phone is in free fall and deploys a system of double 'flexible legs' in the four corners of the housing, which prevent cell suffer any damage when it reaches the ground. If this becomes massive, it would save millions. Video .

Coffee at any time

Mokase, in addition to protecting the smartphone from bumps and falls, promises, incredible as it may seem, to make coffee whenever you want. Mokase has a heating and isolation system that will allow you to serve a small coffee through a hole in the upper part of the cover. And it will bring an application that makes it possible for the user to schedule the time to prepare the drink. Web: www.mokase.it


More memory

There are phones that can use a memory card to improve their performance, but in other models, such as iPhones, this poses a challenge. The solution can be the Sandisk iXpand case, which not only protects the device, but adds up to 128 GB to devices such as the iPhone 6 and 6S. Its price is 418,300 pesos and can be found on the Mercado Libre website. Another with similar characteristics is the Incipio Off Grid casing.


Photos and selfies

For lovers of selfies there is StikBox, a transformable shell that becomes a 'selfi stick'. It works like this: The case contains consecutive bars that extend to reach 71 centimeters. As they are made of aluminum they do not add much weight. The case is available for iPhone 7, iPhone 6 / 6S, and soon it will be for iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. It costs 50 dollars and can be purchased at: www.stikbox.com/#shop.

But if your interest is to enhance the main camera of your phone, companies such as Phoneda, Sherox and Ocamo offer covers that add interchangeable lenses to the back camera of the mobile. This allows you to use a fish-eye lens, a wide-angle lens or a macro.



Solar energy

Why go looking for a power outlet if you can charge your cell phone using the sun? That's what Sunthetich and Sunny do, some cases for the most recent models of the iPhone that incorporate a panel with photovoltaic cells capable of charging an additional battery that, in turn, extends the autonomy of the phone to twice its usual duration.

SnowLizard takes things further and not only uses solar panels to power an additional 5,000 milliampere battery, but also gives protection against water. The price of the cover is $ 142 and can be purchased at Amazon.