The Mozo train continues with the second in the lineup of new toys from Mozo for the Lumia 650.
Design
Like the light wood cover, Mozo describes the black wood back cover as “imitation” wood, and everything I said about it not feeling like real wood but still being so smooth it doesn’t really matter still applies.
The subtle grain found on the black wood cover is actually noticeably finer on the black wood cover than its lighter counterpart. There’s also virtually no visual wooden texture to the black cover unlike the light one, apart from the almost invisible grain. The result of this is a cover that does very little to stand out, especially in harsher lighting conditions, and especially compared to the factory back cover found on the black Lumia 650.
This lack of visual distinction can be somewhat salvaged by the feel of the device. The light wood back cover I discussed earlier felt cool to the touch. This is even cooler. It’s so smooth and pleasant to touch I often found myself digging my phone out of my skinny jeans not because I had anything to check, but because I justed wanted to touch the back side of the phone.
Unfortunately, this tactile pleasure-seeking cannot mitigate the rather daunting reality that the Lumia 650’s black factory back cover, with its distinct, glossy Microsoft logo absent on the Mozo case, actually looks better than this premium accessory.
Fit
The physical chassis of the black wood cover is the same as that of the light wood cover. As such, it carries the same fit properties: tight, unerring fit with no creaking, as if this were built into the phone itself. I have no complaints here.
Ergonomics
The same physical chassis results in the same ergonomic properties. The back cover adds very little weight to the already feather light Lumia 650. It does add some thickness to surface of the back, which has a side effect of leveling the back with the rear camera housing, making the camera bulge much less noticeable. It also makes the device a tad bit easier to grip.
What’s different compared to the light wood back cover can be found in the nature of the color itself.
In real world use, when sitting outside on a patio or the outside seating of a cafe, I often leave the phone out in the daylight, usually face up, to see the useful Glance notifications. But the one time I left it face down, the sun decided to have its way with the light absorbing cover, making it a bit hot to the touch.
In the interest of imprecise pseudo-science, I replicated this situation with the light wood back cover and found it not quite as hot after the sun had its way with it.
Definitely not even remotely an issue for daily use, but an interesting observation nonetheless.
Conclusion
Unlike the light wood cover, the black wood cover received no compliments whatsoever. This could very well be because no social situation warranted it, but I reckon that has more to do with the fact that the black cover, while a competent and graceful cover in its own right, just isn’t very striking. For people who want to make a fashion statement with their last-century microUSB-powered phones, the black wood cover is not a good candidate.
But for those who would rather remain undetected in the shadows, but still enjoy the glory of buying a premium cover for a budget phone, there might just be no better candidate.
You can buy the black wood back cover on Mozo’s website here.
