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but, i can see a wire...I'm confused.
but, i can see a wire...I'm confused.
You do realise that the wireless charging pad needs to get it's electricity from somewhere? It's not magic.
In my case, the cable is routed behind the unit and underneath the console, so out of the way and out of sight.
but, i can see a wire...I'm confused.
You can pick up and put down the phone without touching the cable.
but, i can see a wire...I'm confused.
That's so you can easily unplug it to save it draining your car's battery. 😆
I have a dock that my phone slots into to charge, and it's much better than using a cable. Yes there's a cable plugged into the dock, but it's not somewhere down the beck of my bedside table which is where the loose cable would be.
We have a tablet that sits on the sidetable in the living room; a wireless charging pad would be great for that.
It's not magic.
**** that then, i'll wait for apple's magic version.
I use one at work as everytime I plug my phone in to the computer it asks if I want to access it as an external drive. Minor annoyance particularly as the cable was too short to allow me to answer the phone without unplugging it, but the wireless mat removes that.
It is also magic so that is what sold it to me
I was recently working on a project where the whole of the table in reception was to be made a wireless charging point so that laptops, phones etc could be charged while you are sat around waiting. What would brilliant would be a laptop that could be charged while sat in a cafe working. It probably exists somewhere but not in my tiny world yet!
I think this tech has the potential to make life much easier
It should be everywhere
Instead phone companies put all their efforts into brining out a new phone that is, wait for it ...... 1 inch bigger and maybe even has an os that uses a different font or background color on the drop downs
But if it were supported by infastructure wireless charging could be great
^Nail. Head.
A wireless charging pad might save me a tiny bit of inconvenience but it's hardly revolutionary since I still need to have the pad plugged in somewhere. However, if I could jump on the Tube and know that somehow my phone would charge without me having to do anything, then likewise at the cafe, then likewise at the library etc that would be something worth getting excited about. Apple make a tonne of money licensing the technology to all and sundry and Joe Punter doesn't worry about their phone dying ever again.
This is no doubt being worked on right now in an Apple secret laboratory 🙂
Interesting Engadget article about the future uses of wireless power that are just around the corner (in 2011):
http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/24/engadget-primed-how-wireless-and-inductive-charging-works/
It goes a bit beyond just phones, e.g. a kitchen counter wirelessly powering the kettle and toaster.
The protocol looks interesting. Power level is controlled by the transmitter:
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Think I'll buy a few, configure them to deliver maximum power regardless of the requests, then hide them under a few tables. That should be fun 😈
I've got a ZENS one, it's a double one so I can charge Nexus 4 and 7 at the same time.
I tried using one like this, but it ran the battery flat in about a week! It's a bmw 5 series diesel so not a small battery either. I opened up the casing of the charger and it was pretty simple inside, I suspect it was on whenever the car was on regardless of if there was a phone on it.
I started a thread about wireless chargers some time ago. general consensus (I might have only got one reply) seemed to be to get a branded/quality wireless charger as cheapy ones are often ON all the time, where as quality ones are 'intelligent'. ZENS was recommended and I got a 2nd hand one off ebay for peanuts which has been great.
pfft. energy harvesting is where the magic is at...
the cable was too short to allow me to answer the phone without unplugging it, but the wireless mat removes that.
I can think of two slightly simpler solutions to that dilemma 😀
So can I, but the phone had the ability and I had all of the £6 needed to buy the charging pad, so I thought "It is the start of the month, who cares if I end up eating Tesco Value Beans for a couple of weeks" and I went for it. I haven't regretted it for one moment
Oh how the other half live. 😀
GrahamS - MemberI can think of two slightly simpler solutions to that dilemma
You probably can but as you have told us already you have no interest in wireless charging at the moment and can't think it's that useful so I'd imagine that you wouldn't come up with an out of the box solution to the problem. 🙂
Sometimes it's interesting to try and think about a problem with out the current solution - ie how would you do this if it was new today.
^Well said.
The root problem is that we have to charge our Smart Phones frequently. If we only had to charge them once a week would wireless charging be of any value? Probably not. By looking at solutions for the root problem we start to see innovation and that really needs the combination of a technical solution [b]and[/b] the accompanying infrastructure.
How about something like the Apple Mac charger? Seems ideal.
Still a cable but uses a magnet to secure so you don't have to DP your delicate device with an equally delicate charger. It's very quick and efficient.
How about something like the Apple Mac charger? Seems ideal.
Still a cable but uses a magnet to secure
So not wireless and still needs connecting to the right place? Can you build them into tables? What about my office desk? In my car - imagine having a charging pad built into your car glove box/centre console.
[quote=mikewsmith ]So not wireless and still needs connecting to the right place? Can you build them into tables? What about my office desk? In my car - imagine having a charging pad built into your car glove box/centre console.
You can build them into cradles.
Get in car.
Place phone in cradle.
Done.
That also places the phone in a position to be used as a SatNav/DashCam etc, something it can't do if lying flat on a mat.
so one out of 3, and it requires everyone to put the plug in the same place,
That also places the phone in a position to be used as a SatNav/DashCam etc, something it can't do if lying flat on a mat.
You can put the wireless charger in a cradle too so you can do all that, still not seeing the advantage of another cable standard really.
Though, as I understand it, the power transfer capability would rule out extended use as a SatNav/DashCam.
perhaps today but not as a future solution, most technology moves on with development.
ie how would you do this if it was new today.
Conversely, what would you think if all we currently had was wireless charging and someone said:
[i]"Hey, we've invented this cable that you just stick in your phone to charge it. It completely recharges a phone four times faster than your old wireless chargers and saves tons of power. Plus it is compatible with external battery packs, power cases, solar chargers, hub chargers in fact any power source with a USB port on it without needing any additional hardware or big ugly mats lying about everywhere. And it even provides secure high-speed data transfer at the same time. Amazing eh?"[/i] 😉
Possibly but as data transfer can be covered wirelessly, external battery packs can be used to power charging pads and charging speeds and efficiency will probably get faster. Not saying it's a perfect solution but to dismiss it outright and even worse suggesting another random lead solution is a bit short sighted.
Oh I don't mean to dismiss it outright. It's just not for me YET.
Myself & MsD got new Lumia 930's just before Xmas. We already had a wireless charging plate but were happily surprised to find both phones came with wireless charging plates so we have them around the house.
I also received a free wireless pack consisting of Bluetooth loudspeaker & a portable charging plate, which is ace - charge it up & stick it in your pocket & wherever you go you can charge your phone on demand. Plus, it will recharge on a wireless plate AND charge your phone at the same time.
But of course, its not Apple..
a portable charging plate, which is ace - charge it up & stick it in your pocket & wherever you go you can charge your phone on demand. Plus, it will recharge on a wireless plate AND charge your phone at the same time.
But of course, its not Apple..
This is what I'm using. It's really ace. Legit wireless charging on the go.
But of course, its not Apple..
I'm not sure why you're all so obsessed with Apple? Blimmin fanbois. 😉
It's just a bit of mocking Graham, we are all waiting for Apple to invent wireless charging then everyone will ask why it had never been done before, just like bigger phones.
like bigger phones.
Yeah those aren't for me either. I like the size of my old 4S 😕
Erm, things seemed to have moved on a bit in the last 24 hours 🙂
[url= http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30708945 ]Charge a phone in seconds...[/url]
I see they are using a wired dock for that. The fools. Think how much slower and less efficient it could be with a nice wireless charger 😉
Cool tech though - I remember them doing a similar demo last year. Looks like they've made good progress on getting the bulk down a bit.
Interesting implications for electric vehicles too if they can reduce their charging times to be comparable with the time it takes to fill a tank with petrol.
Thanks kimbers. Bought the exact same charger you posted and now have a very revived and undead nexus. Pity I didn't see your thread a couple of days earlier as I bought a new phone in the meantime. Although a spare is useful. Anyway, much appreciated, ta.
Wireless charging featuring on Apple/Mac Rumours site [url= http://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/14/wireless-charging-mainstream-2015/ ]Wireless Charging goes mainstream - more from CES[/url]