What's the point of wireless charging?

[Ichinisan]

It's the difference between your counter or desk looking like this:

and this:

Why would my desk have a pile of European cords?

 

[Kaido]

I have a Qi charger for my iPhone 5S (Yipin brand on Amazon), it's awesome!

Pros:
1. Super convenient
2. No breaking plugs anymore (more of a problem with my MicroUSB stuff)
3. It's cool
4. Works in my car's open center console

Cons:
1. Charge time is something like 25% slower
2. Chargers are expensive ($23, plus needs an A/C adapter)
3. Can't really use it if your battery is low & you want to operate the device in your hands, like at the end of the day if you're playing on your phone in bed & the battery is almost dead. A 10-foot cable solves that, but then you have to pop off the case.

I don't mind the slowness or end-of-day low-battery since I keep chargers everywhere - at work, by my bed, by my home computer, in my car - so I just keep it topped off all day. Since it's sitting in front of me at my work desk & home desk, I can see when an SMS comes in. It's nice to just drop it in my car too. I used to manage Bluetooth on & off during the day to save battery life, don't have to now since I have drop-on chargers everywhere, which is handy for my Jawbone ban, the Bluetooth radio in my car for calls & tunes, and my Vizio soundbar for playing music wirelessly.

It was expensive (about $100 for all of the chargers & the case I needed), but I really like it. I use the iMazing software to back up my phone wirelessly (outside of iTunes), so I never have to plug it in manually unless I want to transfer some video files faster or something.

 

[biostud]

It's just one of those things that makes your phone feel like it's something from the future.

 

[SP33Demon]

$23 is expensive? I make that in less than 30 minutes of work.

 

[LucJoe]

Picture this... Someday wireless charging will be the default standard for all devices. Phones, cameras, tablets, etc....

You'll have a wireless charging pad on your nightstand, on your end table, on your computer desk... More interesting will be when auto manufacturers build one in to the dash or center console of their vehicles, hotels will include one built into the desk. They will be universal and everywhere. Can't wait. I think we are still a few years away, but it is coming as long as everyone accepts the Qi standard.

Pad? What pad? They're already demoing 20ft range wireless charging. It's only a matter of time before all of our mobile gadgets are continuously powered OTA

 

[BurnItDwn]

I would like wireless charging because then the USB port on the phone wouldnt get worn down from being plugged in every night ... you that for 4 or 5 years, and you eventually will wear down the port to the point where it doesnt plug very securely any more.

Also, its nice so you can jsut set the phone down at the charging place at nigt and not have to find the cable and make sure its right side up ...

I want wireless charging, but Im not going to pay more then like $5 for that feature.

 

[blankslate]

because some people mongo force the charging plugs and end up damaging the plug or the port....

I guess...


....

 

[WackyDan]

If it's a Qi pad. It is the leading standard, but the other competing consortium groups have just merged. PowerMat, I believe, is a different standard based on the same tech.

There was one that promised to be more capable at a distance, but I have no idea what happened to that. That group merged with PowerMat's group, so... it may be dead.

I think Qi wins simply because it is being baked into devices, whereas PowerMat, save for at most a handful of phones, is an after-market product.

The biggest rub is going to be when Apple comes out with their own implementation and claims to have invented it.... then sells and licenses proprietary charging pads that won't work with Apple devices unless they are Apple MFI certified and have that stupid chip embedded in them...

Apple can spur rapid adoption, but they will also hamper it at the same time.

 

[WackyDan]

I have a Qi charger and never use it. Why? Because in the morning when I get up my phone (N4) is always at something stupid like 74% instead of the 100% I get from using a cable. Not sure if it is a wake lock issue or what, but it is never at 100% in the morning. That means I need to charge it when I get to work which is an extra step.
Might try it on my wife's N5 to see how well it works.

That is the rub... THey charge slower.. HOw low is your battery when you put it on the mat and does it ever get to 100% if you leave it there?

 

[Rakehellion]

It's the difference between your counter or desk looking like this:

and this:

Typically I don't keep the pronged part on my desk.

 

[Rakehellion]

The analogy I think of is a docking station for a laptop. It is not technically "necessary", but it makes life so much easier.

But you can use a laptop while it's docked.

 

[destrekor]

But you can use a laptop while it's docked.

You can use the phone while it's on the Qi charger too.

What, are you saying you can pick up the laptop and use it from your bed, all while it stays on the dock?

 

[disappoint]

Because it solves a first world problem.

 

[Ichinisan]

Pad? What pad? They're already demoing 20ft range wireless charging. It's only a matter of time before all of our mobile gadgets are continuously powered OTA

LOL no.

Microwave wireless charging is directional. Pretty sure there's a significant loss of efficiency.

Also, you have to come up with a way to stop sending power when your devices aren't trying to draw any.

 

[tortillasoup]

I don't have wireless charging but I like the idea of not wearing out the connector on my phones/devices. Also with the Galaxy S5, I don't risk ruining the rubber flap on the bottom that keeps the phone "water proof" every time I want to charge.

 

[jlee]

That is the rub... THey charge slower.. HOw low is your battery when you put it on the mat and does it ever get to 100% if you leave it there?

Mine is at 100% every morning. The only time I use a plug-in charger is if I'm in a car. I've been out of work for 2.5 hours and I'm at 84% (Nexus 5 with moderate/high use). If you're not full overnight, something's wrong.

 

[boomhower]

It's just a bit of convenience and fewer broken cords. Since I use an iPhone I don't currently used it and haven't in years. (Palm Pre if memory serves was my last) But when I had it I did really enjoy and would like to have it again. The new tech showing up at CES that is true wireless charging looks really interesting.

 

[CZroe]

As someone who professionally repairs mobile devices, I have seen a TON of damaged ports and think that alone is justification.

For those complaining about charge time, they charge at 85% the speed of the typical fast charger and they charge 70% faster than standard USB (850mA vs 500mA)! Those complaining about charge time must have the fastest 2.1A chargers to compare it to. I don't know about you guys, but I only bring that expensive 2.1A charger with me if I anticipate needing the fastest charge possible.

Few chargers support more than 1A even when their device supports more. For example, iPad Mini and iPhone 6 Plus come with a slower iPhone charger even though their devices support the faster iPad charger. Your car charger probably charges at 1A. The spare chargers you have collected probably charge even slower: the Samsung spare battery kit came with chargers that were well under 1A (850mA, IIRC).

The thing is, fast chargers wear your battery worse per cycle than slow chargers. The convenience of wireless charging means more opportunity to charge, so a slightly slower rate is appropriate. Anyone complaining about 850mA is just whining. Having wireless charging doesn't remove your ability to use the fastest fast charger you own, so it's a stupid complaint anyway.

My twin brother gave our older brother a TouchStone for his Palm Pre and he loved it.

My twin brother had an HP TouchPad with TouchStone charger and he loved it.

I had a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with official Samsung Wireless Charging Cover battery door replacement and Tylt Vu and I loved it. Now it is my older brother's and he loves it. I used it with a bumper case (no need to protect the back when it can be replaced) and he uses it with a modified Spigen SlimArmor (trimmed the TPU where it is hidden under the shell so that it fits the charge cover).

I got my older brother's Samsung Galaxy Note II and upgraded it to wireless charging with a stick-on coil (under the battery door) and a Tylt Vu. It was great! NFC coil is offset in the battery door instead of on the battery so it didn't even need to be relocated like the official Note 3 official cover does. Now I sold it to a friend.

I wish my iPhone 6 Plus supported it. I have a Spigen Neo Hybrid EX METAL bumper case with a carbon fiber skin. There's no way I'm going to add one of those bulky adapter cases. I'd love to see a skin with a coil even if there is a coil lump (can be incorporated in the design) that doesn't attach to the charge port but, instead, has two metallic contacts and a a dongle that bridges them with the lightning connector when you want it. I'd probably modify my metal bumper to fit it.

 

[BurnItDwn]

because some people mongo force the charging plugs and end up damaging the plug or the port....

I guess...


....

MONGO LIKE CANDY!


I have not damaged port on a phone, but the USB ports on my old work laptop, after 6 or 7 years of plugging/unplugging a mouse every day ... Those connections were so loose, it was like a hotdog in a hallway.

 

[Kelvrick]

Wireless charging also helps phones maintain waterproofness. Rubber gaskets at ports will wear out with repeated opening/closing or the plastic tabs can break off. Wireless charging lets you keep everything plugged up and just plop it down to charge. My Z3 needs to use those magnetic charging ports, but Verizon's version has QI, which allows you to just lay it down. Wireless charging was also great in the car docks. I put my phone in and it starts charging, no need to connect the cable when I get into the car.

Use it or not, nobody is forcing you, but it can be extremely convenient. The technology could use some more time to mature, and a single standard. Starbucks backing powermat made things a little more complicated.

 

[SP33Demon]

Wireless charging also helps phones maintain waterproofness. Rubber gaskets at ports will wear out with repeated opening/closing or the plastic tabs can break off. Wireless charging lets you keep everything plugged up and just plop it down to charge. My Z3 needs to use those magnetic charging ports, but Verizon's version has QI, which allows you to just lay it down. Wireless charging was also great in the car docks. I put my phone in and it starts charging, no need to connect the cable when I get into the car.

Use it or not, nobody is forcing you, but it can be extremely convenient. The technology could use some more time to mature, and a single standard. Starbucks backing powermat made things a little more complicated.

Yep, the Powermat shit with Starbucks is really puzzling. But it seems like there's a huge war brewing with the powermat tech (PMA), qi, and some other tech run by A4WP.

The Qi specification, however, has the greatest industry support. More than 200 companies, among them a veritable who's who of electronics, such as LG Electronics, Sony, Nokia, Toyota, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, Motorola Mobility, Samsung Electronics, and Verizon Wireless.

By comparison, the A4WP now has 100 members, including Broadcom, Delphi, Fairchild Semiconductor, Haier, Intel, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, SanDisk, TDK and Texas Instruments. The PMA has 70 members.

http://www.computerworld.com/articl...ess-charging-won-t-work-for-most-devices.html

Strange that some companies are in both groups, I guess they're hedging their bets.

Funnier:

Starbucks today announced the rollout of wireless charging nationwide, but nearly all mobile handsets and consumer devices currently in use that incorporate wireless charging technology won't be able to use it.

Uhhh. Ok. It seems like Verizon/Motorola/Google are squaring off against Proctor & Gamble/GE/Starbucks with the rest of the industry. Will be interesting to see how this plays out and who wins.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

No exposed ports that can destroy phone when dropped in toilet?

 

[notposting]

Also, buy chargers on sale. Especially from AT&T. They always have the Nokia ones super-cheap.

I have one of the stand models and 2 of their flat pads. Love it. Pretty much a required feature for me now. Just drop phones on and there you go. Pick em up when you gotta run.

Anyone wanting cords...why do you have a cell phone? Why don't you stick with your rotary phone for making calls in between riding your horse and buggy to work?

 

[Kaido]

$23 is expensive? I make that in less than 30 minutes of work.

Yeah, when you realize you need 4 or 5 of them, plus A/C adapters, so all of a sudden you're looking at $150 for chargers, vs. $3 shipped for a 5-pack of knockoff direct-plug cables from Amazon

 

[jlee]

Yeah, when you realize you need 4 or 5 of them, plus A/C adapters, so all of a sudden you're looking at $150 for chargers, vs. $3 shipped for a 5-pack of knockoff direct-plug cables from Amazon

1) Home
2) Work

If your phone can't last in between, re-evaluate app usage?