I was quite excited at the thought but I recently I bought a charging stand from eBay for just a few quid and I don't see the wireless charger being any more convenient.
I just stick my N4 onto my stand and the sides of the stand guide it into place for me so it is easy enough to do even in the dark.
Since the orb itself isn't wireless I don't see any advantages at all.
Very cool, yes but not worth it IMO.
Interesting technical specifications on the Play Store page.
Tech Specs:
DC Input 5Vdc/1.8A
DC Output 5Vdc/1.0A
So it appears (but is not shown on the Play Store page) that an AC outlet plugin-type transformer is used to energize the orb with 1.8A, 44% of which is lost when delivered to the inductive side of the phone.
Brilliant.
I heard that the slower trickle charge is better on the battery. Whether or not thats true I don't know. I do know that it would be more convienent than having to unplug the USB out of the bottom. ...
I always thought the reason inductive charging hadn't caught on in the past was that it was so much less efficient ..
For me, it's nice but way too expensive ..
I guess my concern is that people will also find it "inconvenient" to unplug the AC outlet transformer and leave the orb continually "on", wasting 0.8A just to maintain a simple electromagnet when the phone isn't even being charged. That's about the same current it takes to light a 100W incandescent light bulb, but people won't be aware of it as there's nothing to catch ones attention like the light bulb being on.
You aren't comparing like with like. 0.8A at 5V is 4W while a 100W light bulb is, erm, 100W. You'd need 25 Orb chargers to use the same power as one 100W light bulb.
Any speculation on whether or not this will work with future versions of the Nexus?
It's expensive and it doesn't provide any advantage. I did just order one because it's new, different and looks cool. It will also make the iPhone crowd in my office scratch their heads about yet another feature their phones don't have. I know it's immature and shallow. I admit it.
Nothing wrong with buying something you don't need because its cool!
Backed.
I got my tracking number this morning, so hopefully it'll be here by Saturday so I don't have to wait til Monday. (I'm impatient) Just checked and it's in Kentucky now, so it should be here by Saturday since that's only two states away.
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