Analysis TeK: Charging the Lumia 920 only with a pad - TeK.sapo

The promise of “independence” in relation to the electrical outlet is already old, and extra batteries from the solar chargers – or using water – the solutions are many, but impractical, or too expensive, as the TeK has reported.

Only more recently the manufacturers of equipment began investing in models of wireless chargers, and Nokia turned out to be a pioneer in this field, integrating the Lumia 920 and 820 technology proposed by the consortium Qi Wireless Power-with a charging plate which then combined in a more stylized with pads fatboy.

Even before the Duracel had experienced an innovative solution with MyGrid – it is still possible to find in Portugal – but the connection always required an adapter for charging mobile phones or devices. The cell company did not give up and later released PowerMat that works with special covers for Galaxy and iPhone logo ai limiting the universality of use.

The TeK had tried the solution of Duracell, proving that there was very practical, but the proposal of Nokia sees itself as more attractive, although limited to those who bought smartphones Lumia 920, 820 or 720, the latter also requiring the additional purchase of an extra layer.

The Nokia Wireless Charging Pillow by Fatboy can be found for sale to other brand accessories, some shops, and costs about 100 euros, requiring no configuration at installation or change smartphone covers. Some operators are even offering the charging pad in conjunction with the purchase of the smartphone, as the Vodafone

Just turn on the power, put the phone on the pad, with the screen facing upwards, and immediately lights up to indicate that the phone is being charged with an audible warning to follow. Needless to consult the manual.

system does not use any special magic only science, and can perform the charging by magnetic induction using a current base station comprises a roll of composite metal that create a magnetic field which is induced by voltage. On the phone there is a battery with a similar roll, but it will work as the receiver of the induced current.

The receiver is already integrated into the chassis of the Nokia Lumia 920, eliminating the exchange of covers that part of the procedures mandatory systems proposed by Duracell, or the latest wireless chargers Samsung Galaxy S4. Unfortunately the same does not happen in 8720 or Lumia 820, necessitating the purchase of a special cover, a practice that Nokia could review on behalf of clients.

In practice, for those who have a Lumia 920, the solution allows rest the phone on the pad (or the card itself the Nokia DT-900), in the right position, and get a spare battery charge, without connecting additional wires.

The charger may be permanently plugged and even with the cheerful colors of the cushions fatboy, does not cause major ecological or visual impact. Nokia ensures that the device consumes almost no power when not in use, being always ready for use.

But beyond the practical side of using – that eliminates the ritual connecting the charger to the micro USB port – there is also to consider the performance ( read load time). And it is here that this solution still loses points compared to traditional models.

In normal charging, the charger connected to the power plug, the charging time round the total battery 2.3 hours, but with DT-plate 900 the time required to restore full charge of a battery can exceed three hours.

It is clear that the smartphone battery normally do not get fully discharged, because many users have adopted the ritual connecting cables to the USB port of the computer at work and at home, or to the car charger in the car.

And a situation reloading nobody is looking at the clock to see how long it takes the battery to reach 100%. Especially if you are not connecting or disconnecting cables.

So this time difference does not serve itself as a disadvantage in the use of wireless charging.

The evaluation is already over but different the cost. After spending over 550 euros on buying a smartphone you have to have very deep pockets to spend over 100 euros a wireless charging … For a very interesting and practical is the concept

The combination of the two elements in a single “package” without increasing the final price, as does Vodafone, already makes the idea more interesting.

After all respects weighted, and the experience of a few weeks and several cycles of full load Lumia 920 with cushion fatboy, the only downside we found is now back to having to think that you need to connect the phone to cable to recharge ….

Written under the new Orthographic Agreement

Fatima Hunter