PowerBot® PB1020 Qi Enabled Wireless Charger Inductive Charging Pad Station for All Qi Standard Compatible Devices Including Samsung, iPhone, Nokia, Google, Nexus, LG, HTC and Other Smartphones with Receivers (AC Adapter Excluded. 2 x Micro USB Cable Included), Black..
Buy PowerBot® PB1020 Qi Enabled Wireless Charger Inductive Charging Pad Station for All Qi Standard Compatible Devices Including Samsung, iPhone, Nokia, Google, Nexus, LG, HTC and Other Smartphones with Receivers (AC Adapter Excluded. 2 x Micro USB Cable Included), Black By EyeCandis
Most helpful customer reviews
182 of 188 people found the following review helpful.
Fair Quality, Good Looks, Charges Faster than Wire: Love it!
By YSC
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3TWOYFPR6DS2X I recently purchased a Nexus 5, the first phone I own that has the wireless charging capability. In searching for Qi chargers, the prices generally start around 20, with brand names costing 40+. I wanted something affordable without sacrificing too much quality. Qi chargers come in various shapes. I was looking for something that is round, because I believe the inductive coil is round and it would not make sense to have a square housing with wasted space (unless it's a multi-coil design, which probably isn't inexpensive). The round design also feels less directional, not to mention taking a bit less desktop space, assuming there's only a single coil of equal size.
This round hockey puck design caught my eye when I searched on ebay. I liked the duo-tone design, and how the contrasting accent is also a functional rubber friction pad. Many of the Qi Chargers have but a plastic surface. While it would serve just fine, it still seems to make sense to have a friction pad that's more gentle on the phone and more secure in the grip. While most of these sold for over $20, I shopped around and saw this seller putting up these pucks. I was probably the first ones to get these as the seller finalized the item.
I decided to purchase this because of the Amazon guarantee, as I had my doubts. The product pictures are great, but don't show a terrible amount of detail. Specifically, I had these questions:
- How well are these made? Are the plastics going to feel cheap? Are the rubbers well cut and affixed?
- Will it charge as quickly as a direct plug-in? This is very important, as I imagined it would probably be a sacrifice I'd have to make for the sake convenience.
- Will it be as efficient as plug-in? It's most probably not due to the physical nature of inductive charging, but how much less efficient would it be?
Here is what I found so far:
- The quality is excellent. While the matte plastic isn't of the best quality, it's good enough to not look too flimsy. The matte finish on the top and bottom surface also helps, though there are a few very faint scuff marks that only an OCD like myself would probably notice against the light. Rubber is perfectly cut with no rough edges, and is of a very nice color (I got the red on black). It's got a ring of rubber both to the top and bottom, and as a result it rests securely despite its light weight. The diameter is about the same as the width of the nexus 5, measuring 2 11/16" (6.8cm). It's got very good proportions and design. I find it very pleasant to look at. The LED shows green at idle and blue while charging. It also beeps when you place the phone on, indicating successful placement. While it works only near the center of the Nexus 5, it's really not difficult to place, and the phone balances nicely at the sweet spot.
- Charging speed: I've charged the phone back to back using the same AC adapter with 2.0A current rating and the cable supplied with the charging puck. I nearly deplete the battery and then charge around 40% on the wireless charger, and the rest using plug-in. I am glad to find that Qi charging was actually slightly faster. On the android battery curve, other than a break in the "charging" status bar, you would probably guess wrongly by looking at the charging curve. The plug-in charging actually had a slightly slower looking slope than the Qi Wireless charging. That was certainly unexpected, and I'm not sure why, other than the conjecture that they are probably regulated differently by the phone. It's great that this Qi Charger can deliver wirelessly all the charge that a 2A adapter could offer us through a wired connection.
- Efficiency: The idle power consumption is close to zero (undetectable by my meter), which is nice. The charging power consumption for the Qi Charger hovers around 6.2W, and over 7W with screen on (Which was surprising as I didn't know it could be variable). For wired charging, it's around 3.1W constant, with screen on or off (don't know why either. It must again be the difference in regulation. Maybe Qi charging standard actively modulates consumption and charge rates?). So in my case, wireless charging is roughly about 50% as efficient as wired charging, if negating the slight difference in their charge rates.
I also want to note how it's a plus for this charger to take micro-USB connectors, rather than round ones. This means I could just use the ubiquitous smartphone/tablet power adapter and cable if I wanted to, rather than having to find a proprietary charger. On the bottom it says inputs of 5V/1500mA (I'm not even sure if this number even matters, since it'll depend on what charger you match it with), but it took my tablet charger at 5v/2A just fine. It comes with a 30cm and 150cm USB cable, which is nice. The charging distance is said to be 4mm-10mm. In practice I think it's more like 10mm, as I have a pretty thick case (Caseology hybrid TPU, thicker than most I think) and it had no problems charging. I also could lift the phone a few mm before it stops. It feels pretty dependable.
So, to me all this turned out pretty well. Wireless charging seems like a small convenience. I always wondered what you would have to sacrifice for it, and most likely the charging speed/rate. Not only is this "small convenience" proving to be an entirely new level of experience, this generic Qi Charger also proved that it could charge just as fast if not faster than plug-in charging. With its good looks and a bargain price (at the time of my purchase), what's not to love?
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful.Great, affordable, and moddable Qi charger.
By Voyn238
This charger is pretty much perfect for my needs. I'm new to Qi charging, and am looking to implement it everywhere I need to charge a device (nightstand, desk, car, etc). I've got a 2013 Nexus 7, and have installed Qi adapters for my Galaxy S4 and my iPod Touch 5. I got this one after a somewhat bad experience with the first Qi charger I bought, and am loving it. After searching around online a bit, it seems that the charger itself is produced in mass quantities in China and then rebranded for sale here in the US. The original model number seems to be BC252X, where X is the initial of the color you want (R for red, W for white, B for black, L for blue, and so on). If you look around here on Amazon, you'll see plenty of other chargers that are nearly identical to this one (DigiYes, MuchBuy, and a few others. The Koolpuck from Fonesalesman also appears to be the same device). You can also find them on other sites like ali express, if you don't mind waiting for it to ship from China (or buying things from China, for that matter).
There were only 2 things I didn't like with this charger - the brightness of the LED, and the loud BEEP it makes when you set a device on it - neither of these things make for a good bedside charger. Luckily, this unit was really easy to open and those two things were very easy to fix. There are 6 tabs that hold the bottom cover on, and it's easily removed with a jeweler's screwdriver. I put an LED dimming dot (bought locally, can't find similar item on Amazon or I'd link it) on the plastic tab that transfers the LED light from the circuit board to the outside of the case, and now the LED is not so bright that it lights up the room at night. The speaker responsible for the BEEP is labelled J1, and it's easy enough to disable the sound - pop the cover off of it, and remove the shiny silver disc inside that acts as the speaker cone. Replace the cover, and you're good to go - it's as silent as could be. Needless to say, taking any of these steps will void whatever warranty PowerBot provides, and none of this should be attempted while the unit is plugged in (obviously). Oh, one last thing - the plastic covers around the micro USB port were a bit restrictive and only allowed me to connect the USB cables supplied with the charger. While I had the covers off and PCB removed, I widened this opening up a bit with an x-acto knife and can now connect any USB cable to it. A nice benefit of this port being smallish is that the included USB cables are the only ones I've found that completely fit the Supcase Unicorn Beetle case for my Galaxy S4 - and now I've got a 4' and 1' cable for free. Sweet!
I also like that the charger is nice and compact. These chargers are very pocket sized, and I'm looking forward to having one with me everywhere I go. I work on x-ray machines in "the field" (ie, hospitals and surgery clinics all over my state) which means I don't have a sit-down office, and my various electronics gadgets are always hungry for more juice. Having one of these in my bag will help with that a lot.
Another thing I wanted to mention - this charger should be very adaptable to various DIY projects. I've seen articles about incorporating Qi charging into things like the surfaces of nightstands, homemade wooden charging stands, office desks, and so on. With the covers removed, the internal circuit board and copper coil are integrated into one unit, and are very compact. I think it would be easy for a good DIY-er to use this for the basis of a wide variety of projects. I'm looking forward to trying it, myself. Search XDA forums for the magnetized angled wooden Qi charger one member built for his Nexus 5- it's pretty nice! This charger would work very well for something like that with the case removed.
All in all, it's just what I was looking for, and very affordable. It charges all my gadgets, and does so fairly quickly. It's slower than a wired connection, but the convenience factor makes up for that. At least with my Android gadgets, if I need a faster charge I can still always just connect a standard charger. Just be sure to use a good 1.5 or 2 amp USB adapter with it, and you'll be good to go.
UPDATE: I originally said that I placed 1 LED dimming dot on the light redirector. That still turned out to be too bright and I've added another. Now it's not so bright that it keeps me awake at night. I have also now uploaded a few pictures to the "Product Images from Customers" section, check them out for more details on the mods I talked about earlier. Still loving this charger, and I already have another on the way (and more to follow, most likely).
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful.A Gem of a Charger
By Stratixman
I have been looking for an affordable Qi charger since I bought my Nexus 4 phones back in March. None I researched seemed acceptable. They are either way to pricey for the utility provided or suffer some serious design deficiency. The I came across this little gem. And I do mean gem. $15 with free shipping! And it works beautifully. I can't think of anything negative to report.
The unit size is great, a bit smaller than a hockey puck. I really do like the simple, minimalist design. It has anti-slip rubber rings on top and bottom so that neither it nor the phone (when placed on it for charging) slip around. It comes with two micro usb cables of different lengths, but no power adapter. You have to provide your own power adapter. I suppose the lack of a power adapter may be a negative for some, but not for me. I (and many users as well probably) already have several power adapters that can be plugged into it, so I figure I saved money by not having one included. The operation of the unit is easy peasy. Power it up, a green light comes on and its ready to be used. Set the phone on top of it and if it is positioned correctly an audible beep sounds and the light turns blue. That's all there is. If the phone isn't positioned correctly it will either sound continuous beeps if only slightly off position, or won't sound a beep at all if placed considerably far off position. The key is to make sure you place the phone and hear the one beep. In the case of my Nexus 4, the Nexus also makes an audible tone when it is properly placed. I can't say that it charges any faster than the regular wall adapter that came with the phone - I haven't felt the need to test for that nor did I purchase with the idea that it ought to. But I don't think it is any slower, so no complaint there. All in all this product at its price point is a winner. I intend to order another unit after my Thanksgiving holiday.
Update: The charger is still great. But I just noticed that the price has gone up twice in less than a week since I ordered it; from $14.99, to #17.99, to now $19.99. Now that's some significant price inflation! I did some quick research on Amazon and found that there are several other sellers of what appears to be the identical unit: exact same physical design and packaging. Though reviews of some of those other units suggest slight operational differences with regard to the audible beep tone when charging. This suggests that all the resellers are buying the same unit from a master factory and maybe slightly altering the speaker (piezo electronic transducer) function. I am hazarding a guess that the price was raised on this unit to match or just slightly undercut the price on those other units, which all seem to be selling above $20. Would I still buy it at the new price? Probably, because this specific reseller's unit is Prime eligible, thus making 2 day shipping no charge to me. I just hope it doesn't inflate anymore in the next few days before I return from holiday and can order again (won't be in town to accept delivery).
Update 12/04/13: Ok. So I have been using this charger for about 2 weeks. I continue to be impressed by the charger for the price I paid ($14), but have discovered one shortcoming. The shortcoming is that it doesn't continue to trickle charge my Nexus 4 after completing a recharge to 100%. Once charging is complete it quits and the Nexus 4 begins discharging. This presents an issue for charging overnight - depending on when the recharge to 100% is completed and the phone begins discharging the charge level can be significantly less than 100% in the morning than one would otherwise be expecting. This issue is not unique to this particular charger and seems to exist with many others. However I think I would deduct at least 1 star from my review because of it. I also see that the price on this item has continued to escalate from the price I paid ($14) just two weeks ago to $26 today. That's some rapid inflation. As stated, I had planned to acquire another but at its current price and with the trickle charge issue I am led now to at least investigate alternatives before I buy another.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar