Saturday, February 14, 2015

Can I charge my phone/tablet wirelessly ?

Q : Can I charge my phone/tablet wirelessly ?

Answer : You can if your phone/tablet  has the required QI wireless receiver inbuilt (note : this has nothing to do with 'wifi'). You would then buy a 'transmitter' for it and it should charge when near (note : this seems quite new technology. Many seem to complain of poor power charge). The technology seems to be known as 'QI'



Q : What if my phone/tablet does not have the QI receiver inbuilt ? Can I still charge it wirelessly ?

Answer : You can but you need to buy a QI receiver as well, and plug the receiver into the phone/tablet when about to charge. The receivers are very slim though (see video below about a 'retrofit')



My knowledge on subject : 3/10 and new

Comment :
This seems like charging by 'induction', the same as used by many electric toothbrushes (e.g. Braun). For phones/tablets it seems a new method of charging. I have seen reviews that said it hardly charged at all. Other chargers have got good reviews. Currently it seems mostly high-end phones that have a receiver inbuilt but I think over time it will become the norm.   

In summary :
If your phone/tablet has an inbuilt QI receiver : buy a QI transmitter and it will charge

If your phone/tablet does not have an inbuilt QI receiver : you need to buy a QI receiver and transmitter. The receiver will fit to the micro usb input of your device.

Possible problems with receiver :
Most receivers are designed for phones with the micro usb port at the bottom of the phone
You also need to check which way round the micro-usb port is (narrow side up ? narrow side down ?)

Links :
Check if your phone is 'QI compliant' (or if you need a receiver too) : QI Inside
Wikipedia : QI (inductive power standard)
QIwireless website 
How to add wireless charging to any device : QI wireless article 
Pocketnow articles : wireless charging



Amazon links :
Amazon USA search : Wireless charger
Amazon USA search : Wireless charger receiver QI (for phones without inbuilt QI)

Amazon UK search : Wireless charger
Amazon UK search : Wireless charger receiver QI (for phones without inbuilt QI)

No comments:

Post a Comment