[FinsUpDNC]

The glory is charging multiple devices and installation in desktop drawers and public places. Now its more of an early adopter gimmick than useful. You know the dream: one charge pad to rule them all. MP3 players, phones, tablets and Ultras. Just plop them down at a Starbucks or Barnes and Noble and enjoy the free WiFi while charging.

In real life I'd get more use out of a second AC cord for work and DC adapter for the car or charging stand for both work and auto. It's a gimmick if there's no industry follow through. Let's see Samsung adopt



I suppose some would argue a choice of a Second AC adapter and a Car Charger would be of more immediate use. The stand Charger is a utlility.

The glory is that it sits on my desk at work and it charges when it is not being used, yet I can pick it up without being tied to a wire. This is not a gimmick, this is real life. Some coffee shops in NYC with the help of Nokia are putting these into their tables NOW. I will be installing these in my employees workstations as they become more prevalent in the years to come. Don't worry Samsung will put these in there phones as soon as apple does.

[e24mpwr]

I love my charging stand. The pad I got free with the phone arrives Monday, and will go to the office and travel with me. Wireless charging rocks!!

[Keith Wallace]

Wireless charging is far from gimmick. Reviewers called it a gimmick because iPhone doesn't have it. People called it gimmick, because iPhone doesn't have

1. I hate Apple.
2. I love Windows Phone and my Lumia 920.

I disagree here. I don't' call it a gimmick because Apple lacks it. I call it a gimmick because while I LOVE the feature, it's not that big of a deal. If you aren't getting a free charger, it's not a convenience worth the $50 cost of a charger (and the $35 cost of a case/cover, if your phone doesn't have wireless charging). It's a gimmick because it's a convenience not worth the monetary cost. I mention ALL THE TIME that you get the wireless charging and the pad for free with the Lumia 920, but I deliberately told my sister to not get a charger when she got her Lumia 822 (the moron at Verizon said it had wireless charging built in, but it doesn't without a new cover), because it's not a big enough deal to warrant the cost.

[lordofthereef]

1. I hate Apple.
2. I love Windows Phone and my Lumia 920.

I disagree here. I don't' call it a gimmick because Apple lacks it. I call it a gimmick because while I LOVE the feature, it's not that big of a deal. If you aren't getting a free charger, it's not a convenience worth the $50 cost of a charger (and the $35 cost of a case/cover, if your phone doesn't have wireless charging). It's a gimmick because it's a convenience not worth the monetary cost. I mention ALL THE TIME that you get the wireless charging and the pad for free with the Lumia 920, but I deliberately told my sister to not get a charger when she got her Lumia 822 (the moron at Verizon said it had wireless charging built in, but it doesn't without a new cover), because it's not a big enough deal to warrant the cost.

I am a little confused. Why aren't you letting your sister decide if it is a big enough deal to warrant the cos?. I respect your opinion, but it is just that, an opinion, not fact. I am sure you would say buying the phone off contract overseas for $700 isn't worth the cost, yet thousands of people are doing it, because it is worth it to THEM.

I am going to assume that you are pretty young, and that is ok! Ten years ago, I would have said that $50 for a silly accessory is too much, and not worth the cost. There are plenty of people that are not at that place in their lives, and I am sure you will be too. For me, I have no problem putting a charger on my computer desk at home and work, my nightstand, and the end table by the couch. Why? I am the kind of guy that likes topping off my phone, and not having to worry about a cable is a plus. Am I going to go around saying that everybody NEEDS one? Of course not. But it is more convenient, and better looking, than micro USB cables cluttered around the house.

Also, while I understand you don't like Apple and that you won't call the wireless charging a necessity once the iPhone utilizes it, that is not what the poster you quoted is saying, at all. He specifically mentioned reviewers. You can probably put this in the iOS users category. There seems to be the tendency of iOS users to feel and think that once Apple does it, it's time to adopt. You disagree. great! But he wasn't referring toy ou.

[tissotti]

When I first received the pad i thought it was just a bit gimmicky,how wrong can you get.
It's only a small thing but being able to place your phone down and power it up has made life just simpler no more faffing about plugging it in
Its sometimes the small things that make your day.

Yeah it's certainly no gimmick for me. Granted i can understand that for somebody it can be a gimmick as it might not fit to your daily life, but for me it has been great. Only used wall charger 2 times so far.

And the above i paid the norm 699 euros for the phone in here + 59 euros for the wireless charger.

[AZBrowncoat]

I love my free wireless charger - but Nokia is far from the first to offer this feature...as a previous poster stated Palm was doing it for years.

[tebugg]

speaking of charging pads, here goes apple applying for yet another patent (along with their other 1 million patents) for wireless charging technology. it does work differently than nokia's.

Apple applies for patent on wireless charging system

[nander]

speaking of charging pads, here goes apple applying for yet another patent (along with their other 1 million patents) for wireless charging technology. it does work differently than nokia's.

Apple applies for patent on wireless charging system

That's how wireless charging should be imo. Nothing that needs to placed on a charging pad that's limited by the length of the cord, just place your device near it and you're good to go. I like it. Hopefully Apple doesn't get this so that other OEMs don't have to pay out their asses to license it, I'd love to see it on my next phone after my 920

[MDak280]

That's how wireless charging should be imo. Nothing that needs to placed on a charging pad that's limited by the length of the cord, just place your device near it and you're good to go. I like it. Hopefully Apple doesn't get this so that other OEMs don't have to pay out their asses to license it, I'd love to see it on my next phone after my 920

Wait, Nokia's wireless charger has to be plugged in at all times to work? I thought you plugged it in to charge it, and you could unplug it and take it wherever... if this is true then, it's still convenient, but not as convenient as I thought it was. Is this true for all Qi standard wireless chargers?

[tissotti]

Wait, Nokia's wireless charger has to be plugged in at all times to work? I thought you plugged it in to charge it, and you could unplug it and take it wherever... if this is true then, it's still convenient, but not as convenient as I thought it was. Is this true for all Qi standard wireless chargers?

Yes it needs to be connected to the plug. I haven't heard about Qi charger that has huge battery inside. Doesn't really make sense as wireless charger wastes so much power to first take power from a plug to the battery and then waste much of it on the wireless charging process.
If you want Nokia released portable charger with battery inside back in 2011 called DC-16.

speaking of charging pads, here goes apple applying for yet another patent (along with their other 1 million patents) for wireless charging technology. it does work differently than nokia's.

Apple applies for patent on wireless charging system

Well it's just a patent. Nokia filed over 1300 patents last year spending 8 times more on R&D than Apple at 4 billion euros and probably 1% of those patents ever go anywhere.

[msdugn]

More than a gimmick for me. Previously I had to buy a couple Blue Lounge CableDrop thingies to keep our micro USB plugs from falling behind or bedside tables. Even then, my wife and I spent a few seconds each night to find, grapple with and (sometimes) reverse the direction of the plug to fit into our phones to charge them for the night.

CableDrop.jpg

There's just no beating the ease and convenience of plopping our phones down on their pads without any squinting, plugging or tugging. Not only do we save a few seconds every night, but it's double the joy when the spouse in already in bed and the room is dark. No fumbling about in the dark to charge my phone for the night.

I can't wait until this tech is ubiquitous for use with other home electronics and built into tables at restaurants and coffee shops.

[eLseStudio]

Probably a dump question... does the pad uses electricity while not charging any phone but still plugged into the wall with switch on?

[brmiller1976]

Anybody who used a Palm webOS phone with Touchstones would tell you that wireless charging isn't a gimmick -- it's life-changing (and was VERY hard to give up when we had to go to other ecosystems).

The one thing Qi is missing, which Palm got right (IMO) is magnetic grip. Touchstones would "grab and hold" the phone using magnets, which feels a little more secure than just laying the phone down on top of a slab of plastic or pillow.

[brmiller1976]

Probably a dump question... does the pad uses electricity while not charging any phone but still plugged into the wall with switch on?

A little bit, but negligible.

[psm0110]

Someone really needs to make a universal car mount adapter for wireless charging. I don't mind plugging in my phone at the desk or nightstand. It's when I'm in my car, anxious to get moving, that fiddling with a cable and then its obstruction of the rest of the dash that pisses me off to no end. If I could just slap the puppy in there, snap in secure, and have the cable pre-routed around all the knobs I'd be set. In fact, make a second version with a bluetooth to aux adapter for the poor sobs in old cars w/o new radios.

[TigerMyth36]

I thought it would be gimmicky until I got the free pad and now I don't have to crawl under my desk at work all of the time to charge the phone like i used to have to do when the dang charging cord was always falling down. Seems gimmicky, but it isn't. I really like it.

[erzhik]

Anyone tested wireless charging at Starbucks in Boston?

[Reclinerhead]

I love the wireless charging too. I was wondering ... what happens if you use the wireless charger AND the wired charger at the same time? Double speed, or maybe it just melts the phone? I'm not so sure i want to test this out ... I am digging my new phone too much.

[falconrap]

Anybody who used a Palm webOS phone with Touchstones would tell you that wireless charging isn't a gimmick -- it's life-changing (and was VERY hard to give up when we had to go to other ecosystems).

The one thing Qi is missing, which Palm got right (IMO) is magnetic grip. Touchstones would "grab and hold" the phone using magnets, which feels a little more secure than just laying the phone down on top of a slab of plastic or pillow.

I have a Touchstone on my desk an in my car. Nothing like being able to get into the car and just plop my phone down on the charger, where it's held magnetically, and let it charge. When I switch to WP8 in March, or earlier if I can get VZW to do it, having the ability to wirelessly charge is going to be one of the draws for me. I'd really like to see someone attempt to swap out the wireless components from a Touchstone back and a Nokia back to see if it will work on a Touchstone. The magnetic gripping is definitely a great thing to have. There have been quite a few people who have modified their Android phone backs to do this with success.

Wireless charging is just so much better than having to plug a cord. Plus it saves wear and tear on the phone's USB connector.

[cp2_4eva]

I'm going to bite and call it a gimmick because the charging pad didn't come with the phone and I bought mine full retail and wasn't given a charging pad. Probably no fault of ATT, but would have been nice and I'm sure if they included it and added 50 bucks to the cost they would have still sold like hotcakes.

[AngeloUCF]

To me, it's very convenient, and I loved the idea from the start. The only thing I would change is to up the amperage from 750mA to 1.3A like the regular wall charger so it charges a bit faster

[Thigis]

Probably a dump question... does the pad uses electricity while not charging any phone but still plugged into the wall with switch on?

Yes. How much? no idea

[jalb]

If wireless charging is a gimmick, it's the most useful gimmick I can think of.

[inteller]

Wireless charging is far from gimmick. Reviewers called it a gimmick because iPhone doesn't have it. People called it gimmick, because iPhone doesn't have it. But placing a phone on a pad without the need to stick a cable into it every day is far from gimmicky, especially when you try to put cable in it in the dark. With Lumia line having it and now new Nexus having it, wireless charging WILL become a standard, whether Apple fans agree or not. You can bet that next iPhone will have it as well. This is just the way technology evolves.

if wireless charging were a gimmick there wouldn't be so many stupid wireless charging sleeve options for the iphone.

[smf98aggie]

I got my charging pad on Saturday afternoon :D I was really excited about it, and couldn't wait to use it that night. It's placed on my night stand by my bed, so it'll be easy to grab incase I get an emergency call in the middle of the night. Well, it worked great Saturday night, but I noticed this morning that it was only at 60% when I took it off the charger to leave for work. It was on the charger all night, so it should've been 100%. Not sure if there's a specific way it has to sit on the charger, so tonight I'll be checking on that.