Wireless charging for the Google Nexus 4 is here -- but not for us Brits. The Nexus 4 Wireless Charger is on sale now in the US, but isn't yet available in the UK.
The wireless charger is an orb with an angled surface, to sit the Nexus 4 on top and juice up the battery without needing to plug the phone into the charger.
Of course, you need to plug the orb into the wall -- so you're still tied to a wall socket and at least one cable.
It's a Qi inductive charger, to be precise, which means it will also charge other wirelessly chargeable gadgets such as the Nokia Lumia 920.
The orb takes about 4 hours to fully juice a Nexus 4.
Wireless charging is still in its infancy as a consumer proposition, but it's gaining ground. This year sees the announcement of the Pentax WG-3, the first camera to include wire-free power-up. It'll be great in a few years' time when everyone has a wireless device, and chargers are in restaurants and pubs and coffee shops and airport lounges and bordellos. Rumour has it that Samsung plans wireless charging in cars and coffee tables too.
The Nexus 4 Wireless Charger is on sale at Google Play in the US for $60 (£39). Sadly there's no word on when the orb will be available in the UK too. Funny how if you say a word often enough it loses all meaning. Orb. Orb. Oooooorrrrb.
Is this another sign that wireless charging is here to stay, or is the Orb just a gimmicky paperweight? And what do you think of the Nexus 4? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page. Orb orb orb.
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Comments 16
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anonymous 12 February, 2013 09:55
Can't see the point if you have to have the charger plugged in anyway, Just more money to fork out!
anonymous 12 February, 2013 09:58
I phoned Google and even the representative didn't know when or if it was coming to the UK.
If you do want a wireless charger make sure it is QI compatible and produces enough Mah as some of the cheaper charger will not fully charge the Nexus and some will take a very long time.
If you want to buy a Orb from another country you will need to use a USB wall charger that puts out a minimum of 1.8amps (usb from the computer is not enough as they are usually only 0.5amps)
anonymous 12 February, 2013 10:17
Is this really worth while?
You wont be able to use the device whilst charging on the orb whereas you can play around even with wired charger on.
Useless.
Rich Trenholm 12 February, 2013 10:24
Strictly speaking you can, say, watch a video, because it's at an angle. It's the same as any dock really
anonymous 12 February, 2013 10:29
To the person that said:
"Is this really worth while?
You wont be able to use the device whilst charging on the orb whereas you can play around even with wired charger on.
What about if you used your usb port to output display and the orb to charge it?
Useless."
anonymous 12 February, 2013 10:43
@anonymous 12 February, 2013 10:29
the Samsung HDMI adapter has a USB pass through so you can charge and watch at the same time. I should know, I have one.
anonymous 12 February, 2013 12:03
I guess the point is the ability to site them in public spaces. No need to carry a charger around or a USB cable. What happened to inductive charging through the air? I thought it was possible to create an inductive field if the phone was in the near proximity... Or would this simply fry peoples brains?
anonymous 12 February, 2013 12:34
probably suited for folk like me. at night i have the phone sitting on the bedside table and have to rummage around for the cable to plug it in. with this i can have the orb sitting on the table and can dock it with no fuss. a lot of money to shell out for the admittedly minor inconvenience of fiddling with the plug though.
anonymous 12 February, 2013 13:54
It'll go up on the Play store on 13th Feb at 16:00 in the UK
To all those complaining about the price; other Qi chargers will cost you easily £60 and above, £40 for the Orb is a very competitive price
To all those complaining about the usefulness/uselessness; this is incredibly useful if you're at your desk a lot of the day (home or work office) and frequently need to pick it up without fiddling with wires, and also because of the angle, it can be used as a dock to display whatever you like at your desk while charging. For me for example, when developing apps I can have it in view as I debug (wirelessly thanks to root) while it's on the Orb and in plain view, then I can easily pick it up to test whatever I'm working on before chucking it back down without ever worrying about charge. I see this as incredibly useful, I just hope that use case remains true in actuality
anonymous 12 February, 2013 14:10
Brilliant bits of kit, I first came across this tech with a PalmPre, crap build quality phone, great charger :) Just leave the charger wherever you are likely sit down and pop your phone on, perfect for modern, power hungry phones
dougmet 12 February, 2013 14:26
Wireless charging will be really good. Personally I'm most interested in a larger mat so I can just put it down haphazardly on my bedside table at night but this is a good start.
anonymous 13 February, 2013 10:21
All depends on how long one of these chargers last versus price point.
£40-60 is a lot to pay if the charger lasts a year. If it lasts four years that'll be value for money.
Only one way to find out!
anonymous 13 February, 2013 17:05
For the money I'd rather have 2 extra batteries and a charger
anonymous 17 February, 2013 19:24
To the person who would rather carry extra batteries:
You obviously don't have a Nexus 4 do you?
anonymous 19 February, 2013 07:47
"Funny how if you say a word often enough it loses all meaning." - Finally, someone else who understands what I mean when I say this.!
anonymous 28 February, 2013 01:53
After 5 minutes, gravity takes over and the phone slides out of charging position. I woke up to a half charged battery this morning. I had to lessen the angle of the orb with post-it notes to make it stay in place. Save your money!