Reviews By Russell Holly Feb. 19, 2014 4:14 pm
Arguably the most desired iPhone 5S feature (at least among smartphone geeks) was wireless charging. As we all know now, it didn’t happen. Fortunately, the days of considering those clunky wireless charging cases*are behind us. In front of us is the iQi. And while it’s not perfect there’s a lot of reasons to consider adding this wireless charging case to your iPhone arsenal.
If there was a single word that could be used to describe the general opinion of the IndieGoGo campaign for iQi, it was skepticism. The $30,000 promised something no one else had come even close to delivering: the ability to use a regular-looking iPhone case and deliver wireless charging. Despite the raised eyebrows, the campaign blew past the original goal and brought in over $160,000 for FoneSalesman.com, the company behind iQi.
Basically, the company made a Lightning port attached to a ribbon cable that leads to a small Qi charging sticker. You can attach it to your phone, tuck it away in a case, and when you set your iPhone down on a Qi charger it starts charging almost immediately.
As you can see in the video it’s not quite as good as what you’d see on a Nexus 5 or Nokia Lumia, but it is close enough to put a smile on your face if you have been waiting for this technology.
Your iPhone will need to be seated just right on the charging pad in order to deliver power to the iPhone, and even then it is only capable of receiving 600mA which means it will charge your iPhone slower than plugging it into the wall. It’s not the kind of thing you’d notice when charging overnight, but if you find yourself constantly connected to your power cord during the day you’re more likely to notice the slower charging rate.
All told, this $35 gizmo adds a huge feature to the iPhone, and does so in a way that most users aren’t ever likely to even notice. If the only thing you use your Lightning adaptor for is power, this is a perfect accessory for you. It’ll take some getting used to, and Qi charging mats can get kind of pricey if you decide to cover your home and office in them, but it’s the best option available today for this kind of wireless freedom.
Check out our review of these four Qi wireless chargers and the Nexus wireless charger for more info.
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If there was a single word that could be used to describe the general opinion of the IndieGoGo campaign for iQi, it was skepticism. The $30,000 promised something no one else had come even close to delivering: the ability to use a regular-looking iPhone case and deliver wireless charging. Despite the raised eyebrows, the campaign blew past the original goal and brought in over $160,000 for FoneSalesman.com, the company behind iQi.
Basically, the company made a Lightning port attached to a ribbon cable that leads to a small Qi charging sticker. You can attach it to your phone, tuck it away in a case, and when you set your iPhone down on a Qi charger it starts charging almost immediately.
As you can see in the video it’s not quite as good as what you’d see on a Nexus 5 or Nokia Lumia, but it is close enough to put a smile on your face if you have been waiting for this technology.
Your iPhone will need to be seated just right on the charging pad in order to deliver power to the iPhone, and even then it is only capable of receiving 600mA which means it will charge your iPhone slower than plugging it into the wall. It’s not the kind of thing you’d notice when charging overnight, but if you find yourself constantly connected to your power cord during the day you’re more likely to notice the slower charging rate.
All told, this $35 gizmo adds a huge feature to the iPhone, and does so in a way that most users aren’t ever likely to even notice. If the only thing you use your Lightning adaptor for is power, this is a perfect accessory for you. It’ll take some getting used to, and Qi charging mats can get kind of pricey if you decide to cover your home and office in them, but it’s the best option available today for this kind of wireless freedom.
Check out our review of these four Qi wireless chargers and the Nexus wireless charger for more info.
More...
