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Hiya gadgety people I am really excited to be bringing you this review today, especially after having the brilliant opportunity of reviewing the gorgeous
So when I was offered the car QI wireless Charger to show you, I couldn't wait as I knew immediately you guys would love this too. I know from your emails many of you have long daily commutes to work or spend a lot of time in your vehicles. With this QI wireless car charger you have no more carrying cables around, just a gorgeous modern sleek cradle sitting on your dashboard. No more worries about your phone battery dying at the wrong time; so important while your away from home.
Since using my
QI Wireless charger I have found I'm topping my S4 up without even thinking when just grabbing a cuppa or a sarnie. Its so convenient and it hasn't gone flat since I started using this. OMG Its actually changed my daily routine Ive had for years....for the better!
Choose between a dash pod or an airvent clip on, its your personal choice. Both styles look modern and sleek in design and will look fab on your dashboard. I chose the air vent version.
See my photo-loaded review below!
Wireless Phone Chargers are a Specialist UK retailer and "One stop shop" for all your charging needs, you seriously do not need to look anywhere else.
They have something to suit everyone, from busy everyday commuting lifestyles to traveling in the Himalayas, they have a charger to suit not only your device but suit you personally too. All of their portable power packs and travel chargers recharge from USB or mains and the solar ones have the extra addition of trickle charge in direct sunlight.
Checkout Wireless phone Chargers site for more information if you cant wait for my reviews.
What is QI Technology?
I know from the emails I have been getting many of you have heard of QI wireless charging but do you actually know what it is; soo...here goes....
Pronounced Chee (QI) means invisible energy flow in Chinese.
Wireless charging also known as inductive charging is a convenient, fuss-free way to power your smartphone. QI Wireless chargers have an induction coil in them that emits an alternating electromagnetic field; a similar coil in your phone is able to pick this up and convert this energy into current and use it to charge the battery, just by laying the device ontop of the QI pad..."simples"!
If you haven't had a chance to to try QI charging I have to say you sooooo need to give it ago, it will make your life so much easier and simpler with charging your phone-up.
The QI Wireless car charger comes in 2 different versions I chose the air vent version as were not keen on objects on the dash of our Jeep when we go offroading. They either bounce off to vanish forever or can block our view. But I have to admit I do really like the sleek pod design it looks fab!
PackagingMy parcel arrived the very next day, I have to say MSC are fantastic at getting your deliveries to your fast. Again thanks to my heavy handed postie he dented the corner of the box but everything is fine inside...phew!
The Wireless Charging car holder has a great image on the front showing it in a posh car and looking fab. On the back explains all the techie details.
Inside everything is neatly packed into a transparent plastic box.
Unpacked you get alot for your money, you get your
- "3 Coil" charging pad,
- Car bracket,
- Micro USB cable 60cm long,
- Micro USB Cable 13cm long,
- Ciggie lighter attachment,
- User manual.
You have the 3 different connectors, all in this one kit.
They have included an excellent quality ciggie lighter standard USB attachment.
Plus I love how they supply 2 Micro USB cables of totally different lengths as different cars have different distances from your ciggie lighter; it gives you the option.
Something I noticed immediately was just what great quality both USB cable connectors and lighter connector were; they all felt excellent quality in your hand plus fitted well too. Cheap connectors and USB cables tend to be thin and shiny, these have a lovely rubbery texture and nice thickness, the actual connectors fit well and securely with no wobble.
The User manual is just brilliant it clearly explains everything with clear diagrams, so you visually understand too. Not that there is much to understand its easy to use.
The back of the wireless car charger shows just how solid its built and the large slot to attach it to the car bracket.
The car bracket is solidly made and also excellent quality.
DescriptionThis really neat QI wireless car charger is made of black abs plastic with a really nice modern design, the QI pad has "3 coils" like my home one I reviewed recently. This is actually overkill for a car charger as you can only place your phone in 1 position on this cradle, but of course it will have excellent connections.
The majority of QI chargers particularly car chargers only have 1 or 2 coils so it clearly shows what an excellent quality product this is.
The input of this charging pad is 1500mAh with a frequency of 100-200KHz. The whole charging pad has a charging distance of 4-10mm as explained in more detail in my previous review of the
MSC Premium Ultra slim QI wireless charger.
QI is a wireless standard developed in 2009 by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), the standard itself covers inductive power over short distances of up to 4cm.
With big names like Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola ands Nokia to name a few are now all using this Standard.
If you dont have NFC built in to your phone you just need your Mobile Solar Chargers
QI wireless car charging kit and a cigarette lighter connection...simples!!
UseI was so excited to try this as I didn't have a phone cradle for my Galaxy S4 in my Jeep let alone a charger....let alone a wireless charger.
When you first take the charging pad out the box you will love its substantial weight as it feels such an excellent quality product in your hand. The main pad has a suede/rubbery type texture to help grip your phone.
Reminds me of the underside of a Walker from Star Wars. <Yep Im GeeK>
The first thing you do is look at the car bracket in your hand and think omg what on earth, is it a dead beetle on its back or a Chinese puzzle? Once you read your user manual it all makes sense. Are you one of those who gets everything out the box first and fiddles before reading...guilty as charged....ooops!
The car bracket slots firmly and securely onto the back of the wireless pad and the spring loaded mechanism although extremely stiff turns 90 deg to facilitate fitting in different air vents.
Attaching to the ventIts such a clever car bracket as it is springloaded and you gently pull back and hook it over the slat of your vent, let go and it pulls back and secures into place.
It even has little stabilizer feet to make sure it supports the weight of the unit and your phone. It pushes the unit away from the dash enough so I can still access my heater controls.
The charger will fit any airvent that a car freshener will grip too.
Next you get to play; press and hold the little button at the top on the back to expand the cradles two sides smoothly and mechanically, it looks so impressive, see below for speeded up action.
The cradle sides fully expands to 10cm wide from 7cm wide to fit most smart phones.
Wow this is so cool!
Open up the cradle sides, pop in your phone and squeeze the sides together till your phone is secure; it would have been nice to have a second button to close them, but its just as quick to nip the grips together by hand probably quicker lol....just saying....while were on the techie ideas.
TIP: Always make sure that the cradle sides are firmly gripping your phone before takeoff. Or if your a mad driver you could hit a speedbump or pothole and send your phone into oblivion.
Next I chose the smaller USB cable and plugged it in at the base of the charging pad and into the ciggie lighter attachment.
Nice bright blue LED's to let you know its all working and your getting power. One on the charging pad itself and the other on the USB ciggie attachment.
Your ready to rock!
Pop on your phone and you immediately get this window to say its found wireless charging. Those three coils guarantee a fast, perfect connection.
I think my phone looks so cool on the dashboard, it not only looks gorgeous but it holds my Samsung S4 so securely once the cradle is tightened around it. I can then angle the phone backwards or forwards approximately an inch either way; again personal choice. If you catch the sunlight you need to be able to angle it away to still view your satnav or app, game or video.
You can also turn it over horizontally to play a game, watch utube or videos etc. Here is my favorite game app on my S4 Hayday...oops my cows need milking...again...!
A slight problem here is you can only use it horizontally if your stationary as;
- You cant be seen to be using your mobile while driving you naughty people.
- Its not designed to be held securely in this position and could topple out if you break too hard and you haven't squeezed the cradle tightly enough around the phone.
Despite being fixed against the air vents I still have plenty of room to get to my controls. I also don't use these as a heater at the moment so cant say how warm the unit would get. So that's something to be aware of if your using the air vent version. Not to let the unit and your phone get too hot in the middle of Winter; if your one of those who have the heater blasting continually.
Charging I was so impressed if not blown away at the technology of these QI chargers, I've amazed myself at just how much I use mine, when home its always being topped up and in fact hasn't got below 48% since I got it. It only got low on journeys in the car shopping or visiting friends and family....well not now, I'm so used to using these it's second nature to pop it on the pad.
I'm also surprised at just how fast it charges my S4. It also went from 79% to 81% in less than 10 minutes.
My main time test I started at
1st image = 48% @ 16.41
2nd Image = 100% @ 19.13 = 2 hours 32mins later.
But I have found it chargers faster at the beginning and slows down the closer it gets to full charge.
You have to admit this is just brilliant for these type of chargers, its even slightly faster than my house QI charger.
Those electricians out there may want to let me know why as I'd love to know. I'm guessing its to do with the cars engine giving the cigarette lighter more power while running.
TIP;My galaxy S4 required a wireless receiver card also available from MSC to use QI chargers which is easily affordable and so simple to fit, once in the back of your phone you can forget its there.
See my
Premium Ultra Thin QI Wireless Phone Charging Pad and
Samsung Galaxy wireless reciever card. to see how easy it was to fit.
Do you have to remove your Phonecase?I received several emails since my last QI wireless charger review so Im going to answer this in this review as its even more relevant.
Thanks to Jenny89, Susiebabe, JamesBidine and Bobgadget for this same question.
You don't have to remove your case to charge unless its a metal backed case as you have 4-10mm charging distance from the pad. I tried all my cases (see image above ) on the QI wireless car charger and all of them except one fitted and worked fine.
Can you guess which one?
This gorgeous leather wrinkled folio case has a beautiful brass closure latch which even folded behind itself forces the whole phone forwards and out the charger as its so stiff.
If the bottom cradle struts were slightly longer and had a slight lip curl over, rather than dead straight; it might hold it in but the chances of your case being as thick as this however is fairly low so don't worry and its no big deal as I simply swap cases when I know I'm going on a longer car journey...Ive plenty to choose from lol.
OpinionI'm as happy as a rabbit who has just got over his carrot allergy with both my QI chargers, but this car version is an essential gadget for those of you on the road alot. Its peace of mind and a huge safety aspect to have your phone charged while away from your family and home. Without sounding too dramatic yes it could even save your life and an essential gadget for your smartphone. If your going to buy your Smartphone a pressie get this or the home version; you wont look back.
It has a classy elegant design and looks expensive on your dashboard, you'll be proud to show it off to friends and family.
Listen to your calls and music through your car radio without losing too much charge. Keep your passengers happy on long journeys, play a game, listen to music or read books. Pop back on the charging pad when needed. Save pennies by charging on the go, free power from your car battery.
If you drive alot and have a smartphone its a no brainer you sooo NEED one of these, its not often as a reviewer I'm that pushy but I love wireless technology and the simplicity of just popping it on one of these QI pads is just amazing. Its a bit slower than USB charging from your PC and the mains, but the convenience means you top up more often and it becomes an easy habit to learn. This will change your life for the better I swear.
Its affordable, looks fab and fashionable, its not just a car customizable gimmick its a daily useful gadget you won't want to be without. I love mine!
QI wireless charging is the future of charging electrical gadgets, just wish they did one for human charging, I could do with a boost right now.
Pro's- Sleek, modern design,
- Mechanical side clamp to secure any width smartphone,
- Turn horizontally while vehicle stationary,
- So damn convenient,
- Two USB cables of different lengths,
- Fast topups,
- Adjustable widths.
Con'sNone really,
- To have the phone horizontally remember to set it back to vertical when driving off to avoid the phone dislodging.
You can buy your
From
£39.95
All my views and opinions are my own.
If you liked this review you may also like my home wireless QI charger I reviewed recently.
Premium Ultra Thin QI Wireless Phone Charging Padand
Samsung Galaxy wireless reciever card.
Those that know me know how much I love power banks and chargers and USB products so I couldnt resist treating myself to
This will fit straight into the ciggie lighter plugin connector from this wireless car charger kit; so you have an instant bright light in your car. My inner car light hasn't been working so this has been invaluable already.
Plus of course the obvious using it to see the keys at night on your laptop or just that extra bit of light for anytime.
Review coming soon.
