December 10, 2018 • 10 mins
A look at some of the more unique wireless chargers to keep your phone juiced up at home, the office and on the go.Mentioned:Google Pixel Stand, $80Samsung Wireless Charger Duo, $120Nimble Wireless Travel Kit, $60Mophie Charge Stream Powerstation Wireless XL, $100Mophie Charge Stream Vent Mount, $70Bezalel 2nd Gen Prelude, $90Rich's new book, 101 Handy Tech Tips for the iPhone, features useful hints on how to get the most out of your smartphone. Now available in paperback on Amazon. Makes a great holiday gift.Follow Rich on Social Media:Facebook: http://facebook.com/RichOnTechTwitter: http://twitter.com/richdemuroInstagram: http://instagram.com/richontech Easy ways to listen on your phone or smart speaker:"Hey Google, Play the Rich on Tech Podcast""Hey Siri, Play the Rich on Tech Podcast""Alexa, Enable the Rich on Tech Flash Briefing"
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
The latest wireless chargers to keep your phone topped off
at home, the office, and on the go. What's going on?
I'm Rich Demiro. This is Rich on Tech. So wireless
charging has been around for a while. Samsung has had
it on its phone since the Galaxy S six, but
last year, when Apple came on board, this technology was
propelled into the big time. Funny how that happens. So
(00:27):
if you have an iPhone A and up, which is
an iPhone eight eight plus ten, ten S, tens Max
or the ten R, you've got wireless charging built into
your phone. If you have a Samsung Galaxy S six
and up, that's the S six, S seven, S eight,
S nine, Oh my gosh, what are they up to now?
(00:47):
The Note nine, the Note eight, not the Note seven
that was recalled. If you have one of those phones,
you've got it. And LG has it on some of
its models, and Google just jumped in with the Pixel
th three that also has wireless charging. So overall, I
still like plugging my phone in for a more consistent charge,
but these little wireless charging devices and pads are great
(01:10):
for your desk and when you're on the go. Basically,
if you're using your phone a lot, like if you're
picking it up and placing it down a lot while
it's at your desk. These are a great solution because
you don't have to keep plugging and unplugging your phone
in to use it. You can just basically lay them
on this charger. It's keeping it topped off and everyone's happy. So,
by the way, almost all the manufacturers have adopted this
(01:31):
G standard, which is actually spelled QI. I know, a
little confusing. There used to be like this big war
of standards. There was PMA, there was CHI, but that's
all over now. So basically all wireless chargers now will
work with almost all phones, all the newer phones at least.
The only thing to know about this is that you
have to kind of look at the speed of charging.
So the speed might be different depending on the phone
(01:53):
and also the wireless charger. So ideally you want to
match up what capacity your phone can charge at along
with what capacity the charger can push that charge through at.
So here's a few unique models I've been checking out lately,
starting with the Google Pixel stand This is eighty dollars
and this was really built for the Google Pixel three.
It will work with other devices, but it does unique things.
(02:14):
When you put your pixel on it first off Pixel
three by the way, it will charge your pixel at
top speed up to ten watts. All other phones it
will charge at five watts. Now, when you place your
phone on the Pixel stand, you'll activate the Google Assistant,
so you're gonna see shortcuts on your screen related to
the things you might want to do, like the good
morning routine or the bedtime routine for nighttime. There's also
(02:36):
this sunrise alarm that will slowly brighten your Pixel three
screen in warm sunrise colors before your alarm goes off,
which is really nice, so you might even wake up
before you hear any sound, easing you into your day
instead of with a blaring alarm. Although Pixel three has
a nice gradual alarm so you'll be okay there too.
It also turns your Pixel three into a digital photo frame,
(02:57):
so while you have this thing on the stand, it's
sort of a screensaver mode. It'll show off your digital pictures.
They've got digital well being features mixed in as well,
so you can set the stand to automatically put your
Pixel three into do not disturb mode while it's charging
and when you're ready to go to sleep, the screen
will go dark until it's time for your alarm, which
is really nice. Kind of what the iPhone does with
(03:18):
the do not Disturb wall sleeping feature. Now, there's also
seamless integration with the Nest Hello Video doorbell. So basically,
if you have your pixel on your pixel stand on
your desk, and you also have a Nest Hello Video doorbell,
when someone rings your doorbell, this is really cool. Your
screen on your phone just comes to life with what
your doorbell is seeing. So again, that only works with
(03:41):
the Nest Hello does not work with the ring, but
it's a really cool little feature. I saw it demoed
at the Google event in New York City and it
almost makes me want to switch to a Nest for
that feature, because that's really cool. Next up the Samsung
Wireless Charger Duo. So this lets you charge two devices
at once, which be two smartphones or a smartphone and
(04:02):
a Samsung smart watch. No, it does not work with
the Apple Watch. This is not the air power system
from Apple that we still have not seen yet. This
will charge a Gear s three, a Gear Sport, and
a Galaxy Watch. Along with one of these Samsung phones,
it will also charge a wide variety of other devices,
and there's even a built in fan to keep your
device and the charger cool. One thing I noticed about
(04:24):
this Samsung Wireless Charger Duo, which by the way, is
one hundred and twenty dollars. It's got a giant power
plug that you plug into the wall, so this thing
is taking a lot of power to work this thing.
Next up, we've got a wireless travel kit from a
company called Nimble. This is a new company that was
created by some of the folks who originally created Mofi.
They're creating high quality, eco friendly tech products at lower prices.
(04:47):
They also include an e waste bag with every product
that you buy, So basically, this little plastic bag is inside.
You dump all your old cables and gadgets in there,
and then you mail it in. They will properly dispose
of this old stuff for you. But if you're like me,
you can't give up any old cables, so they just
collect in a drawer in your house. I've got lots
of them now. The Wireless travel Kit works in two ways.
(05:09):
You can plug it into the wall and then plug
in two gadgets with USB, or you can also use
it as a wireless charging pad, so you can charge
an iPhone at seven point five watts or Samsung and
Android devices at ten watts max. There's even one extra
USB port at the bottom even when you're wirelessly charging,
so you can charge one gadget wirelessly and plug another
(05:30):
one in. The Nimble device also looks and feels cool.
It's kind of different from all of your typical black chargers.
This is made from recycled water bottles. It's a gray color,
it's kind of fabricy feeling. It's made from organic hemp
and plant based bioplastics. Plus you can store the USB
cable right inside the device. It snaps together magnetically, hence
(05:50):
the travel charger. That one's a cool one. Next up
two devices that I'm loving from Mofi. Mophy's kind of
the leader when it comes to all of these chargers
and things, but they are expended. You pay a premium
for these things. The charge Stream power Station Wireless XCEL
is basically their portable battery bank, but it also has
built in wireless charging. So this one looks like your
(06:11):
typical backup battery. If you've used one of these, It's
basically a battery that you plug in, you charge that
and then you unplug it and you can plug your
phone in to charge your phone. But this one also
has wireless charging built in, so you can just lay
your phone on top of it and it will charge.
It has a ten thousand million amp hour battery, so
it's going to charge your iPhone several times. That model
(06:32):
is one hundred dollars. They also have a six thousand
milliamp hour model for eighty dollars, but I say spend
the extra twenty dollars. You're almost getting double the charging
capacity for just twenty more dollars. One other thing I
like about the charge Stream power station wireless Excel. There
is a tiny indicator light and led light that lets
you know when your phone is charging, which is really
(06:53):
handy because yes, you can look on your phone and
see if it has the battery icon with a little
charge amp on it, but it's nice to just be
a to look at the charger and know that the
light is lit up. That means your phone is seated
properly and it's actually charging right. Also from Mophy the
charge Stream vent mount for seventy dollars. This one's for
your car. You pop it onto your car's air vent,
(07:13):
which by the way, my wife hates because it blocks
the AC and I'm always concerned about these things in
the winter because you have the heat on the car,
so you're pumping all that heat onto the back of
your phone. So I usually switch to the vents in
the floor so my heat comes out of there. I know,
so complicated with all this stuff, but I don't want
my phone to overheat, especially when it's charging. And these
things are very convenient because they hold your phone in
(07:35):
a very nice place in your car so you can
see the screen. So once you pop this thing on
your vent, you then plug it into your car's USB
poor and then you pop your phone into the holder
and it will wirelessly charge your phone. So that means
you can have your maps right in your view and
your phone is charging at the same time. My favorite
part about this thing, I love how you can place
your phone in and out of the holder with just
(07:56):
one hand. It's super easy and it's the first time
I've seen that, and I love it now. The only
downside for me is that I use CarPlay and Android Auto,
so I need to hardwire my phone into my car's
USB port, like plug it directly into there, so you
have to take that into consideration if you're thinking about
getting this one. If you want a similar setup, there's
a device called the Keynu airframe that I also like.
(08:18):
It's much cheaper and that serves a similar mounting purpose
on your vent, but that does not have the wireless
charging built in, and you also can't place your phone
in and out with one hand. You kind of have
to use two hands. It takes a while each time,
but it works and I do like that one. And finally,
Bezilel they're taking the idea of a portable battery bank
and they're adding a useful feature which is a sticky back.
(08:40):
This way, you can stick the portable battery to your
phone so it stays put with nanosuction technology. Now this
is useful because if you've ever tried walking around with
one of these wireless portable battery packs, it can be
really tricky. Like I said before, your phone does need
to stay in a sweet spot for it to stay charging.
So Bezilel has a great idea. But this also has
(09:00):
to work with your case, and in my case it
does not because I use a case that is texthured.
My favorite case is the Spec Presidio grip and yes
it's super grippy and I love it, but it is
not smooth on the back, so it will not stick
to this Bezelel sticky charger, So keep that in mind
if you're thinking about this one. The Bezelel Prelude Portable
Power Bank is five thousand million hours. It has a
(09:22):
fifteen watt charging Oh my gosh, it will be ninety
dollars when it officially launches. Right now, you can get
out on Indiegogo for half that price if you back it,
and there you have it. Some useful wireless chargers. These
are some of the more unique models. You can get
the one that sits on your desk from a company
like Belkan. Those costs anywhere from thirty to sixty dollars.
They're even cheaper if you get one of the no
(09:44):
name models from Amazon. But just keep in mind. The
thing to look out for here is the charging watted.
You also want a high quality charger because you don't
want your phone to overheat or this device to overheat,
so make sure you're getting the right fit for your phone,
Otherwise the charge is going to be so slow it
will not be worth the time time that your phone
spends on top of this device. Thanks so much for
listening to the podcast. If you like it, please feel
(10:06):
free to share it on social media on Instagram, on Twitter,
on Facebook, and be sure to tag me so that
I can share the love that you've put out into
the world. About the rich on Tech podcast. If you
want links to everything I mentioned here, just go to
my website richon Tech dot tv, or check the show notes.
Thank you to everyone who has purchased my book one
hundred and one Handy Tech Tips for the iPhone, now
(10:28):
in paperback on Amazon. I'm rich Dimiro. Have a great day.
I'll talk to you real soon.
The latest wireless chargers to keep your phone topped off
at home, the office, and on the go. What's going on?
I'm Rich Demiro. This is Rich on Tech. So wireless
charging has been around for a while. Samsung has had
it on its phone since the Galaxy S six, but
last year, when Apple came on board, this technology was
propelled into the big time. Funny how that happens. So
(00:27):
if you have an iPhone A and up, which is
an iPhone eight eight plus ten, ten S, tens Max
or the ten R, you've got wireless charging built into
your phone. If you have a Samsung Galaxy S six
and up, that's the S six, S seven, S eight,
S nine, Oh my gosh, what are they up to now?
(00:47):
The Note nine, the Note eight, not the Note seven
that was recalled. If you have one of those phones,
you've got it. And LG has it on some of
its models, and Google just jumped in with the Pixel
th three that also has wireless charging. So overall, I
still like plugging my phone in for a more consistent charge,
but these little wireless charging devices and pads are great
(01:10):
for your desk and when you're on the go. Basically,
if you're using your phone a lot, like if you're
picking it up and placing it down a lot while
it's at your desk. These are a great solution because
you don't have to keep plugging and unplugging your phone
in to use it. You can just basically lay them
on this charger. It's keeping it topped off and everyone's happy. So,
by the way, almost all the manufacturers have adopted this
(01:31):
G standard, which is actually spelled QI. I know, a
little confusing. There used to be like this big war
of standards. There was PMA, there was CHI, but that's
all over now. So basically all wireless chargers now will
work with almost all phones, all the newer phones at least.
The only thing to know about this is that you
have to kind of look at the speed of charging.
So the speed might be different depending on the phone
(01:53):
and also the wireless charger. So ideally you want to
match up what capacity your phone can charge at along
with what capacity the charger can push that charge through at.
So here's a few unique models I've been checking out lately,
starting with the Google Pixel stand This is eighty dollars
and this was really built for the Google Pixel three.
It will work with other devices, but it does unique things.
(02:14):
When you put your pixel on it first off Pixel
three by the way, it will charge your pixel at
top speed up to ten watts. All other phones it
will charge at five watts. Now, when you place your
phone on the Pixel stand, you'll activate the Google Assistant,
so you're gonna see shortcuts on your screen related to
the things you might want to do, like the good
morning routine or the bedtime routine for nighttime. There's also
(02:36):
this sunrise alarm that will slowly brighten your Pixel three
screen in warm sunrise colors before your alarm goes off,
which is really nice, so you might even wake up
before you hear any sound, easing you into your day
instead of with a blaring alarm. Although Pixel three has
a nice gradual alarm so you'll be okay there too.
It also turns your Pixel three into a digital photo frame,
(02:57):
so while you have this thing on the stand, it's
sort of a screensaver mode. It'll show off your digital pictures.
They've got digital well being features mixed in as well,
so you can set the stand to automatically put your
Pixel three into do not disturb mode while it's charging
and when you're ready to go to sleep, the screen
will go dark until it's time for your alarm, which
is really nice. Kind of what the iPhone does with
(03:18):
the do not Disturb wall sleeping feature. Now, there's also
seamless integration with the Nest Hello Video doorbell. So basically,
if you have your pixel on your pixel stand on
your desk, and you also have a Nest Hello Video doorbell,
when someone rings your doorbell, this is really cool. Your
screen on your phone just comes to life with what
your doorbell is seeing. So again, that only works with
(03:41):
the Nest Hello does not work with the ring, but
it's a really cool little feature. I saw it demoed
at the Google event in New York City and it
almost makes me want to switch to a Nest for
that feature, because that's really cool. Next up the Samsung
Wireless Charger Duo. So this lets you charge two devices
at once, which be two smartphones or a smartphone and
(04:02):
a Samsung smart watch. No, it does not work with
the Apple Watch. This is not the air power system
from Apple that we still have not seen yet. This
will charge a Gear s three, a Gear Sport, and
a Galaxy Watch. Along with one of these Samsung phones,
it will also charge a wide variety of other devices,
and there's even a built in fan to keep your
device and the charger cool. One thing I noticed about
(04:24):
this Samsung Wireless Charger Duo, which by the way, is
one hundred and twenty dollars. It's got a giant power
plug that you plug into the wall, so this thing
is taking a lot of power to work this thing.
Next up, we've got a wireless travel kit from a
company called Nimble. This is a new company that was
created by some of the folks who originally created Mofi.
They're creating high quality, eco friendly tech products at lower prices.
(04:47):
They also include an e waste bag with every product
that you buy, So basically, this little plastic bag is inside.
You dump all your old cables and gadgets in there,
and then you mail it in. They will properly dispose
of this old stuff for you. But if you're like me,
you can't give up any old cables, so they just
collect in a drawer in your house. I've got lots
of them now. The Wireless travel Kit works in two ways.
(05:09):
You can plug it into the wall and then plug
in two gadgets with USB, or you can also use
it as a wireless charging pad, so you can charge
an iPhone at seven point five watts or Samsung and
Android devices at ten watts max. There's even one extra
USB port at the bottom even when you're wirelessly charging,
so you can charge one gadget wirelessly and plug another
(05:30):
one in. The Nimble device also looks and feels cool.
It's kind of different from all of your typical black chargers.
This is made from recycled water bottles. It's a gray color,
it's kind of fabricy feeling. It's made from organic hemp
and plant based bioplastics. Plus you can store the USB
cable right inside the device. It snaps together magnetically, hence
(05:50):
the travel charger. That one's a cool one. Next up
two devices that I'm loving from Mofi. Mophy's kind of
the leader when it comes to all of these chargers
and things, but they are expended. You pay a premium
for these things. The charge Stream power Station Wireless XCEL
is basically their portable battery bank, but it also has
built in wireless charging. So this one looks like your
(06:11):
typical backup battery. If you've used one of these, It's
basically a battery that you plug in, you charge that
and then you unplug it and you can plug your
phone in to charge your phone. But this one also
has wireless charging built in, so you can just lay
your phone on top of it and it will charge.
It has a ten thousand million amp hour battery, so
it's going to charge your iPhone several times. That model
(06:32):
is one hundred dollars. They also have a six thousand
milliamp hour model for eighty dollars, but I say spend
the extra twenty dollars. You're almost getting double the charging
capacity for just twenty more dollars. One other thing I
like about the charge Stream power station wireless Excel. There
is a tiny indicator light and led light that lets
you know when your phone is charging, which is really
(06:53):
handy because yes, you can look on your phone and
see if it has the battery icon with a little
charge amp on it, but it's nice to just be
a to look at the charger and know that the
light is lit up. That means your phone is seated
properly and it's actually charging right. Also from Mophy the
charge Stream vent mount for seventy dollars. This one's for
your car. You pop it onto your car's air vent,
(07:13):
which by the way, my wife hates because it blocks
the AC and I'm always concerned about these things in
the winter because you have the heat on the car,
so you're pumping all that heat onto the back of
your phone. So I usually switch to the vents in
the floor so my heat comes out of there. I know,
so complicated with all this stuff, but I don't want
my phone to overheat, especially when it's charging. And these
things are very convenient because they hold your phone in
(07:35):
a very nice place in your car so you can
see the screen. So once you pop this thing on
your vent, you then plug it into your car's USB
poor and then you pop your phone into the holder
and it will wirelessly charge your phone. So that means
you can have your maps right in your view and
your phone is charging at the same time. My favorite
part about this thing, I love how you can place
your phone in and out of the holder with just
(07:56):
one hand. It's super easy and it's the first time
I've seen that, and I love it now. The only
downside for me is that I use CarPlay and Android Auto,
so I need to hardwire my phone into my car's
USB port, like plug it directly into there, so you
have to take that into consideration if you're thinking about
getting this one. If you want a similar setup, there's
a device called the Keynu airframe that I also like.
(08:18):
It's much cheaper and that serves a similar mounting purpose
on your vent, but that does not have the wireless
charging built in, and you also can't place your phone
in and out with one hand. You kind of have
to use two hands. It takes a while each time,
but it works and I do like that one. And finally,
Bezilel they're taking the idea of a portable battery bank
and they're adding a useful feature which is a sticky back.
(08:40):
This way, you can stick the portable battery to your
phone so it stays put with nanosuction technology. Now this
is useful because if you've ever tried walking around with
one of these wireless portable battery packs, it can be
really tricky. Like I said before, your phone does need
to stay in a sweet spot for it to stay charging.
So Bezilel has a great idea. But this also has
(09:00):
to work with your case, and in my case it
does not because I use a case that is texthured.
My favorite case is the Spec Presidio grip and yes
it's super grippy and I love it, but it is
not smooth on the back, so it will not stick
to this Bezelel sticky charger, So keep that in mind
if you're thinking about this one. The Bezelel Prelude Portable
Power Bank is five thousand million hours. It has a
(09:22):
fifteen watt charging Oh my gosh, it will be ninety
dollars when it officially launches. Right now, you can get
out on Indiegogo for half that price if you back it,
and there you have it. Some useful wireless chargers. These
are some of the more unique models. You can get
the one that sits on your desk from a company
like Belkan. Those costs anywhere from thirty to sixty dollars.
They're even cheaper if you get one of the no
(09:44):
name models from Amazon. But just keep in mind. The
thing to look out for here is the charging watted.
You also want a high quality charger because you don't
want your phone to overheat or this device to overheat,
so make sure you're getting the right fit for your phone,
Otherwise the charge is going to be so slow it
will not be worth the time time that your phone
spends on top of this device. Thanks so much for
listening to the podcast. If you like it, please feel
(10:06):
free to share it on social media on Instagram, on Twitter,
on Facebook, and be sure to tag me so that
I can share the love that you've put out into
the world. About the rich on Tech podcast. If you
want links to everything I mentioned here, just go to
my website richon Tech dot tv, or check the show notes.
Thank you to everyone who has purchased my book one
hundred and one Handy Tech Tips for the iPhone, now
(10:28):
in paperback on Amazon. I'm rich Dimiro. Have a great day.
I'll talk to you real soon.
Host
Rich DeMuro
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