By Daniel Van Beek
Daniel Van Beek is a small business owner and talented and creative graphic artist. He created the company TGraphicsWest.com, a flourishing t-shirt graphics company that provides the art design and t-shirts for the Josten’s Renaissance program in public schools across the country. Daniel recently tried out for the show, WipeOut, as his alter-ego, Danger Dan. His debut is set for January 20, 2011. Dan is a subscriber of WellConnectedMom.com and avid technologist.
I get home from work and set my phone down….BOOM it’s charging!
How convenient and cool is that? Not only am I one of those guys that loves technology, but I also love saving time. Seconds add up to minutes add up to hours and on and on. Enter the Energizer Induction Charger. I love this thing, seriously. It may not seem like a huge time saver, but it seems the older I get the smaller the charging cord plug gets. Problem solved.
Energizer made this thing so easy to set up as well. Plug it in, snap the handy replacement cover on your phone and viola…you are charging into the 21st century. Orientation of the phone to the charging pad doesn’t really matter, just need to get close. Easy to tell it’s charging by it’s little blue light and, of course, the phone behaves like it’s charging under traditional methods.
The add-on to your phone does make your phone a bit thicker, but it’s negligible. As I understand it the Qi
technology has become the universal standard for induction charging and this pad will be compatible as these phones hit the market. Way too cool! I do have to forgo my lovely rubber cover on my phone, but, again, as Qi comes standard in future phones I will get that back too.
technology has become the universal standard for induction charging and this pad will be compatible as these phones hit the market. Way too cool! I do have to forgo my lovely rubber cover on my phone, but, again, as Qi comes standard in future phones I will get that back too.I do have a wish list for this device. It would be great if the entire pad could fit a slew of phones in any configuration. For now it only holds two phones which is great for a couple with no kids, but in our family handhelds rule and charging is non-stop.
I am embracing this technology and the Energizer Induction Charger is a clear choice for our family.
For an exclusive “unboxing” of the new Energizer Induction Charger with iPhone sleeve, watch this video:
EDITOR NOTE:
Energizer sent the Energizer Inductive Charger free of charge to be reviewed on WellConnectedMom.com. Here are some further points regarding the Energizer Inductive Charger:
Pros:
- convenient, no wires to mess with when charging your phone
- flexible – just drop your phone on the pad – doesn’t have to fit in the square exactly to charge
- the Qi technology is the new universal standard adopted by Wireless Power Consortium for inductive charging, so Qi will likely to be around for a long time
- Qi technology will be built into many smartphones in the future, regardless of manufacturer
- Qi technology is based on open source standards for products defined for 5 watts of power or less (ex. phones, mp3 players, cameras, etc.). The competition, Powermat, uses a proprietary technology that other companies cannot use.
- includes a USB port for additional charging needs
- the phone sleeves have a nice rubberized feel to them
- LED indicators let you know that your phone is charging. Your phone will indicate its charging as well.
Cons:
- currently, the Qi sleeves are only available for the iPhone and Blackberry Curve 8900
- the phone sleeves are bulky
- the sleeves do not have access to plug your phone into speakers or a docking station, you will have to remove the sleeve to do so
- the sleeves currently only come in black
- has only 2 slots for charging – the Powermat has 3 slots
- there is no 4g iPhone sleeve available yet
The Energizer Inductive charger retails for $89.00, the iPhone 3G/3GS sleeve for $34.99, and the BlackBerry Curve 8900 door for $34.99. The Energizer Inductive charger, iPhone sleeve, and BlackBerry Curve 8900 door can be purchased through Amazon.com, and Target (online and in-store).
You may recall WellConnectedMom.com did a review of the Powermat charger back in May. I could not find any kind of statement from Powermat as to why their technology is superior or longer lasting. I did, however, notice that they have slashed their prices on most if not all of their products through a special sale they are having online.
WIN A $25 Gift Card!!!
Interested in buying an Energizer Inductive Charger for yourself or someone else for a gift? Energizer has generously donated a $25 gift card to a major retailer to help reduce in the cost in buying an Energizer Inductive Charger. TO ENTER: 1. Leave a comment about your thoughts about your current process of charging a phone. 2. Follow WellConnectdmom on Twitter. Leave another comment here to tell us you are following us on Twitter. 3. Become a fan of the WellConnectedMom.com by clicking on “Like” on the Well Connected Mom Facebook page. Leave a comment to tell us you’re now a fan. If you’re already a fan, leave a comment too for an extra entry! 4. Receive another chance to win by asking your friends to “like” the WellConnectedMom.com on Facebook. For every friend of yours that joins, you’ll receive another entry into the contest. Be sure to send an e-mail to info@wellconnectedmom.com of each friend you referred who “likes” WellConnectedMom.com. The more comments you leave, following the guidelines above, the better your chances of winning! Contest ends on December 8th @ 10pm PST. Contest open to all US residents. Good luck and thanks for spreading the word! ALSO, don’t forget we’re giving away a Waterpik Sinusense neti pot to help you fight this Fall’s allergy and cold symptoms. Sign up for the giveaway at the end of the Waterpik SinuSense review.
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