Review – 2 Wireless Chargers Nokia DT 900 and DT 901

Wireless charging is a minor but useful innovation on the Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone

Nokia DT-901 Fatboy wireless charging – the phone must be on the pad in the right place

By Stephen Pate – The Nokia Lumia 920 phone can be charged without being plugged into a cable with wireless chargers.

Two different models – Nokia DT-900 Wireless Charging Plate and the DT-901 – cost between $30 and $50 while making charging easier although not without issues.

The phone cannot be fully discharged to use wireless charging and the phone must be aligned properly on the plate.

Other than that, the system works like a charm making the Lumia 920 just a little more special than my iPhone.

Nothing could be simpler than laying your Nokia smartphone on the Nokia DT-900 Wireless Charging Plate and have the batter charged just sitting there.

Nokia DT-900 wireless charger (black) comes in 5 colors

The DT-900 which is a flat plastic plate connected to a wall wart with a longish cable. The DT-900 comes in 5 colors that match the Nokia Lumia phones.

As long as the phone is aligned correctly over the plate, the phone will charge from low to full in less than 2 hours. The phone vibrates and sounds when the alignment is correct and the plate will light on the end edge.

Be careful, charging takes software so a fully discharged phone will not recharge wirelessly which I discovered to my dismay one morning.

Nokia Lumia 920 charging on a yellow Fatboy DT-901

Slightly more fun and stylish is the Nokia DT-901 Wireless Charging Pillow by Fatboy. Your phone sits on a pillow which has no other purpose than being cool.

Does it charge on the Fatboy? Yes and no. If you get the right spot on the surface, it charges slightly slower than the flat DT-900.

However, the Fatboy is slippery and I have misplaced the 920 several times and it did not charge. In the wrong place the phone will vibrate or tinkle depending on the phone settings.  Despite those misgivings, I use the Fatboy more often, although it might look less than professional on an office desk.

The DT-901 Fatboy comes in 5 colors as well and it seems some of the colors are not discounted and can cost $90. My Red Nokia DT-901 Fatboy cost about $70 from Amazon.com

QI inductive power

Nokia is using the QI standard for inductive charging which is pretty cool when you think about it.

Qi  (pronounced “Chee”) transfers electrical power by induction over short distances, tops being 1.6″ or 4 cm. The amount of power is very low which explains the slightly longer time to charge up the phone.

Since the batteries in the Lumia 920 like to be topped up, they recommend regularly charging the phone on the pad. I drop my phone on the Fatboy or DT-900 when I am at my desk and it’s charged when I need to go.

Other phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 have wireless charging systems. You can also buy generic wireless chargers but there may be compatibility issues and the dollars saved do not seem worth the risk.

I bought both DT-901 and DT-900 for this review and kept them. They are very handy.

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