Thursday 11 April 2013

Review: Nokia DT-901 Fatboy (wireless charging)

Ok to be honest, this is more an "Unpack" than a "Review".

I just got the Fatboy charging pillow today so I can't really compare the speed of charging by cable or wireless...

Just though some of you may be interested in some pictures and a few comments about this product.
I hope you guys enjoy the read, after all it was quiet on this blog for too long ;)

Product

The "Nokia Wireless Charging Pillow by Fatboy (aka Nokia DT-901)" box contains a Nokia DT-900 charging plate and a Fatboy Pouch CP-603, as well as all the cables/adaptors you need to use it.

This product is currently available in red, yellow, cyan, black and white.
I decided to buy the red version for about 80.- CHF in a Swiss online store.

Unpacking

Not much to say about packaging, its a small box containing the DT-900 plate, the Fatboy pouch, a 1.8m power cord and the power plug.
So here is what it looks like:




The Fatboy charging pillow in action.
I choose this angle on purpose. In advertising you see it as a fluffy small pillow, in real life it is bulkier and less flexible than expected:



DT-901 in relation to a 27" monitor and Logitech Harmony Remote

This is how it looks, without the Fatboy pillow. It's what you get by buying the DT-900 only:


DT-900 in relation to a 27" monitor and Logitech Harmony Remote

Lumia 820 Charging Shell CC-3041

While wireless charging is integrated in all Lumia 920's, you may need to buy a Qi compatible shell for the Lumia 820.

The black Lumia 820 I got from my operator came without "wireless charging".
Here is a picture of my new white shell that supports wireless charging and the original black one that doesn't:

Be aware of this, in case you are looking for another Lumia 820 shell.

Conclusion

After the first few hours, the wireless charging technology makes quite a good impression.
Probably slightly slower than charging via cable, but still good enough and very convenient.

Compared to my Nokia 808, the Lumia 820 has way worse battery life.
Wireless charging will help a lot here. It is way more casual to drop your phone on this pillow, than connecting via USB charger!

Material and workmanship is absolutely great, it looks and feels like a high quality product on all ends. I don't feel like I paid for the design only.

The 1.8 meter long power cable (CA-211) should be long enough for most users, but with its connectors (looks like the old 2mm chargers on both ends) may be tricky to replace if you need a longer one.
The power efficient adaptor/plug is big, but if it saves energy and I don't have to unplug it when I don't use it, it's fine by me.

The Nokia/Fatboy DT-901 is less flexible and bulkier than I expected...
Personally I don't think it looks bad, depending on where you put it it can look great!
But I would be just as happy with the plain charging plate (Nokia DT-900) only.

It depends on your personal taste, whether you like this product or not.
Probably it's best, if you get your hands on it yourself before you buy one, it looks and feels a lot different from what the pictures in online shops suggest...

If you are ready to pay an extra 20.- CHF for the pillow, you will find a quality product... but I think the charging plate (DT-900) only looks just as good, consumes less space on your desk and saves you some money.

Drop a comment below, if you have any questions regarding this product. Comments on the review itself are welcome too ;)

8 comments:

  1. Btw. for those of you who missed my last post are confused by my new phone:

    I got a Lumia 820 for only 40.- CHF, which is why I am giving Windows Phone 8 a try.

    The Nokia 808 is still my primary phone!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The One... pls dont ditch the symbian camp...not you atleast!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Abhijeet,
      I didn't ditch Symbian/Nokia 808!

      I got a nice offer to get a Lumia 820 really cheap, thats why I am giving it a try... as mentioned in the comment above, the 808 is still my primary phone!!

      Regards
      Daniel

      Delete
  3. What would really interest me is the efficiency of the wireless charger. Is there any way for you to maybe check this, e.g. use up the batteries of your phone, connect an energy logger (if you have one, that is) between the 'steckdose' and the charger, and check how much energy is used to fully charge your phone again. Then do the same with a normal charger. Let's hope dat the numbers will be comparable :)

    Also to be noted by the way is that a regular Lion will have a longer life if it is charged with lower amperes, i.e. charging through USB will be less stressful on your battery than charging with the regular charger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bugi,

      I do have a device to measure the power consumption.
      But its not really a professional device and shows only limited data...

      So what I can say about it is:

      According to my measures, the power consumption is identical between the original USB charger (connected via wall plug) and the wireless charging.

      during charging
      - 4W
      - 0.02A

      plugged in, not charging
      - 0W
      - 0.00A

      (Btw. Swiss electricity networks run at 240V)

      As mentioned, I can't get more detailed information with my equiptment. But even if there is a differnece in decimal places, it is very minor...

      Delete
  4. Hello
    i have noticed that you got a nokia 820 as a wp8 phone
    but i must say that the nokia 920 is a way better phone it may seem the same on papers but i used them both and they are not even in the same group
    and the battery life is allot more in the nokia 920 i have no idea why but it is and it preforms allot fater running on the same procesor and the 8.7mp is way better than the 8mp on the nokia 820

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,

      If the performance issues are not caused by custom configurations, it is really a slap in the face for all midrange-customers!

      "Thanks" to the lower resolution, the 820 could even be superior to the 920 in terms of performance... maybe Nokia didn't put so much effort into the 820-firmware?

      Are you using a microSD card? If so, maybe your card is too slow, or WP still has issues to handle expandable memmory and slows down the system?

      I ordered a 920 for my sister, should be here in a couple of days so I can judge it for myself soon :)

      So far the 820 isn't so bad I think, it is doing quite well. I especially like the microSD card slot and replaceable battery... if the 920 had that (or at least the card slot), it would be a no brainer which one to choose.

      Btw. thanks for your feedback ;)
      How is WP8 working out for you?

      Delete
  5. This Nokia fatboy wireless charger take time during phone charging. Thanks for your blog if u need some help so kindly please check out my website below
    geek-freak.com

    ReplyDelete