It’s amazing how far technology has gone when you look at the mobile phone market. It really wasn’t that long ago when the RAZR flip phone was the hip thing to have. Now most people have large screens, fast internet, and more processing power than you would ever have imagined. With that in mind, it does seem a little crazy that we still have to plug our phones in all of the time to charge them. When I picked up my Nexus 4, the wireless charging feature was one of the most interesting to me. Today I will finally be able to show off what it’s all about with the new TYLT VÜ wireless charging pad.

Product Name: TYLT VÜ wireless charging pad

Review Sample Provided by: TYLT

Written by: Wes

Pictures by: Wes

Specifications

Input

12V / 750mA

Output

5W

Length

7.5 inches

Width

3.5 inches

Thickness

1/2 inches

Weight

5.7 ounce

Features

• Qi Compatible

• Charging Indicator Light

• Soft Touch Surface

• Cable Management

• 45 Degree Viewing Angle

• AC Wall Charger included

• Available in gray and 3 Vibrant Colors

* Phone must have QiTM charging built-in or a QiTM adapter to work with VU

In The Box

(1) VÜ Wireless Charger

(1) AC Wall Charger

(1) User Manual

1 Year Limited Warranty

 

 


Packaging

The packaging for the VÜ is extremely eye catching with its bright green trim around the front. There isn’t any way you are going to miss this if you see it sitting on a shelf anywhere. The packaging, other than the bright ring around the front and the back panel is basically all clear giving you a good view of the VÜ for every angle. This is always great because there aren’t any surprises. The back of the package does have a little more information on the VÜ as well as the wireless charging technology that it uses. Digging into the packaging was a bit of a pain though. I had a hard time opening it all up.

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Photos and Performance

The VÜ has to be one of the simplest products I have ever tested externally. All you get is a power cord and an upside down V shape phone holder.  The VÜ is made out of plastic and coated in a grippy rubber finish. There is a small foot sticking out of the main portion of the VÜ that will help keep your phone propped up into place. The shape of the VÜ puts your phone when sitting on it at a 45 degree angle, this isn’t the most ideal angle for using this on your desk but it does help keep your phone flat against the main portion of the VÜ to keep your phone’s wireless changing connection secure. That’s what is interesting about the VÜ, on the outside there isn’t much going on but we know that inside they have packed in the entire Qi wireless charging pad inside.

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To get power to the VÜ you have to plug the included power cable into the back of the VÜ. The plug is hidden up inside of the back leg slightly helping to keep the clean styling. When you first power the VÜ up the light on the bottom front will light up for a second to let you know it has power. This same light will turn on when you place your Qi compatible phone on the VÜ, red for a second then green once it starts charging. As a Nexus 4 owner I found this very convenient, anytime I’m sitting at my desk I can drop my phone on the VÜ and when I need it I don’t have to mess with the cord. The only issue I ran into was more phone related, if you drop your phone on there when the screen it turned off it won’t charge until you bump your power button to bring it out of its “sleep”.

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Charging time for my Nexus 4 wasn’t far off from what you would see using a standard charging cable. Before the VÜ I would regularly end up running down my phone to the point where it would shut off. This wasn’t from me being away from a way to charge my phone. It was simply me sitting the phone desk at my desk or in my pocket and forgetting to charge it until right before I went to get on an important conference call or leave for a long drive. Having the VÜ meant I would just sit my phone down like I normally would but while it’s sitting there it is charging. Now when I grab my phone it’s fully charged every single time I need it. If anything my worry now is keeping it fully charged TOO much.

 


Overall and Final Verdict

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The VÜ is an interesting product. First and foremost I will say having a wireless charging device for my phone makes life just a little bit easier every day. When I need to get at my phone to check a message or pick up a call I can do that without fighting or tugging on the cord like I would previously. Not to mention just trying to get your plug into the phone itself, it always seems to be backwards on the first attempt. The VÜ also helped with my issue of always having a low/dead phone, now that I don’t have to put off charging my phone because I might use it here and there it is always charged and ready to go.

My only complaints about the VÜ are for one the angle that your phone sits. Being at a 45 degree angle means this would be the optimum view if you were putting your phone on your desk and standing all day. The angle left my phone visible but I was left feeling like I could have done more, like watching a movie while it charged or at least use it as a desk clock. The only other issue is with the Qi charging technology that the VÜ is based on. It’s a good technology, but the adoption rate from phone manufactures is still really low. The S4 for example would be amazing to use with the VÜ but I couldn’t. This isn’t TYLT’s fault at all, but it is worth pointing out. Hopefully we see the adoption rate pick up, that way if you pick up a VÜ you know you will be able to use it on other phones around the house, now and in the future.

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Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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