LG Nexus 4's wireless charging pad looks futuristic in leaked image

Charger of the future? (credit: Phone Arena)

The LG Nexus 4 may be an even more poorly-kept secret than even Apple's iPad mini was, and that's saying something.

But one of the earliest LG Nexus 4 rumors, which surfaced in early October just a day after the LG Nexus phone was first outed, claimed that the Jelly Bean handset would support wireless charging right out of the box.

Now, we may have proof of such a feature.

On Friday, an image supposedly showing what the LG Nexus 4's wireless charging pad will look like was leaked to the internet by an "anonymous tipster."

The charger of the future

Wireless charging seems on the cusp of industry-wide adoption, with high-profile devices like the Nokia Lumia 920 and now the LG Nexus 4 apparently jumping eagerly on board.

Friday's leaked image shows a disc-shaped platform with a curved base and a rubbery-looking top surface with "nexus" etched into it.

PhoneArena, the original recipient of the image, pointed out that the supposed charging pad sort of resembles Google's Nexus Q media-streaming orb, which itself resembles some alien artifact from the Assassin's Creed video games.

It could be the real deal - or it could be a fake mock-up made by someone with too much free time.

Only the official LG Nexus 4 announcement, believed to be arriving at an Android event Monday, will tell for sure.

The wireless charging competition

However the LG Nexus 4's wireless charging accessory winds up, it'll face stiff competition in the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820's options.

Three varieties of wireless charging accessories for Nokia's Windows Phone 8 handsets are currently available for pre-order: the plate, the stand and the "Fatboy pillow."

All three options will be available in colors to match the Lumia phones themselves, including red, yellow, blue, white and black.

According to the latest reports, though, the LG Nexus 4 will only be available in black or white, so the Nokia phones may well have the advantage - aesthetically, at least.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/lg-nexus-4s-wireless-charging-pad-looks-futuristic-in-leaked-image-1107769

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As if all things iOS weren’t expensive enough, Apple jacks up iPhone 5 replacement charger price by $9

A replacement charger setup for the iPhone 5, which uses the new Lightning dock connector, will cost you 24 percent more than a 30-pin charger setup.

The iPhone 5 may cost the same as the iPhone 4S did when it was first released last year, but as for a replacement charger for the hot new Apple handset, well, you’re going to have to cough up some more cash.

The USB power adapter plus a 30-pin USB cable — the full charger setup for an iPhone 4S or older, iPad, or iPod — costs $29 through Apple’s website, just as it always has. However, Apple does not sell the USB power adapter and the new Lightning dock connector cable for the iPhone 5 together — you have to buy those separately, at a cost of $19 apiece.

That means iPhone 5 customers are forced to pay $9 more — an increase of roughly 24 percent — for a replacement or spare charger setup than customers with the iPhone 4S or older.

This does not make much sense, at least on the surface. Like the standard 30-pin to USB cable, a new Lightning cable will cost you $19. So theoretically, Apple should offer iPhone 5 customers the package deal (USB adapter plus Lightning cable) at a cost of $29.

We’ve reached out to Apple to see if they have a $29 Lightning charger package in the works, but have not yet heard back. We will update this space as soon as we do.

The 24 percent price hike follows complaints about the new Lightning-to-30-pin adapter, which comes with every iPhone 5, due to its relatively high cost: A replacement for that will cost you $29 (or $39) through Apple.

All said, we would be highly surprised if this jump in price is permanent; the company didn’t officially raise the price of the full charger setup, after all. It simply failed to offer that option, meaning we have to piece it together ourselves, at a cost. Further, we doubt the $9 difference will have much impact on sales of the iPhone 5, which have already topped 5 million in just a matter of days. Still, forcing iPhone 5 customers to lay out an extra nine bucks for a replacement charger seems to us an unhelpful oversight, at best. 

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-jacks-up-iphone-5-replacement-charger-price/

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