Metrans MWT02 Review
Right guys, first I would like to apologize for the delay in getting this review up. My situation is less than ideal, I am currently at my university dorm and have no access to a camera besides my Nexus 4. I was expecting to go home this weekend and bring back a camera but unfortunately that didn't happen...I will be going next week instead.
However, rather than delay this review any further, I thought I would give you my thoughts now with photos of the charger, and then update it next week with photos of the charger + its usage with the Nexus 4. I hope you don't mind the wait.
The review itself will structured in two parts, one covering the appearance of the charger and the other, its function. If you can think of another area, please let me know and I will revise my review. Also, please note that I have re-sized the photos for this thread (so it's cleaner to read), if you would like to view them in a larger size please visit
this gallery.
APPEARANCE
In terms of appearance, this QI charger is a solid
8/10, heck, I would say it looks better than the Orb! It's design is very minimal; it has what feels and looks like a chrome border and the bottom and top of the charger seem to be white plastic (but not of the glossy, smooth kind, the texture is matte). These two visual aspects combine to give the charger a very premium look.
Here are some photos:
FUNCTION
Aesthetics is meaningless if the charger itself does not function well...fortunately, I can tell you that this charger does what it claims to do on the eBay listing
however there are a few things I would like to point out, some of you may consider these disadvantages and others may see them as advantages. I will first start with the definite pros or really, the only pro we are looking for.
Yes, this charger does work. It's not a scam or some nonfunctional unit. When I place my Nexus 4 on top of the charger, it charges until 100%. When I take it off, it stops charging
The charge time varies depending on how much battery you start off with when you start charging, a full cycle usually takes around 2-3 hours - this was via my wall adapter (more on that later). Charge time was a bit slower through my PC USB port, but not noticeably so, which I found quite surprising. Still, I prefer charging with my adapter as I do not need to rely on my laptop being turned on.
Now some of you were asking about the light indicator on the charger, I am happy to report that it is perfect in both placement and brightness. The light is visible through a small 'slit' on the front of the charger and I found the brightness to not be obtrusive (during day and night). This is a far cry from the cheaper chargers that have an unsightly LED bulb on the unit that flashes continuously and brightly. In contrast, the light on this charger gives out an intermittent white glow when it is charging. When the Nexus 4 is not on top of it, there is no light. One thing I did notice though is that there is no indication when it has finished charging. The LED gives out the same intermittent glow which would indicate that it is still charging. However my device shows a cooling down of temperature so if it is still charging, it is definitely doing so at at reduced level...perhaps this is the "sustainable" mode the eBay listing mentions?
Below are some photos of the charger. I will update them next week to show the different LED lights. Until then, I hope you can visualize what I am talking about
Some of the "flaws" I am about to mention next are really subjective. Some people may find them trivial, others might take them more seriously and some may even consider them pros (as I do). You will understand what I mean later on. Let me begin. First, like with most other QI chargers we have seen, there is a sweet spot with the MWT02. In other words, do not expect to just throw the device onto the charger for it to charge (this will be impossible anyway since the charger is pretty small). The induction coil is located in the center of the charger so you should place the Nexus 4 roughly in that area. However, this does not mean you have to spend 10 minutes carefully positioning it. Granted, it does take a while to get used to the position when you first receive the charger, but after a day's use, you become familiar with where to place the Nexus 4. Having used the charger for two days, I can place the Nexus 4 on and off the charger without any fiddling. Also, even though the phone has to be on the center of the charger, it does not mean it has placed straight on, it can be placed in any angle (i.e diagonally, vertically) and it will still charge. I will update my review to include photos and may be also a video demonstrating the various ways in which the Nexus 4 can be placed.
This next point is very important so pay attention. This charger has a very interesting feature; an overheating prevention mechanism. As you may be aware, QI chargers emit a lot of heat during charging (some of the induction energy is lost as heat), what this means is that your phone will warm up. This can obviously be dangerous however this QI charger minimizes any risk by immediately stopping the charge once the device reaches approximately 39°C. This 'stopped' state is shown by a red LED light. What happens next is very clever, the charger and the device cools down until it reaches a lower temperature, around 32°C and then it begins charging again. The con to all this is that if you are in a rush and expecting a fast charge, the possibly of it stopping and starting will mean a slower charger. Personally, I don't mind the trade off, I'd rather have a slow charge than a busted battery. Still, I know that some of the fasttech chargers did not have this feature (and charged above 40°C at times) so I felt obliged to mention it.
My final point would be regarding the method of supplying power to the charger. As you will know, it is USB powered so it can be used alongside a PC USB port or a wall adapter. The box comes with a US USB power adapter (which is fine for you US folks) and a travel adapter for those outside the US. Although they both work, I found the combination of the travel adapter and the USB power adapter to be quite bulky and in odds with the minimal look of the charger. As such, I tried to use my Nexus 4 adapter with the charger but was disappointed to find out that it didn't work. After contacting the seller, I learnt that it is because the charger requires an input of 5V/2A whereas the Nexus 4 adapter only provides an output of 5V/1.2A. To confirm this, I used my Nexus 7 adapter which is 5V/2A and sure enough, the charger works. In other words, if you are living in the US, don't worry, if you live outside the US be prepared to use the travel adapter or try and get your hands on a Nexus 7 or an iPad charger.
CONCLUSION
I will keep this brief. In my view, this charger is definitely worth it. I can't really comment on the Nexus 4 Orb, but based purely on the merits of this charger, I would say it is worth the rather dear price. Certainly if you are unable and/or uninterested in the Orb (i.e. outside the US and/or concerned about the 'slippage' issue) this is a very good alternative.
MISC.
I thought I would dedicate this section to just a few photos of the packaging and the contents of the box.
To conclude, if you are interested in purchasing this charger you can do so
via eBay. There appears to be only one seller selling it at the time of writing, 'camgraphy', and whilst he has a received a lot of flack due to his lack of seller rating and an 'eBay power-seller logo', I can tell you, he has been the best Chinese seller I have bought from. I received the case in
four days from China to the UK (purchased on Sunday Night and received it on Friday morning) The seller was extremely helpful with my queries, i.e. regarding the input/output specifications of the charger and what the red light meant.
That said, you may be able to find other sellers outside of eBay selling this charger. Just Google 'Metrans MWT02'
If you have any other queries, feel free to post here and I will be sure to help.
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