My Nexus 6 usually rests on a Tylt wireless charger here at The Verge office. I paid Verizon $60 for the thing. It's got a black, soft matte finish; it's the opposite of flashy, but works perfectly with any Qi-compatible smartphone I've placed on it — even with a bulky case on. Microsoft's taking the opposite approach with its new Nokia-branded Qi wireless charger. It's available in three bright colors: white, green, or orange (the model we tested).

This thing defines flashy. Drop a Lumia smartphone onto the plastic pad, and a ring of light instantly illuminates your desk, nightstand, or whatever it might be resting on. And it's incredibly bright, though you can thankfully choose between three brightness settings if the charger proves an unwelcome distraction to your coworkers. At night, you can also set the light to shut off completely so you can actually get some sleep instead of being kept awake by the intense neon glow.

Unsurprisingly, those options are available to Windows Phone users only. The charger will technically top off anything that supports the Qi standard, though it proved super finicky with my Nexus 6. But night mode and other perks are only accessible through Windows Phone's settings menu. You can configure the charger to display light patterns indicating app notifications or missed calls, too. Sadly these patterns can't (yet) be customized on a per-app basis. And if your nearby Windows Phone — linked over Bluetooth — is running low on power, the light will pulse to signal that you should really think about charging it. The new Nokia DT-903 charging plate (we're a bit surprised the brand is still being used here) is available now from the Microsoft Store for $59.99. It's powered over USB; an empty laptop USB port will work just fine.

Grid View































