Qimini to offer wireless charging through USB while on the move

The Qimini (pronounced "Chee-mini") is a new wireless charging concept that would see consumers carry around a small charging station with their laptops for use with a compatible smartphone - the Lumia 920 or Lumia 820 (with supported shell) in our case. Acting just like the Nokia (or equivalent) wireless charging station that's plugged into the wall, the Qimini will power a smartphone without any wires.

The product is an idea by European company Tektos, which is based in Hong Kong. Boasting support for the Qi standard (hence the product name), the Qimini is just 9mm thick and has a "tuck-away" USB cable for use with laptops, desktops or even Windows tablets. Speaking of which, this product is aimed at those who are continuously on the move, and the Windows tablet range is a perfect source of power.

Check out the official video above, showing off how the Qimini can be utilised in the real world for those who are mobile. Just like any charging station, the Qimini will begin charging a smartphone when placed on top, and will reportedly receive the same amount of juice as a standard cable. Instead of fiddling with the USB cable to charge the smartphone, this is a potential solution to help solve such issues.

Qimini Colours

As noted in the above photo, the Qimini will be available in four colours - black, ivory, emerald and dragon fruit. 

So when can we expect to see the product hit markets? There's no pricing detailed on the website, but consumers can pre-order their choice of colour, and resellers can also get in touch with the company. Our thoughts? This could be pretty big, especially if the products are high quality. We'll look to get a unit in for review.

We've contacted the company and will update you all should we receive more details on the Qimini. But if you're the impatient type, be sure to follow Qimini on Twitter for the latest updates.

Source: Qimini, via: WMPU

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

37 Comments
  • Why doesn't someone just make a wireless charging pad that has a USB cable and the wall adapter to make it a regular wall plug, like most phone charging cables have?
  • +1
  • All in due time Matthew, all in due time...
  • couldnt you just plug this into a wall adapter? ive got like 20 wall adapter pieces layong around lol.
  • I could. But I already have 2 Nokia plates, and I wish they just had USB cables with wall adapters, so they could double as travel chargers. Rather than me having to go and buy something else now.
  • +1 to that!
  • +1 I don't know what Nokia was thinking. How did it save $ or improve their otherwise excellent product to use a non-standard connector? A rare but of poor design from Nokia :-(
  • I hear it's because one charger is 5V and the other is 12V and they don't want you plugging their pad into the wrong wall adapter.
  • Stop making all these amazing products that 99% of the people can't even buy because there's no availability.  It's annoying.
  • totally agree
  • I agree!
  • If they stopped making them, 100% of people would not be able to buy. Your argument is illogical, captain.
  • something like this will be useful for me my surface and my usb hub i have for when i travel.
  • That was my first thought as well.
     
    BTW, WPC, I am assuming this also works with the Verizon 8x?  You seem to always "forget" that it exists.
  • Since it is using USB cable, wondering can it plug into the wall adapter? It would be amazing if can, much better than the current wireless charger that required different kind of cable...
  • What's the point?
     
    Why not carry a small USB cable instead?
     
    Also, wireless charger is already slower so now you combbine USB, which too is slower with this? It will probably take days to get a full charge.
     
    Most useless invention ever. 
  • +10000000000000000000000000000
  • I totally agree! I'm more than happy to power things up by plugging them into the wall - controversial!
  • This
     
    Just get a small usb cable (5cm 10cm long) and you are done.
  • Now there is a clever idea. Lets make a wireless charger that plugs into a USB port instead of just using (I don't know) a little USB cable that plugs into the USB port. Which exactly takes up less space and is likely to break while travelling?  Then, of course, throw in the fact that (given the power output of the average USB port and energy bleed associated with wireless pads) you will probably be waiting quite some time for it to charge anything. Yes, they may say otherwise but you really shouldn't beleive everything a sales person tells you,  Since the cable "tucks away" that also probably effectively limits the ability to plug into a USB port in a car adapter. Talk about a product meant for a SkyMall catalog or Sharper Image or other such venue frequented by geeks with disposable income and no common sense....
  • While we're at it, how can we live without a surface that charges automatically from the air so you can then use it to charge your phone up? This all seems a bit nuts to me!
  • I want a wireless charging device in the shape of a cat. Place the phone on the cats back and it starts charging. Call it the Qia Pet.
  • Best thing I've read all day
  • LOL!
  • Hilarious!
  • charging via USB is pretty slow (500 ma AFAIK), doing so with qi charger is less fast... doesn't make much sense to me to do that...
  • i would just plug in USB cable...wireless chargin is for home...when u don't have to replug the cable everytime...
  • Looks good, but the USB cable should match the color of the charger, not just black for all.
  • Nice Concept !
    2 quick questions :
    - How much time it will take to charge a phone with this via Laptop ? & will using a PowerShare make it charge fatser?
    - Wasn't there an old Dodge called Qimini ?
     
  • Dodge Omni to be exact.
  • gees maker seems to have a problem with nokia 920/820 or windowsphone 8
    currently only nokia 920/820 n Nexus support Qi charging n it is doing commercial showing s3 iphone? where is lumia ?
    will never buy it unless they show lumia n windowsphone 8 in their commercial.. this is way too biase commercial
  • LOL nice concept but how is this true wierless charging? Granted that you don't have to plug in the phone but you still have to carry around the charger and plug it to the computer or wall port. When I first heard wierless charging I imagined one of those Telsa concepts where you could plug a device into the wall and it would wierlessly charge your phone over the air or something.
  • Now that would actually be useful rather than just a redundant waste of electricity
  • Hopefully a car dock with wireless charging built in
  • Please be significantly less than $100. This, and all the other wireless charging devices look great, but being replaceable by a $1 USB cable and some effort makes it a tough sell.
  • So, how is this better than carrying a simple USB cable?
  • Has no one picked-up on the name being like the song from Mary Poppins? (Chim Chim Cheree)
    Qi = Che | Qimini = Chiminey
    ∴ Qi Qimini, Qi Qimini...