PMA vs QI Wireless Charging

tonybessette

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I see this headline everywhere "AT&T removed Qi wireless charging in the Lumia 1520 to make room for PMA"...and it seems to have everyone upset over it.

So I know that my AT&T 1520 does not come with QI wireless charging, but does it come with PMA wireless charging (hence the three dots on the back)? If so isn't that the same as QI....just buy a PMA charging mat and set my 1520 down on it?
 

Lloydbm4

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AT&T pretty much screwed its customers over by forcing us to buy into PMA (kind of like their blocking Google Wallet for over a year because they backed a crappy secpond rate Isis Wallet product.) Qi charging has become the defacto standard (hence why Nokia has it in the international version of this phone and pretty much every other flagship phone), why Samsung, Google, etc all use it. Microsoft or Nokia allowing AT&T to dictate terms of sales like this is pure horsesh!t. I have a ton of devices with Qi wireless charging and quite a few Qi chargers. I'll be damned if AT&T is going to get a dime out of me for some crappy PMA case or a PMA charger.
 

tonybessette

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Ahhhhh....so AT&T had Nokia remove QI wireless charging in favor of PMA wireless charging....only it's not wireless charging. You STILL have to plug your phone into a PMA case. That's dumb...and NOT wireless. PMA should be like QI, and built in....just set the phone down on a PMA mat, and go.
 

trobs29

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Well, there are some Lumias that were designed that way where you need a charging case to enjoy wireless charging (i.e. 1020, 925, etc.). The point here is that ever since the first WP8 phones were sold by AT&T, Qi was the technology being used, and lots of customers who purchases such phones have possibly invested in Qi charging plates, which now become useless because of the wireless charging technology switch.

I do agree with having Qi built in, though.
 

manicottiK

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AT&T had Nokia remove QI wireless charging in favor of PMA...[but] You STILL have to plug your phone into a PMA case.
Yes, but you put your phone into the PMA case just once and can set it down on the charging pad over and over again. The downside for existing Lumia customers is that our installed base of charging pads won't work with the newer phone. The downside for new customers is that they must choose a specific case (AT&T has removed all customer choice in cases) and that case is expensive ($50), thick (13.7mm vs 8.7mm for the phone itself), and heavy (1.78 oz. added to the 7.36 oz. of the AT&T 1520).
 

tonybessette

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Where is this charging cover for the 1520? I'm trying to look it up on YouTube, but only QI comes up....even though I put "PMA Charging Cover 1520" in the search window.
 

Citizen X

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tonybessette,

I asked this very same question when I read all the posts of people running around like their hair was on fire. Most of the replies were completely worthless rants. Next to no one had any insightful comments about Qi vs PMA technology. As far as I can tell from the end user's perspective there isn't much difference.

The issue was Qi was built into a few at&t handsets and as far as I know PMA wasn't. But let's be clear the vast majority of flagship cellphones sold in the US do NOT have any kind of built in wireless charging. So for the few people that bought Qi phones and accompanying accessories it's a major disappointment for at&t to dump the standard in favor of PMA... which as I said doesn't appear to be in ANY phones.

The other issue is the manner in which PMA was introduced via the 1520. You need a PMA shell and they only sell one overpriced case. If you don't like that case you are screwed. If they had a variety of good cases I personally wouldn't care. I would just get the case I like and move on with my life.

As far as the bigger picture is concerned, my understanding is Qi and PMA took different strategies for marketing their standards. Qi concentrated on end users and PMA concentrated on businesses. So PMA has installed PMA chargers in a handful of businesses just like Qi has installed their tech in a handful of handsets. So neither standard has "won the war." You go into a coffee shop and want to charge your phone you most likely will find a PMA charger installed in the table... unfortunately your phone will most likely have Qi built in. Actually most likely you won't encounter either standard. It's kind of a wide open territory.

I read somewhere that one advantage PMA had was that it gave businesses more control of the charging port. So it could limit who can charge their phone and even send messages to the phone. So that is obviously a boon to businesses and helps encourage wireless charging rollout.

If I got any of that wrong someone please correct me. I am not an expert and I would love any new information.
 

mozman68

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tonybessette,

I asked this very same question when I read all the posts of people running around like their hair was on fire. Most of the replies were completely worthless rants. Next to no one had any insightful comments about Qi vs PMA technology. As far as I can tell from the end user's perspective there isn't much difference.

The issue was Qi was built into a few at&t handsets and as far as I know PMA wasn't. But let's be clear the vast majority of flagship cellphones sold in the US do NOT have any kind of built in wireless charging. So for the few people that bought Qi phones and accompanying accessories it's a major disappointment for at&t to dump the standard in favor of PMA... which as I said doesn't appear to be in ANY phones.

The other issue is the manner in which PMA was introduced via the 1520. You need a PMA shell and they only sell one overpriced case. If you don't like that case you are screwed. If they had a variety of good cases I personally wouldn't care. I would just get the case I like and move on with my life.

As far as the bigger picture is concerned, my understanding is Qi and PMA took different strategies for marketing their standards. Qi concentrated on end users and PMA concentrated on businesses. So PMA has installed PMA chargers in a handful of businesses just like Qi has installed their tech in a handful of handsets. So neither standard has "won the war." You go into a coffee shop and want to charge your phone you most likely will find a PMA charger installed in the table... unfortunately your phone will most likely have Qi built in. Actually most likely you won't encounter either standard. It's kind of a wide open territory.

I read somewhere that one advantage PMA had was that it gave businesses more control of the charging port. So it could limit who can charge their phone and even send messages to the phone. So that is obviously a boon to businesses and helps encourage wireless charging rollout.

If I got any of that wrong someone please correct me. I am not an expert and I would love any new information.

EXACTLY!

AT&T is just making a smart business move....they are driving the standard to PMA because that is what they believe in and WANT to be the standard while providing the capability in their products without FORCING it into the actual products.

Could PMA be integrated into the 1520? Sure. But by driving it to a case standard versus integrated is a good way to give customers a variety of charging options without worrying about having a case that blocks the ability to charge.

The fact that there is only one case out there really isn't AT&T's fault...especially considering the phone has only been available for 3 months.

If wireless charging was the ONLY way to charge the phone, then I could understand the "hair on fire" reactions. It's not great, but it is what it is for now.
 

e1tep

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Intel showed some pretty amazing stuff at computex. They didn't say it, but I suppose it was PMA.
Basically they showed a large charging mat that can be mounted on a table (even on the down side). It could charge anything that was on top of the table. And this through a thick table and up to several centimeters into the air!

I have a QI charging station for my 920, but if this stuff is only possible with PMA, I'm all in!
Better choose the best technology for a new standard :)
 

Citizen X

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But with qi you don't need a separate case.

You don't need a separate case for PMA either. There is nothing in the PMA standards that requires a case.

Intel showed some pretty amazing stuff at computex. They didn't say it, but I suppose it was PMA.
Basically they showed a large charging mat that can be mounted on a table (even on the down side). It could charge anything that was on top of the table. And this through a thick table and up to several centimeters into the air!

Doubt it. Probably another standard called a4wp. Basically as far as I can tell Qi is the standard with the least features. You have already described one trick of A4WP. Someone else mentioned the smart features of PMA. And Qi? Nothing.
 

Citizen X

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Are there any mainstream phones currently being sold that have PMA charging capability built into the phone?

None that I know of. The vast majority of phones of any type that are sold have no wireless charging of any sort built in. Qi fanbois were early adopters and got burned. Having said that I am contemplating enabling Qi on my 1520 just because I can do it built in. But it is what it is. Once at&t started giving away chargers for free I had to take the plunge.
 

Rawliglat x

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How many coffee shops can you charge your phone with Qi? Starbucks has PMA.

Point 1...
If that isn't the stupidest argument I have seen today, I dunno what is.
First of all, let me tell you that Starbucks is the only coffee shop (and the only big Company I know) that provides their customers with PMA charging.
Secondly, there are only 64 countries with Starbucks, and of all those 64 its only in USA (that i know off) where they have began to implement this (of which, I don't even know how many Starbucks shops have this).
So when you look at the number of people that have access to this store, it still barely helps the relevance of PMA.

Refute...
Where as there is only one chain of store in only one country that we know to have PMA, there are over a million people world wide that have Qi chargers. In other words, the probability of finding a Qi hotspot is far more than that of PMA. And the difference in probability increases significantly if you are outside USA. Infact the probability of encountering a PMA hotspot in some countries is ZERO.

Point 2...
But you know what? Lets assume everyone in the world had access to Starbucks and their PMA hotspot.
The average phone takes about 3-3,5 hours to completely charge. It would be far more convenient to just charge with the cord at home than sit 3 hours in starbucks waiting for your phone to charge.

And in support of Qi charging, there a numerous amounts of Qi power bans that you can carry around with you anywhere any time and charge wirelessly without chords.
I still haven't heard of a PMA powerbank.

And lastly, Qi is lest harsh on your pocket. You can easily get a Qi charger for $5-$10 and a good Qi powerbank for about $40. Whereas, PMA case alone costs almost $50 and that is without the charger.
And you have only one case as an option or "F*CK YOU".

AT&T switching to PMA might have been good for their company in the sense that they try to shift the market to another standard where they pioneer.
But in reality, they just put unnecessary burden on their costumers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xutTrB5J4E
 
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trivor

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There are a lot more Qi compatible phones (Samsung Galaxy Line S3-S5), LG G2, LG G3. Neither one has become a universal standard but Qi is still more common for consumers.
 

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