Hands On: Nokia DT-903 Wireless Charging Plate from Microsoft

Earlier today I received a package from the good folks at Microsoft with a Nokia Lumia 830 and the new DT-903 Wireless Charging Plate which hit retail channels this past Friday.

Although the device itself is very straight forward I wanted to give you my first impressions of the charging plate for all Nokia Lumia and other phones compatible with the Qi wireless charging standard.

The DT-903 comes in three colors - white, green and orange - and the one I received is the orange model as you can see and this thing is BRIGHT!

I still have a DT-900 charging plate that my wife uses with her phone and the new DT-903 is quite a bit larger as you can see in this comparison shot.

The charging plate has a five foot USB cable attached to it so there is plenty of length to attach the charging plate to either a computer or a plug with a USB charging port and still have it on your desk.

On the back of the charging plate there is a multi-fuction button that allows you to change the intensity of the light which eminates from the charging plate when it is actively charging your phone.

Multifunction Button

There are three brightness levels:

Highest Brightness Setting

Medium Brightness Setting

Low Brightness Setting

In addition to these three options you can also turn off the charging plates light completely and it will still charge your phone just fine. 

It is nice to see the brightness options because it would probably feel like I was sleeping next to a nuclear reactor with that highest setting on in the dark!  However, at the medium or low setting it probably makes a very decent night light although th elight does go off once the phone is charged 100%.

On the lower part of the plate there is an NFC contact point which you can tap your phone and then pair the plate with your phone if it supports the Bluetooth 4.0 (LE or Low Energy) and NFC, otherwise just fire up Bluetooth in your phone settings to pair the two devices.

Once they are paired you will see a brief flash of the charging plates light base if you receive a new notification on your phone. If your phone is not on the plate and is low on battery then the charging plate will glow to let you know your phone needs a charge.

I think ultimately I would likely go with the green or white myself as the orange is just a bit too bold for my tastes.  How about you - which color would you pick and why?