Christmas has come this year and with all the time off over the break and all those good Windows Phone 8 handsets and accessories now un-wrapped it’s time to put some of the new hardware features of WP8 Flagship phones to proper use.

Lumia 920 Lock Screen Charging

The Idea

There has been a lot of talk about the new built-in wireless charging in the latest generation of Windows Phone handsets however there is still a lot of missing potential for wireless charging. Currently there is very few accessories which have the latest Qi charging available (Energiser, Power-Mat etc) however with the latest push from Nokia and HTC on the Windows Platform there is a large change ahead.

Car manufacturers like Toyota are already looking at implementing Qi charging into their 2013 range of vehicles which means we are already on the edge of seeing wireless charging becoming one of the next major things in the tech industry.

Since the original word of the Lumia 920 coming out this year it was apparent that Nokia, along with the new apparent standard for WP8, that the USB connector would be located on the base of the unit (unlike the WP7 series which had these located conveniently on the top for some handsets). Like many users I like to keep my phone protected in a basic leather flip case which covers the base of the phone along with the USB connector, with the new WP8 standard and wireless charging my problems were all solved.

Lumia 920 charging on shelf

As Nokia begun pushing out the Lumia 920 and 820 handsets peoples innovations started to hit the web detailing concepts and work done to implement the Qi charging technology into furniture and other house hold areas. As my Lumia 920 sat on Back Order I began my own research into best value for money and practical wireless charging solution.

Nokia Lumia 92 Charging on new Charging Shelf

Display indicating system is charging

The Charging Shelf

With my Lumia 920 + FatBoy on its way from AllPhones Australia I started looking into ways I could charge my phone wirelessly while utilizing my rooms available space all with a budget of as little as possible.

Floating Shelf fits in well as a corner desk

Due to the requirements the only options I have (without buying a new set of draws) was a shelf style charging station. Doing some research I found a shelf type called ‘Floating Shelf’ which are sold at most furniture stores (Ikea etc) and have a great concept of having only a shelf protruding from the wall i.e. no brackets.

The Floating Shelves also came in a great suitable size for this project (25x25x3.8 cm) allowing it to fit in well into my room while taking a small square above a bed-side chest of draws.

Lumia 920 Wireless Charge

After finding the right style of shelf the next phase is to ensure that the specific shelf I’m using is hollow. Without physically looking at the shelf this is a very hard thing to find out (As hollow is not normally listed on the descriptions of most online websites). With the idea in mind I thought I would try my bargain luck and hit up EBay for a Floating Shelf and at worst use it somewhere in the house.

A Shelf for a Bargain

Floating Shelf Style

With a bit of looking around (being in Australia) I was able to find a local AU seller who had just the item I was after. I found this eBay listing (No reference/credit is given to me for this link it’s just the one I used, feel free to shop around) which had 3 25x25x3.8 cm Floating Shelf’s for $37.50 delivered (Which comes to under $13 each shelf). This deal had not only the shelf I was after but 2 more if I somehow destroyed the first one in the construction stage.

Floating Shelf for project

With the shelves on their way and the Lumia 920 and FatBoy (For the charging plate) also being dispatched from AllPhones it looked ever more likely this was going to be a Project slatted for my end of year Christmas Break.

Continue on for details and more info regarding build details