Belkin is still one of the two main contenders when it comes to Apple-endorsed wireless chargers. While of course any Qi-certified charger will work fine with Apple’s recent slate of iPhones, there are of course always those brands that have a tighter relationship with Apple, and this is especially true in Belkin’s case, where we’ve seen several “Special Edition” products exclusively available from Apple’s own online and retail stores. While Belkin’s new Boost Up # Wireless Charging Stand doesn’t fit into this category, it’s still clearly part of the company’s Boost Up family of wireless charging devices.
Boost Up Wireless Charging Stand is a concept that’s becoming familiar by now — take a wireless charging pad, attach it to a frame of some kind, and stand it up at more vertical orientation so that an iPhone (or other smartphone) can be set onto it like a traditional dock, rather than having to be laid flat.
We looked at Mophie’s version of the concept last week, but Belkin has done a few things differently here that makes for a more unique approach.
For one thing, the charging disc itself is permanently attached to the stand; Belkin clearly created an entirely new device here rather than simply taking its original charging pad and standing it up. This has the advantage of a more solid design, but it comes at the cost of versatility. Mophie’s Charge Stream Desk Stand lets you remove the charger and use it as a traditional pad, but the pad also moves around and so you may find yourself needing to adjust it from time to time, particularly if you want to switch beween portrait and landscape orientations.
At first glance, you might also think that Belkin only supports portrait orientation, but the design of the base also allows for you to place an iPhone on sideways for watching videos or using other landscape-mode apps.
Belkin has even thoughtfully placed two LEDs on the charging disc, so that you’ll see charging status regardless of which orientation you set your iPhone down in — an LED on the right for portrait, and another LED on the bottom for landscape. Naturally, the charging disc itself and the stand is coated in soft rubber to hold the iPhone in place and avoid scratches, as is the base of the stand, so that it won’t slip around. The only minor issue we found with the design is that there’s no provision for routing the power cable under the rear of the stand — you either need to come out under either side or run the wire over the top of the base.
