GadgetReview

When we saw Powermat’s offering at CES 2009 we were pretty excited.  After all, who doesn’t want to ditch the always cubersome plug in process for all their mobile gadgets.  But like most gadgets, especially those that offer a game changer to the industry, skepticism is abound.  So does the Powermat live up to all it promises to be? …Continue reading: Powermat Portable Mat Review

It’s been about 10 months since any word from the company, but Powermat’s wireless charging solution has finally gone live.

The design of the ‘receivers’ (the cases for your products that make the wireless charging possible) look largely unchanged from CES, but then again it’s a bit hard to tell looking at a website product page.  Hopefully we can score one in the next week and bust out a review.

Expect to drop about $40 for the receivers and $100 for the mats.

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During our visit to CES 2009 we saw the PowerMat.  This was the first time I saw wireless charging done simple.  Now Duracell is entering the market with a similar product called the myGrid SmartPower and it looks to be a little easier than that PowerMat.  What we saw of the PowerMat was that you needed to attach a sleeve to your gadget in order for the wireless charging to initiate.  From the looks of this picture it seems that the connection between your gadget and the mat is a much smaller attachment that isn’t going weigh things down as much.  I like that schematic better but I am not so sure I want anything attached to my phone or gadget during the course of my day.  No word yet on price but it will ship sometime in October.

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While wireless charging has yet to hit critical mass, a consortium – called The Wireless Power Consortium – has already been formed in the hopes of solidifying a standard for the technology.  And today they’ve announced their latest spec, 0.95, which has little to no meaning to you and me, but should mean that someone is setting the bar to insure we don’t all electrocute ourselves or fry our products into submission.  And much like Apple’s ‘made for iPod’, they’ve developed a logo, “Qi”, to signify when charging pads and battery packs are compatible with one and other.  The Consortium members include Duracell, Samsung, Philips, and National Semiconductor.  When and if WildCharge and PowerMat will get on board has yet to be seen.

Full release after the ‘leap’ …Continue reading: Wireless Charging Logo Announced, Standard Set So We Don’t Fry Ourselves

We’re still anxiously awaiting the arrival of our iPhone WildCharge test unit, but until then we’ll have to satisfy our insatiable need for wire free charging with some more news from the company.

Officially announced today, the WildCharge PowerDisc connects a variety of products to their WildCharge surface that currently lack the necessary skin. Included in the bundle are a number of interchangeable cords, something they call PowerLinks, that plug into a wide array of devices, including cell phones and other consumer electronics, and enable a wire free like charging experience.

Sure, it ultimately defeats the purpose of wireless charging, but it does offer the ability to plug in a large number of portable devices without crawling under a desk or searching for an open outlet.

The PowerDisc and WildCharge surface can be purchased now for $64.99.

Full release after the ‘leap’ …Continue reading: WildCharge Issues PowerDisc For Wirelessly Charging Any Device With Wires

While we anxiously await Powermat’s offering and Apple to embed a solution directly into the iPhone, Wildcharge has officially announced the availability of their wireless charging solution for iPods and iPhones.  Much like Powermat, a ’skin’ containing the necessary components is attached to the iPhone and when placed onto a Wildcharge pad begin to charge sans wires.  Of course, the pad has to be plugged into the wall and it is said that inductive charging, the technology currently behind today’s wireless charging isn’t as efficient as the traditional method, which of course gets all the watch dog groups in a huff.  The iPhone Wildcharge wireless charging solution ships in early July while you can pick up the iPod version now for the same price of $34.99.  Or you can opt for the bundle, which is $79.99.

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Full release after the ‘leap’ …Continue reading: iPhone Wireless Charging Has Arrived By Way Of WildCharge

As each day passes my skepticism grows as to whether or not OEMs can be successful in producing their own wireless charging solutions for phones and other portable devices.  After all, the technology is hardly unique; case in point PowerMat, eCoupled and Palm’s Touchstone.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next iteration of the iPhone includes a wireless charging system, which of course will be sold for a pretty penny.  But, despite my skepticism yet another wireless charging company has entered the market: Mojo Mobility.  And today they announced support for Intel’s Mobile Internet Device at the Computex show.  The irony of course is that what might be an already dead company is announcing support for a product category that was dead upon arrival.  In other words the new MIDs are smartphones.

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Samsung and BMW broke new ground this week by integrating a wireless cell phone charger into a 7-series BMW.  Unfortunately, and yes don’t get too excited, it’s currently only compatible with the Samsung T*Omnia.  Is it me, or does this setup look as good as a ‘dock’, which leads me to question where the wireless part is.  It isn’t clear if Samsung has licensed the tech from Powermat or some other company, but if Apple ever comes out with a similar solution (hint) we know it will show up in BMW vehicles given their past history, right?

[Samsungcentral via Engadget]