Cutting the Power Cable: How Advantageous Is Wireless Charging?

It will have a certain cool factor at first by crazyjj · 2012-09-11 07:15 · Score: 2, Insightful

"Come to our hip coffee shop and charge wirelessly!" will attract a certain trendy crowd at first (maybe enough to justify the new furniture/equipment). But, in practice, it won't be much different than offering USB ports/outlets/ethernet ports/wireless service/etc. that a lot of places already offer. There are already a million places to connect and recharge in the big city. Aside from the initial cool factor, this one is no different. Things move so fast these days, it doesn't take very long for cool tech to turn into "so what?"

I just hope no one spills their coffee on the expensive new charging table.

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Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-11 07:21 · Score: 5, Insightful

"I just hope no one spills their coffee on the expensive new charging table."
It'll be waterproof. Nice feature. My electric toothbrush has had this for years.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by mcgrew · 2012-09-11 07:32 · Score: 3, Insightful

I agree, its only value is the "coolness" factor (which only matters to those under 30). It won't be a real benefit unless it gets good enough that you can charge your phone without taking it out of your pocket. Plugging it in is no bigger a deal than laying it on a charging pad. If I could have a wireless charger that would charge it from across my living room, that would be great; I'd buy one. But to have to put it on a mat, using more electricity than if I plugged it in? No thanks.

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Free Martian Whores!
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by kelemvor4 · 2012-09-11 07:41 · Score: 4, Insightful

I agree, its only value is the "coolness" factor (which only matters to those under 30). It won't be a real benefit unless it gets good enough that you can charge your phone without taking it out of your pocket. Plugging it in is no bigger a deal than laying it on a charging pad. If I could have a wireless charger that would charge it from across my living room, that would be great; I'd buy one. But to have to put it on a mat, using more electricity than if I plugged it in? No thanks.
If you eliminate the need for a power connector, it would be pretty simple to start producing smartphones and other devices that are waterproof themselves. That would be a nice improvement. My last smartphone met with a watery grave. I see it as just a gimmick to add this onto an existing device, but for new devices designed around this it would be useful.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by Jah-Wren+Ryel · 2012-09-11 07:45 · Score: 5, Interesting

Plugging it in is no bigger a deal than laying it on a charging pad.
I bought one of those firesale HP touchpads. They have wireless charging with a special stand and it is the single best feature of the device. Plugging in to charge sucks - there is wear-and-tear on the mini-usb port, the fiddling to get everything lined up requires good lighting and too much time. With the wireless charging stand, it is dead simple - just put it on the stand, listen for the "bonk" sound the OS makes when charging starts and everything just works. It is so much more convenient that wireless charging is now mandatory for any of my future phone and tablet purchases.

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When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by heypete · 2012-09-11 07:47 · Score: 4, Insightful

I dunno, I have a ruggedized Samsung mobile phone. It's waterproof to 1 meter, dustproof, vibration resistant, etc. The microphone and speaker are behind impermeable membranes while the battery compartment and microUSB charging port are behind separate gasketed panels.
Every time I open the charging panel I put wear and tear on the gasket material. If I could wirelessly charge it then I'd only ever need to open it if I needed to change SIM cards, the battery, or the rare occasion where I'd need to plug it into the computer for some reason. Wireless charging, even on a charging pad, has some appeal to me.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by mcelrath · 2012-09-11 07:50 · Score: 4, Insightful

The power connector itself is a massive point of failure, as they get full of dust, dirt, bent, static discharge, etc. My girlfriend has gone through 4 phones essentially because the microUSB power connector failed. I recently had to do some minor surgery to my Galaxy Nexus because the power connector was slightly bent, so that it always showed that it was charging even when not connected.
Good riddance to wired power. I'd gladly take my phone it out of my pocket and place it on a pad. I can't wait until such charging pads can be built into couch arms, tables, desks, etc. I'll never have to worry about whether my devices are charged. And some of them could be physically sealed from dust and water, substantially increasing their lifetime. (If you can forgo the headphone jack, microphone, etc -- like a on tablet)

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1^2=1; (-1)^2=1; 1^2=(-1)^2; 1=-1; 1=0.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by oji-sama · 2012-09-11 08:10 · Score: 2

Charging cables double as data cables. How would people react if you got rid of data cables entirely? Wireless syncing is nice, but I find I usually go for the cable. It's faster and has less chance of error, plus no drain on the phone's battery.
If the phone does the wireless syncing on the wireless charging pad there probably won't be much of drain on the phone's battery :)
I currently sync my phone and laptop via bluetooth without errors. Although I do use cable sometimes if I am in hurry or low on battery, so speed may be an issue. (But well, the cable option isn't actually disappearing yet...)

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It is what it is.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by phozz+bare · 2012-09-11 08:15 · Score: 2

Apparently you coffee test all the electronics in your house before use.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by hawguy · 2012-09-11 08:17 · Score: 2

If you eliminate the need for a power connector, it would be pretty simple to start producing smartphones and other devices that are waterproof themselves. That would be a nice improvement.
Charging cables double as data cables. How would people react if you got rid of data cables entirely? Wireless syncing is nice, but I find I usually go for the cable. It's faster and has less chance of error, plus no drain on the phone's battery.
I didn't know people still used data cables for syncing with modern phones - I have a Galaxy Nexus and the only thing I've used the USB port for is charging. Everything else goes over Wifi or Bluetooth so I wouldn't miss it at all if the USB port went away and was replaced by wireless charging,
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by bkaul01 · 2012-09-11 08:24 · Score: 5, Funny

Apparently you coffee test all the electronics in your house before use.
Clearly his keyboard failed the test:

But is is coffee proof? ... Tht may burn thrpung seals and gaskets.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by wonkey_monkey · 2012-09-11 08:32 · Score: 3, Insightful

If you can waterproof the ubiquitous USB connection
Right. So, can you? Because if you can't, it renders the rest of your statement moot.

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systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by Urza9814 · 2012-09-11 08:45 · Score: 2

I cannot understand this. If you (or your girlfriend) are breaking your ports that easily, either you're buying crap phones or you're putting them through some SERIOUS abuse. I've got a 7 year old phone in my pocket right now, and guess what? Nothing's broken. Not a single connector. And I do have a somewhat nasty habit of pulling the device from the nightstand to my bed by yanking on the charging cable....
Of all the devices I've ever owned, I've only ever had two ports break -- one was a USB port on the front of my desktop PC (actually, the port was fine, just the little plastic bit inside snapped off. A touch of superglue and it's good as new.) The other was the headphone jack on a first generation iPod nano, which died around two years ago. Did a frankenstein fix on that with a random Radioshack jack I had sitting around, and it still works fine too.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by hoggoth · 2012-09-11 08:56 · Score: 3, Informative

Yes, you can. Waterproof the port, allow the conductive to pass through the waterproofed port. Set up a second ground/power pair that is ONLY used to detect when the device is submerged in a conductive medium and use that to disable the other pins avoiding a short circuit.
The metal pins still won't be happy to be submerged in a corrosive salt-water solution but if you rinse it off right away it should be ok.

--
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by hoggoth · 2012-09-11 09:03 · Score: 2

Eliminating the battery would be great as long as you can manage to make it through your day never getting more than a few inches from a charging station. I envision thousands of miles of charging trays built into every sidewalk, wainscott, chair-rail, railing, escalator, and countertop. You could have hanging charge-lines you could take with you when you cross streets like the overhead power used for trolley-cars.
Or were you thinking they could use mega-capacitors instead of batteries to hold you over for a few seconds while you made a mad dash to the next charging station?
Maybe Slippery-Pete could help you set up a portable battery with just enough juice to get across the street...

--
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by lennier · 2012-09-11 10:28 · Score: 4, Insightful

Eliminating the battery would be great as long as you can manage to make it through your day never getting more than a few inches from a charging station. I envision thousands of miles of charging trays built into every sidewalk, wainscott, chair-rail, railing, escalator, and countertop. You could have hanging charge-lines you could take with you when you cross streets like the overhead power used for trolley-cars.
Thank you for that awesome 1930s-radiopunk-dystopia mental image.
Seriously, I want a wallpaper of that.
(Once a day, like clockwork, New York City shuts down as Pirate Nikola Tesla broadcasts tendrils of free charge-lightning all across the Eastern Seaboard from his secret Magnifying Transmitter base. Desperate power-hungry citizens raise dirty vacuum tubes to the heavens to harvest illegal St Elmo's Fire. Meanwhile mammoth Edison Company marketing dirigibles, fresh from destroying the Martian invading force, drop Tripods full of patent lawyers in the Los Angeles desert to storm Fortress Hollywood...)

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Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by LurkerXXX · 2012-09-11 12:22 · Score: 2

The Palm Pre (HP Pre after HP bought Palm) phones had the same wireless charging, and with magnetic charging stands. It was easy to have a stand on your desk at work, at home, and one on the car's dash, so that wherever you were, you could just set the phone down, have it stuck in place and charging until you were ready to move again.
Re:It will have a certain cool factor at first by Joce640k · 2012-09-11 21:28 · Score: 2

Exactly how lazy/self entitled do you have to be to want this?
Part of the problem is that there's no standard for power connectors. We all seem to be moving to 5V because of USB but the connector still isn't decided.
PS: Micro USB is a rubbish connector for power. Far too small and fiddly in use. No connector should take three attempts to connect it so make them round. Center pin connectors aren't needed any more with modern wall warts so something like a headphone jack would be good.

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No sig today...

Not new by michaelmalak · 2012-09-11 07:24 · Score: 4, Informative

For anyone who's followed their dentist's advice, wireless charging is not new.

Re:Not new by bmimatt · 2012-09-11 07:28 · Score: 2

... and we should all say 'Thank you Mr. Tesla'.
Re:Not new by Culture20 · 2012-09-11 09:11 · Score: 2

Must be a godaddy site.

Interoperable until Apple gets bright ideas... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-11 07:25 · Score: 5, Funny

Thanks to the widely accepted Qi standard, there shouldn't be a problem with interoperability [...]

Just then, Tim Cook looked at that with a cold, calculated expression, and simply responded, "Challenge accepted".

why is it better? by alen · 2012-09-11 07:27 · Score: 2

i just plug my iphone into my laptop all day and not think about it. at home its into the wall

what does wireless charging give me?

Rage Comic by Quiet_Desperation · 2012-09-11 07:28 · Score: 2, Funny

Panel 1: Phone runs out of juice
Panel 2: Put phone on wireless charger
Panel 3: Hmm... wireless energy transfer...
Panel 4: I am Nikola Tesla!
Panel 5: Me gusta!
Panel 6: Extra panel. Ignore.

Re:Efficiency should kill it by Barlo_Mung_42 · 2012-09-11 07:29 · Score: 4, Insightful

We pretty much already have common connectors with the exception of Apple.

Efficiency versus not breaking your phone. by gmarsh · 2012-09-11 07:40 · Score: 4, Insightful

Something to consider - I've replaced the MicroUSB connector in my cellphone *twice*. The phone would work for about a year, then it would go flaky - you'd have to wiggle the connector a few times for the phone to reliably charge, and sometimes I'd go check on it and it wouldn't be charging - and it would happen with different cables. Supposedly these things are rated for 10,000 cycles, but I haven't seen it. Maybe my phone does something it shouldn't, like spark the +5V pin when the connector is plugged in. *shrug*

Secondly, I've caught the cord of my phone multiple times and pulled it off the desk onto the floor - and my cats/dogs have probably done it more times than I have.

Though there's an efficiency loss in wireless charging versus conductive charging, I wonder if there's an efficiency gain that exists in less phones being repaired/replaced because of damage related to conductive charging.

(Note that this is not a well thought out, researched argument - just a dumb thought.)

Re:Efficiency versus not breaking your phone. by Chuckstar · 2012-09-11 10:29 · Score: 2

I've replaced the MicroUSB connector in my cellphone *twice*... Supposedly these things are rated for 10,000 cycles, but I haven't seen it... I've caught the cord of my phone multiple times and pulled it off the desk onto the floor - and my cats/dogs have probably done it more times than I have.
I think I see the problem

Time by symes · 2012-09-11 07:42 · Score: 2

Time is, I think, the real issue for consumers. If you can put your phone on a table, or whatever, for 30mins and have it completely recharged this will do well. But I have a feeling that inefficiency will make it something for when you sleep, so you can wake up to fully recharged gadgets. I can't see wireless providing more juice than most gadgets use so having them in public places, coffee shops. etc., will not overcome the inevitable flat battery, just delay it for a bit.

homebrew / hacking by vlm · 2012-09-11 07:44 · Score: 2

I find it odd no one has implemented a homebrew hack of Qi.

You'd think it would be a fairly stereotypical elektor / nuts n volts / QST QEX type of article, "run your ardweeeeeeeeno off a Qi charger!" type of article.

Or if you'd prefer hardware modules, a adafruit / dangerous prototypes here's a little 1 sq inch PCB that when waved over a Qi charger outputs regulated 5 volts on these terminals.

All that's out there is sealed consumer grade end user devices, which is kinda weird compared to, say, the bluetooth or GPS or wifi or ethernet or pretty much every other "system" ecosystem.

Doesn't even have to be "hack-ish" for end user devices. Personally, as a guy who occasionally butchers wood aka wanna be finish carpenter, I'd wanna buy a little charger module for some of my projects. Here, route a pocket of specified dimensions, epoxy module in place, run power cable to wall, module is polyurethane finish compatible (or lacquer or whatever). I'm sure that would be very challenging for a roofer or someone completely confounded at the installation of a standard lockset in a pre-drilled door, but I think your average "real" woodworker could figure it out easily enough.

Its like they're trying to choke off innovation to make it fail, so they can "prove" no one wants it.

--
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger

Re:homebrew / hacking by Steauengeglase · 2012-09-11 09:14 · Score: 2

http://www.electronics-sourcing.com/2012/07/16/wurth-electronics-qi-power-charging-coils-available-at-mouser-electronics/

A coffee shop is not the killer app. by Above · 2012-09-11 07:47 · Score: 5, Interesting

Each time I read a wireless charging article I find people who seem incapable of believing how simply most consumers will use this technology. Consumers don't want wireless charging primarily for use at a coffee shop, or on the bus, or in a train. They aren't, for the most part, interested in the ability to top off at the airport. No, for all of those things consumers have always demanded enough battery life to make it through the day without needing to recharge. Preferably several days. Most phones deliver, at least for the right usage patterns.

Wireless charging is all about forgetting to charge at home, and the inconvenience of 25 different chargers. Sitting next to me are propretary chargers for proprietary devices. A digital SLR. A digital point and shoot. An old cell phone. A new cell phone. A camcorder. Some regular AA's for my Apple wireless keyboard. The number of wall warts and specialty cables is astounding and annoying. Even if all the tech wasn't a disaster, sometimes I'm just tired and forget to charge my phone overnight.

This is why wireless is such a sexy idea. Imagine a wireless charging pad where you store your cameras, and one on your bedside table. You just toss your phone or cameras on it at night, wake up and it is charged. No plugging in cables. No row of wall warts. No incompatible battery chargers. No running out of outlets along a segment of counter.

Wireless charging's killer app is at home. One charging "area" for multiple devices. Make it cheap enough I can afford one by my desk, in my kitchen, and at my night stand and my gizmos will never run out of juice again, and topping off at a coffee shop, airport, or other place will diminish in need.

Re:A coffee shop is not the killer app. by vlm · 2012-09-11 07:54 · Score: 2

Also as far as I know Qi is worldwide, unlike almost every other charging standard. If this tech survives, you'll be able to walk into every hotel room in the world and drop your phone on the charger and it'll work.
Please don't tell me USB is worldwide. By "USB" do you mean micro, mini, full size, or that apple doc connector, and do you mean raw regulated 5V or apple wiring with the weird sense resistors to program peak current? AC line power is more "standard" than USB.

--
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger

Re:The future by vlm · 2012-09-11 07:50 · Score: 2

And then conspiracy theorists will of course complain about "the waves" that are "invading their bodies" and how it's going to make them sterile so all humans will die and the secret lizard people illuminati will rule the earth.

Solution: package combined Qi charger / wifi base station. Everyone knows wifi already does all that stuff, so Qi won't get any of the blame. Everybody wins!

--
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger

Interference with RFID by labnet · 2012-09-11 07:52 · Score: 2

The QI chargers frequency shift between 110khz and 205khz depending on power demand. This stomps over the common RFID frequencies of 125khz and 134.2khz which also use near field coupling to communicate with tags commonly used in animal and asset identification.
These systems already have a hard time dealing with ambient noise from motors, power lines etc. .Having deliberate frequency changing leaky coupled chargers is going to cause massive interference headaches for hundreds of thousands of existing LF RFID operators.

Why couldn't they have limited the carrier from 150 to 250khz instead???

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46137

Re:Not at all. by Cinder6 · 2012-09-11 07:53 · Score: 2

A wireless charging pad is largely useless. I had one for the Touchpad. It was neat, but ultimately not worth the cost (though I did get it on a steep discount).

On the other hand, I would absolutely love a wireless charging table or countertop. In my SF dream world, my house would charge all my devices while I was inside, regardless of where I put them. Of course, my SF dream world has flying cars and teleporters.

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If you can't convince them, convict them.

The largest market for this... by Obfuscant · 2012-09-11 07:55 · Score: 3, Interesting

will be the lost cellphone recovery services.

Imagine how many people will walk away from their cellphones after they've put them on the table at the coffee shop. The old adage "keep it in your pants" will take on a whole new life.

Re:Efficiency should kill it by WolfWithoutAClause · 2012-09-11 08:01 · Score: 2

These devices use very little power.

A typical person in the Western world uses, on average, 2+ kW. That's not 2kWh per day, that's 2+ kWh EACH AND EVERY HOUR.

These devices that are proposed to be charged wirelessly are usually just a few watts, about 1/1000 of what the person is using; so even if the power efficiency halved for those particular devices, it would make essentially sod-all difference.

The other thing is that in many cases if it's easier to recharge, then you don't need such a big battery; batteries are incredibly expensive compared to wall supplied power.

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-WolfWithoutAClause

"Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"

Re:Efficiency should kill it by PNutts · 2012-09-11 08:01 · Score: 2

...though I'm sure the iPhone crowd will probably find they can't do without it.

Considering the iPhone doesn't have it and there are a growing number of "I can't live without it" posts from folks who already have it I agree with you. Nice try, but a miss on the Apple bashing.

Re:Efficiency should kill it by PNutts · 2012-09-11 08:02 · Score: 2

Indeed. There is nothing 'green' about it, though I'm sure the iPhone crowd will probably find they can't do without it.

Let's see how the Nokia crowd get on with it first shall we...

Hopefully both of them will come in and post.

More than cool. by Orsmo · 2012-09-11 08:06 · Score: 4, Insightful

I'm sure there's definitely a whiz-bang factor at work here, but I think there's more to it than that.

Power is the last reason you need to connect a cable to most wireless devices now. Have low bandwidth data needs communicated at short distances (both a limitation and a feature)? There's NFC. Have one or two-way audio, or higher speed data transmission with the range of a room or two? There's Bluetooth. Need to communicate at greater range with much higher bandwidth? There's Wifi. Need to charge your device? There's Qi.

Why do I need a USB port anymore? My phone syncs over my WiFi network. It talks to my car audio system via Bluetooth. It talks to my car speaker phone or my headset via Bluetooth too. It just might, someday very soon, pay for my purchase via NFC as I swipe it at the checkout lane. Someday soon, you may even pair your device with Bluetooth accessories or join it to a WiFi network by passing it over a NFC pad. So I have to find the right cable and power adapter to charge it? Why should I have to do that when there's Qi?

Given that Qi can be combined with NFC, its possible that there is some hardware design synergy that makes the cost of implementing both together more palatable than implementing either alone. Honestly, if Apple were a member of the Wireless Power Consortium, I'd expect the new iPhone to have both NFC and Qi. Even without that membership, it just might anyway.

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-- Begin thoughtfuly, end insensitively.
It has more impact that way.

Re:Efficiency should kill it by cduffy · 2012-09-11 08:08 · Score: 2

well, this sounds funny, particularly since nowadays, you can get an iphone charger anywhere, but good luck trying to find a nokia, rim or samsung one...

Because Nokia, RIM and Samsung are all doing the sane thing and standardizing on MicroUSB.

Re:Efficiency should kill it by Algae_94 · 2012-09-11 08:21 · Score: 3, Interesting

A typical person in the Western world uses, on average, 2+ kW. That's not 2kWh per day, that's 2+ kWh EACH AND EVERY HOUR.

Can you back this up a bit? You're saying that the average Westerner uses 48+ kWh every day. That's well over a megaWatt hour every month (and closer to 1.5 MWh). Does this figure include the average person's share of the power used for street lights, traffic lights, businesses, etc.?

What's the Efficiency? by wings · 2012-09-11 09:02 · Score: 4, Insightful

My concern would be the charging efficiency compared to a wired charger.
Now, I don't know about the efficiency of this kind of wireless charger or of wired chargers for that matter, but I'd expect a consumer grade wireless charger to be less efficient than a wired one. If we're going to put a few hundred million of these things in service I'd like to know what the energy penalty will be.

Re:Not at all. by Score+Whore · 2012-09-11 09:03 · Score: 2

Odd. My SF dream world has Jessica Beil in garters, stockings and high heels and Scarlett Johansen in cuffs and a ball gag.

Re:Absolutely love it; never want to lose it. by ZorinLynx · 2012-09-11 09:59 · Score: 2

Oh gods yes. I miss my Palm Pre's wireless charging. I used one from 2009 until sometime in 2010 when I upgraded to an iPhone because the Pre was becoming a bit of a dead end.

The wireless Touchstone charging is one thing that Palm Inc. (I refuse to give HP credit) got very, very right. Why can't the other manufacturers copy from them or license the tech? It was so wonderful and elegant to be able to just place the phone on the stand and have it charge. It worked very reliably and I never had a lick of trouble with it.

The best part about this tech is it takes almost no space. The coil is completely flat and barely adds to the thickness of the device! Apple/Samsung/HTC/Motorola/etc. could integrate one into their products effortlessly and ditch cables completely by combining it with Wi-Fi syncing of data.

Re:How do you convince people it's safe? by Belial6 · 2012-09-11 11:21 · Score: 2

Do they also pull their bed away from the wall because of the power lines running inside them?

I anxiously await standardization... by evilviper · 2012-09-11 11:53 · Score: 3, Interesting

What's with all the contrarians? Why do we need wireless charging? For the same reasons your phone has WiFi and not an RJ45 port...

As a heavy Android phone user, I'm anxiously awaiting some wireless charging standard. I have wall-warts all over my house, so that wherever I sit, I can plug-in... Because cell phones just can't handle even a half day of heavy use between recharges. And even if one could, I wouldn't want to cut it that close.

So now, my cell is perpetually tethered to a microUSB cable, getting pulled off tables onto the floor, getting tugged when I try to move it and there's not enough slack, getting stress on the cable and socket when I want to set it on the armrest right where the plug is sticking out, and always fumbling with putting the connector in the right way, and pulling it out when I go, or it becomes a particular nusiance, maybe 10x a day.

What's more is the nusiance of travel... I've got a cigarette lighter to microUSB plug for driving, then I've got to carry a wall adapter for motel rooms, conference rooms, or whatnot, and then supplament that with a AA battery to microUSB adapter when I'm not within reach of a power outlet, but still need to use my phone heavily. Times like flying in particular.

All that stuff is much, much larger than my cell phone, and could be eliminated from my bag if restaurants, hotels, cars, passenger jets, and conference rooms had them built-in.

Now let's consider that I carry two or more devices around... One phone needs one charger, while the other phone won't charge from it at all. Wall chargers break USB specs in multiple, and mutually incompatible ways. That's why we have items like the Skiva QuadPower, which has one port that works on Apple devices, one port that works on Android devices, and two generic USB ports that are needed for Palm/Blackberry/BREW/Nokia/etc devices, that won't charge from the other ports.

And that's just getting started. Throw in tablets, or netbooks/ultrabooks, or even laptops. Tablets are almost always able to charge from USB, even if only very slowly, because we've built the modern world on the non-standard USB charging standard, and everyone wants to be able to get some charge out of it in the worst case. But the low voltage and power of USB leads to far more contortions than even smartphones have to contend with... And all because USB is such a poor charging standard. I'd sure love a universal charger, but even low power netbooks/ultrabooks don't even try to use USB, because the voltage is far too low, and they'd have to go nuts to add more special-cases to USB wall chargers.

We clearly need something better... Something that can supply more than 5v, and a whole lot of amps.

Who wouldn't want to have a flat pad they can put on their coffee table, that automatically starts charging any device you set on it? Laptop, cell phone, tablet, maybe laptop batteries not currently connected, etc. Throw in TV remote controls, flashlights, cordless keyboards/mice, console game controllers, etc., for good measure. It would be an incredible improvement over the current disjointed charging situation. And don't start complaining about efficiency... Even if it's got high losses, being able to top-off everywhere you go is much more efficient than having your battery get drained.

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Lame post... by stevenfuzz · 2012-09-11 12:21 · Score: 2

I want to put my phone down and have it charge without plugging it in. Advantageous, very. Answered.

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Cutting the Power Cable: How Advantageous Is Wireless Charging?

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