Starbuck's Wireless Charging Stations Won't Work With Most Devices

Lucas123 (935744) writes Starbucks today announced that after beta-testing wireless charging in several locations, it will roll it out to all of its cafes in the U.S. Unfortunately, the Powermat wireless chargers they chose to use doesn't support the overwhelming number of mobile devices that are enabled for wireless charging using the Qi standard. Of the 20 million consumer devices estimated to have shipped in 2013 with wireless charging capabilities, nearly all were built with the Qi specification, according to IHS. The majority of the Qi technology was built into devices such as the Google Nexus 4 and 5 smartphones, Google's Nexus 7 second-generation tablet and a number of models in Nokia's Lumia smart phone range. The battle between the three wireless charging consortiums is expected to continue to adversely impact adoption of the technology.

Comments

Editors Won't Won't Edit

[AnotherAnonymousUser]

Yeah...nice work on this headline.

Re:Editors Won't Won't Edit

[CmdrPorno]

Looks like the editors won't won't work either. Maybe they're all at Starbucks (which, by the way, editors, has no apostrophe).

How much does being a copy editor at Slashdot pay, and where can I pick up an application? Does the job include complimentary room and board at the Geek Compound?

Re:Editors Won't Won't Edit

[CanHasDIY]

Maybe they're all at Starbucks (which, by the way, editors, has no apostrophe).

What, you mean this isn't an article about Galactica?

I feel cheated.

Re:Editors Won't Won't Edit

[ArcadeMan]

Non, they ran spellchecked. It come up cleaned, so they're can't not be any error.!

Re:Editors Won't Won't Edit

[phoenix_rizzen]

Maybe they're all at Starbucks (which, by the way, editors, has no apostrophe).

Actually, in the context of the headline, it *does* have an apostrophe, just not where they put it: Starbucks'

After all, the wireless charging mats belong to Starbucks.

Re:Editors Won't Won't Edit

[Linzer]

And who or what is IHS?

Oh, that one's easy: it's Jesus. It's been a shorthand for his name since the 14th century.

See for example this:

The letters IHS were the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus IHSOYS, which stood for Yahweh. They could also be the abbreviation of ‘Iesus Hominum Salvator’, Jesus the Saviour of Mankind. The use of these letters as symbols of Christ may have originated with Saint Bernardino of Siena (1380-1444) who made a plaque in Volterra with these letters inscribed, surrounded by rays of light.

So for clarity, they should have written:

Of the 20 million consumer devices estimated to have shipped in 2013 with wireless charging capabilities, nearly all were built with the Qi specification, according to Jesus, the Saviour of Mankind.

FTFY.

Re:Editors Won't Won't Edit

[S.O.B.]

Ode to the Spell Checker

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

Why not just an outlet?

[wisnoskij]

Not only does this not support most devices, since most do not have wireless charging abilities, but it does not even support most wireless charging devices.

Re:Why not just an outlet?

[PRMan]

What about a MicroUSB cable? That would have supported 99% of stuff.

Re:Why not just an outlet?

[wisnoskij]

There is no way that would do any more than tingle a little and shock (sociologically). That is the reason you can handle them freely, as they are no more powerful than a battery; So their diodes an be handled without fear or even a minor shock (absent presence in mouth).

Re:Why not just an outlet?

[roc97007]

What about a MicroUSB cable? That would have supported 99% of stuff.

Or just a USB plug. Side benefit -- you could have a remote computer secretly sucking the data off the phones.

Wait, never mind.

Re:Why not just an outlet?

[Belial6]

There are plenty of QI charging solution that can be added to devices that didn't come with it. http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UT...

Re:Why not just an outlet?

[timeOday]

Or, Apple is about to announce a smartwatch with wireless charging, kicking off a swift and inevitable move towards it.

You're all overlooking the point

[LynnwoodRooster]

See, Starbucks is good because they give you free charging. And Starbucks is good because most people cannot use it, so it will keep the power consumption low and thus make them more energy efficient. It's a win/win all around!

suck it up!

[AndyKron]

Why would a charging station need a standard? If you're near EMF, suck it up!

Tracking you and selling your information

[Overzeetop]

And here's the reason:

"The PMA also champions a magnetic inductive wireless charging technology that requires a more tightly coupled link between the charger and device. In addition, the PMA developed an open network API for network services management. So, for instance, Starbucks would be able to identify mobile devices charging in its cafes and gather usage pattners or target users with marketing and advertising."

So they'll give up convenience for most of their (high end phone wielding) clientele for a swipe at tracking you and selling you and your information. The decision makes sense in that light. Nothing is free, not even free wireless charging. Unless, of course, Apple decides to weigh in with the PMA this fall, in which case there will be a huge batch of high end, security poor sheep ready to fleece.

Re:surprise

[arth1]

just goes to proof that d48nk8ng coffee doesnt make u smart.

Starbucks frowns upon people bringing coffee into their establishments.

Core Compentencies

[mythosaz]

Starbucks should give up on coffee and focus on it's core strength - having a bunch of hipsters sit around and write their screenplays.

What a waste of effort

[jtownatpunk.net]

Not just because they picked the wrong standard. (I'm picturing Gil Gunderson making the pitch.) The real problem is that wireless charging doesn't transfer very much power. My new phone has a 2 amp charger but it gets less than half that thru a wireless charger. 2 amps can get me a good chunk of charge in 20 minutes. Wireless can't. If I'm low enough that I need to charge on the go, I need the maximum current that my device can handle.

A wireless charger is fine for keeping the phone topped off at my desk where the phone's sitting for hours with the display off. It's pretty much useless when I'm only going to be sitting for a few minutes.

Just put an outlet at each table and be done with it. You know they had to run power to the wireless systems so it would have been simple to install outlets.

Re:What a waste of effort

[PPH]

An outlet in a retail location requires conduit.

Already done. Starbucks has wired most of their shops to accomodate people who want to plug in laptops. Simple combo USB/AC outlets would handle phones as well. No special (licensed) technology needed.

I wonder if Starbucks went this route because the Powermat technology includes unique device IDs in every receiver.
<sarcasm>Gee, I wonder what they could do with yet another ID assigned to a customer.</sarcasm>

Could be useful

[PPH]

If they market heated coffee mugs that work with this technology.

The game is over here is why

[IPAQ2000]

The last time Starbucks adopted a technology like this was in 2001 when they chose WiFi - a move that then settled conflicting standards and made WiFi what it is today. Starbucks today is 5X its size in 2001, so you can imagine the excitement.

Re:So the people behind the competing standard...

[viperidaenz]

Apparently most of the phones already out in the market use the Qi standard, like the Samsung S4 and S5, the Nexus 4, 5 and 7 and a bunch of Nokia phones.

Maybe the Samsung S6 and future Nexus devices will support PMA but none of the current ones do.