Slashdot Mirror
Ikea Unveils Furniture That Charges Your Smartphone Wirelessly
pbahra writes Swedish furniture maker Ikea unveiled a new range of furniture that it says can wirelessly charge some mobile devices. The Swedish furniture giant made the announcement on Sunday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Ikea's introduction of wireless charging functionality on some of its new furniture heats up the battle for a global wireless charging standard, of which there are currently three, all struggling to become the global leader.
http://xkcd.com/927/
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
I am sure this line of furniture will get some name like Nokaard (with two dots over the o).
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Quote from the article: "The wireless charging works through an energy induction transfer."
Translation #1: There is a coil in the table. There is a coil in the back of the phone. The 2 coils act as a transformer with an air core. That only works if you bought a new phone. (And paid huge amounts for it including the 2-year contract.)
Problem: The coil in the table will also induct energy (induce electricity) into anything that conducts electricity.
So, if a child puts a phone on the charger area that is not one meant for rear-side induction, there will likely be problems.
Library books have chips with high-frequency antennas. The chips help libraries prevent theft. It is possible that putting electricity into the antennas will cause problems.
What else could go wrong? Lots. Some of the chemicals in your body are conductive. So, if you rest your hand on the table, the coil will cause electrical current in your hand.
Translation #2: The CEO of Ikea has no technical knowledge.
I read the title and thought "Gee, why would I want a sofa to charge me for sitting down? How much does a nap cost at IKEA?" I must be tired.
Yippppeeee to electric furniture!!!!!! No Yipppeee to electric furniture charging people!!
Does sitting on a superfluous electromagnetic field for eight or more hours a day really a good idea?
I'd like to see some figures on the amount of energy lost when these devices aren't being used. Then to compare them to the energy wasted by wall transformers when they are idle.
Can't vouch for Ikea's new couches, but their Karlstad line was designed by idiots. 99% of the skeleton of the couch is made out of real wood (pine I think), EXCEPT the parts that hold the legs, where most of the stress occurs, which are made out of particle board.
Elchock
Have gnu, will travel.
People will quickly tire of using the hex wrench as a generator crank.
End tables and night stands have been coming with USB ports for years now.
Wireless charging is fantastic-- it eliminates effort and wear and tear on all my devices' historical weakness, the mechanical stress on the charging port. I've replaced all chargers I can with Qi chargers.
Alabama and Oklahoma have orgasm.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
"Our new electric recliners have a problem. The contractor used cabling with substandard shielding. These things practically glow."
"No problem. Advertise they now have a 'wireless charging feature. "
Marketing. Is there anything they can't do?
I strongly disagree. The whole idea is nonsense. If there is a failure of the "command channel" in the table, everything I said is correct. Do you trust Ikea to make 100% reliable electronics?
A few days ago, at a store called Dollar Tree, I bought a Charge and Sync dock for $1. Wouldn't a dock be better than buying cheap-looking Ikea furniture, especially since the convenience is minimal or non-existent?
Who would EVER put an expensive phone flat on a table??? That's asking for trouble. It's easy to knock it off.
I'm NOT saying the $1 dock is better. I'm saying that a dock is better than laying a phone flat on a table. (The $1 dock needs a charging transformer, of course.)
Look at the Wikipedia page to which you linked! Quoting: "This article appears to be written like an advertisement."
Air core transformers, especially air core transformers with distance between the primary and secondary, don't transfer much energy. Do you want to wait longer because you bought an ugly-looking Ikea table?
Always has been. And it's been getting 'worse', given the economic realities of the world.
If you're looking for quality, long-lasting furniture and you're in an Ikea, you're doing it so very, very wrong.
So now I have to plug in my coffee table?
I'll have to use an extension cord for that.
A4WP and PMA have merged to form Rezence, which should become the prevailing standard as it's better technology than Qi. So it's really too bad that Ikea is supporting WPC - which will probably not emerge as the winning standard. Ikea can always make next year's furniture with Rezence, but it's not clear first gen customers that got Qi would be able to upgrade. Also the article is misleading in that it suggests Samsung is completely in the WPC camp when they are also involved with and helped found A4WP (Rezence) and believe it's the future.
Ikea proudly announces the first induction-heating sofa.
Slashdot is now often an outlet for angry people, rather than a forum for sensible discussion.
Now you can have all the comfort of a lounger AND a wireless recharger with only a *slight chance of infertility.
*Down from 100% to 99%!
Great balls of fire.
----
http://mentalfloss.ca - Free music that doesn't suck
When the furniture comes from Ikea, you have to solder the components of the power controller together yourself.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
When cars moved into the home, then we got smart fridges, now the furniture is designed for them instead of use. Soon our overlords will evict us...
Wireless charging is slower than wired charging. Why do it?
Yes, cell phone connectors have often been faulty. There is a conflict of interest. Cell phone companies make more money if people buy new phones. The connectors should be improved.
Did someone at Slashdot get paid to run a story about Ikea? Otherwise, the story makes no sense.
Wireless charging is like Digital Turnip Twaddling. It takes advantage of mistakes people are likely to make.
I'm surprised that an ad for an Ikea table would generate any approval, even among people who like to think they are superior.
Question: Does it work when the lamp etc is turned off (but plugged in)
Also, I really hope they come up with a better design, because while the feature may be desirable, the lamps are butt-ugly!
"Ikea's move is one of the best things I've heard for the future of wireless charging."
Would you buy that Ikea table so that you could use it to charge a phone?
Would an Ikea manager know enough about technology to know who is competent and who isn't?
Would you buy an Ikea table because you want to charge a phone? The question makes me laugh.