Mar 12, 2015
Everyone has felt the stress of a dying mobile phone battery and the hassle of carrying around a bundle of wires everywhere you go. In an effort to end this stress, designers are hoping to make 2015 the year of the wireless charger.
The Mobile World Congress, a top telecom fair wrapped up this week in Barcelona, Spain, and companies attending the fair promised that soon you will be able to place your phone on a table or lamp stand for it to absorb electricity through a wireless surface, instead of having to carry around a mass of cables everywhere you go.
Some mobile phone giants, such as Samsung, have already begun implementing the technology in their latest devices. The Galaxy S6, which was officially unveiled on March 1, includes wireless charging capability.
At the same time, other companies are getting in on the act as well. Ikea, the Swedish furniture-maker announced a line of bedside tables, lamps and desks equipped with wireless charging spots set to launch in both Europe and North America in the coming weeks.
"This is probably the year of the wireless charger," said Kevin Curran, a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, ahead of the mobile fair.
"A lot of the top-end phones now by default are coming with a wireless charger. You just have to put the phone onto a mat or onto a stand."
If your phone has a wireless charging receptor, all you have to do is place it over the charging pad to transfer power to your phone. In the case of Ikea, the furniture itself is not wireless, requiring it to be plugged in to an electrical outlet, but not phone charging cable is necessary.
For their devices, Samsung and Ikea chose the Qi standard for their charging capabilities. The Qi standard was developed by the Wireless Power Consortium, an alliance of approximately 200 different companies founded in 2008. The Qi Consortium claims its standard is the most widely used in the world with chargers available in hotels, restaurants, airports, and other public spaces and can be used with over 80 models of phones and even various types of cars.
"People have no need to fear that their chargers will become obsolete, because these bases will be compatible with the new generations of smartphone."
Even smartphones that are not made with a wireless charging receptor can, in many instances, be fitted with an adapter in the form of a case or other accessory for a small price that will allow them to charge without the need for their charging cable.
It is estimated by the Wireless Power Consortium that approximately 50 million chargers were sold in 2014. In that same year, consumers purchased 1.8 billion mobile devices with each typically coming with a charger.
"In the next few years they will all have wireless chargers in-built," Curran says.
Source: The Science Times