Can you imagine placing your cellphone on a Starbucks table and seeing it charge instantly?
Gainesville, Fla.-based WiPower (pronounced "y"-power) is manufacturing wireless-charging technology that could potentially facilitate just that.
WiPower's charging mat can power up to four devices at once, regardless of their position.
(Credit: JustinCumming.com)Ryan Tseng founded WiPower after he realized how burdening it is to travel with bundles of chargers.
His frustration resulted in WiPower's wireless power transmitter, a mouse pad-like device that connects to a wall with one cord. Devices with an integrated power receiver placed upon the mat start charging immediately.
The product uses inductive coupling, a technology electric toothbrushes have used for years now, mostly because it shields their components from water. Earlier this year, Palm introduced its Touchstone charger, which uses this technology.
WiPower's charging mat simultaneously powers multiple devices in any position with different power requirements. For example, a digital camera requires much more power than an iPod Shuffle, but both can be charged with a WiPower.
"WiPower realized that ... Read more
Confession time. I can't stop looking at my Wattson. Before you ask who--or more specifically what--that is, this spiffy-looking device that's just reached Singapore shores helps keep track of your power consumption.
For those in Asia where meter watching is relatively new, this would probably sound obsessive-compulsive. However, what's compelling about the U.K.-designed Wattson is that it measures your energy usage in real time. So there's something almost hypnotic about watching your wattage flip up or down whenever you turn on or off a switch somewhere in your home.
At 63 watts, this is a nice low figure for power usage. This jumps to 426 watts the moment I hit the water heater switch. (Credit: CNET Asia)
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Imagine being able to recharge your laptop by placing it on a pad. The people at WildCharge hope you can. In fact, they're betting that you're also sick of buying different power cords for every gadget you own--cell phone, smart phone, MP3 player, etc.
The WildCharger from Arizona-based WildCharge is the latest attempt to bring wireless power mainstream. The device works using a small flexible pad, approximately 6 inches by 15 inches on which gadgets or laptops are placed. The pad does have a wire and plugs into the wall. A receiver either integrated into a phone or laptop or attached as a battery pack.
It's been done before, but it didn't exactly take off. WildCharge says this time will be different.
In the future, WildCharge's goal is to have the receivers integrated into a variety of devices and the pads would be hotspots for recharging, either at a desk or in a house, or even in airports, cafes, or hotels.
The WildCharger, which is being shown off at CES, ... Read more
A Pennsylvania start-up says it has the answer to one of the biggest problems in mobile phones: battery life.
After three years of keeping its technology under close guard, Powercast has come to CES 2007 to get consumer and manufacturer attention. Powercast is a radio frequency that is transmitted over a small area, and its energy is "harvested"--wirelessly--to give power to small devices like cell phones.
While it's presented as wireless power, Powercast isn't just a replacement for a universal charger. Instead, it's meant to either continuously charge a battery or replace the need for them altogether.
It works like this: a transmitter can be placed anywhere--in a lamp, for example, that is plugged into the wall and sits on a table. The transmitter in the lamp sends out a continuous, low RF signal. Anything with either AA or AAA batteries set within its range--and equipped with a Powercast receiver, which is the size of your fingernail--will be continuously charged.
"Our solution is, if talk time (on a cell phone) is ... Read more
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