With CES being the largest electronics show in the world combined with the increasing importance of going wireless, it makes since that Powermat — who specializes in wireless recharging technology — would have a big showing at this years show. I had the pleasure of being shown around the Powermat booth by CEO, Ran Poliakine. In past years, cases and replacement battery covers for your favorite gadgets were the big thing. This year, it was all about expanding the wireless charging to multiple devices in multiple places, as well as introducing some new and exciting features. Everything from wireless laptop charging to wireless batteries to Powermat equipped cars was unveiled. Hop inside for the full rundown.
Ah, electricity. The life blood that keeps us electronic-toting, gadget-loving nerds alive. Well, ok. Actual blood keeps us alive if you want to get all technical. But for all intents and purposes, it’s electricity that keeps us moving. But unlike our gadgets when we venture too far from a power outlet, we manage to keep going…and going. Our unlucky gadgets on the other hand don’t fare so well — the permanent standby claims them. Of course, a fresh outlet and 1-2 hours later is all that’s needed to resurrect those beloved electron-loving devices we cherish so much.
But if you’re like me, you don’t have one or even two gadget mouths to worry about. Noooo sir (or mam). You’ve got 7, 8, 10, or more gadgets all clamoring for digital juice. Most of us don’t have six outlets by our end table. Power strips work wonders but lead to wires all over the place. The next best solution is a multi-device docking/charging station. And today, that’s exactly what we’re taking a look at — the iDapt Mobile Device Charging Station.
Nothing is perhaps more telling of an impending standardization of some hot new technology than an official “finalization” of a particular spec or standard. In this case, it’s the Qi wireless charging spec. What it means for you, the consumer, is that the flow of wireless charging devices *should* pick up now that a more concrete set of blue prints has been hammered out, effectively telling manufacturers what they can and can’t do with the spec. Mind you, the Qi spec only spells out support for up to 5w of power at a time, meaning devices will be small and ultra portable.
Initially, only Qi base stations and mobile charging solutions will work together. Hopefully over time some sort of cross compatibility will be developed so that we don’t see a major fragmenting of wireless chargers and a puzzle of different wireless specs. Such things would make it more confusing for end users. And nobody wants that.
Still, less wires we have to screw around with the better.
Wireless charging is all the rage these days. Seems these crazy kids can’t be bothered with wires even when giving back precious electrons to their gadgets they love oh so dearly. Solution: charging devices such as the Palm TouchStone. Palm is hardly the first to coin the idea, though to my meager memory, they were the first smartphone manufacturer to ship a phone with such a device.
Regardless, Palm isn’t doing so hot in the hardware department. Notably, some people may want to put that TouchStone to good use. A little tom foolery and some elbow grease and viola — an Evo 4G being charged with a Palm TouchStone.
The mod was put together by “Good and Evo” member, ” infinitemods”. According to infinitemods, modding his Evo with magnets on it’s backside only resulted in two slight cons. First, because of the magnets, the compass won’t work. Second, the back is now ever so slightly raised. Both sound like pretty minor things to me, especially considering how handy wireless charging can be. I’d say do it!
Then again, I didn’t just drop a couple bills on one of, if not the most gorgeous devices currently on the market only to redesign it’s backside. Feeling daring?
While we sit around and watch processing power increase with each year, bringing smiles to our faces, battery time conversely remains stagnant and at many times, decreases. Even in today’s modern age of 2010, we haven’t managed to make much headroom in the run-time department. But a fresh juicy rumor has Toshiba releasing a new 13″ ultra-light laptop with one nifty feature in particular — a SCiB (Super Charging Ion Battery)…
How many ways can you really innovate with a plug, outlet, or smartphone charging accessory? It’s pretty basic stuff — electrons shuttled from one probe to another, bringing along their shocking good time. Every now and then however, someone comes along with a facepalm of an idea making us all collectively think “Why didn’t we do that?” The “lighted cable” (some name) is basic in principle though complex in how it makes me want to buy it.
Why is it so cool? If it’s lit up, your device is charging. If it’s off, your device is done (or there’s a power outage). Simple yet complex. I like it.
Back in 1984, cellphones were at their most primitive stages. They weren’t cool looking, didn’t have fancy shmancy processors like Snapdragon, and most of all, wouldn’t even fit in a small to medium sized bag. In the current year of 2009, cellphones/smartphones are now taking over more aspects of our lives as they become miniature computers. Sometimes though it’s fun to recapture those “glory days” back when technology was ugly and unsightly.
The current high fashion gadget as most would consider it is the iPhone. It’s simple yet sophisticated. Easy to use yet powerful underneath. Why not give it a bit of retro customization to show off your geeky side? Searching for ideas? Rest assured I’ve got your back. Picking yourself up (or making your own) NES Zapper Gun iPhone Dock is a great way to show off your geeky side and charge your precious at the same time.
Purchasing a pre-made version will set you back $44.95. Building you own: considerably less. Whataya say?
Purchase the NES Zapper Gun iPhone dock from Geek Unique (Etsy)
While novelty flash drives are pretty hot right now, iPhone/iPod docks have their own faithful following. Anything big enough to stuff in a few charging internals for a charging Apple dock is taking over do-it-yourselfers and other tinkers. The latest in the land of creata-a-gadgets comes in the form of a dinosaur iPhone dock. The mod is quite simple actually — an unsuspecting dinosaur gets his back excavated to in order to accommodate the required charging components. The dino-dock probably won’t win you any more friends, but what friends you do have should at least be mildly impressed. Ready to make your own?
Mobile junkies and gadgety geeks are always looking for ways to get just a few more precious minutes of battery life coaxed out of our favorite gadgets while on the go. I know how frustrating and plain unfair it can be to have your gadget of choice die on you in the middle of a trip with no relief (outlet) in site for several or more hours. Thankfully the forward thinkers consisting of Mathieu Servais, Camille Lefer, Clément Faydi, and Mickaël Denié, all third year students in France at the Industrial Design at Nantes Atlantic Design School can be thanked for a concept they designed that will someday possibly help us with our outlet withdrawal. It works by storing electricity picked up from differences in contact and ambient temperatures. A simple micro-USB cord and a depleted gadget are all that are needed to witness battery technology of tomorrow unfold before your eyes. Hopefully the inner workings of this concept can be ironed out relatively soon so that we can sport one of these fashionable/functional pieces of tech and venture out into the world, away from walls and wires.
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