Wireless Charging - Really?

Posted by ttblogger on 08/07 at 02:38 PM Discuss in Forums • Permalink
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Not long ago it seemed that we wondered why we would need some particular technological gadget. Whether it was a smartphone, dumbphone, tablet, cheap laptop computers, ebook reader, mp3 player, or digital camera (just to name a few) - it really seemed that the thing that we once lived without just fine only a few short years ago, we can’t seem to live without now. While they are great to have, it becomes painfully clear very quickly that all these electronic gadgets and gizmos need their power!

Pretty soon you find yourself a plethora of cords in various shapes and sizes just to keep their batteries juiced up and ready to roll! On a recent trip, I had to take along NINE different power cords just to keep the cameras, phones and games going.

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    Posted by Teresa Masters  on  08/07  at  02:56 PM

  1. Will be wonderful to push back from the computer at night, having shut the light, and not trip over all the recharging devices wires. The sooner the better, and for sale at Geeks to top it off.

    2. Posted by Paul Archibald  on  08/07  at  05:41 PM

  2. You caught me asleep on this subject.  I have an inductive-charging toothbrush, and did not know aything else existed in the marketplace.  Thank you for the timely update; I got to keep up my image!

    3. Posted by computer help  on  08/07  at  06:50 PM

  3. That’s innovation at its best! i’m pretty sure that when that technology goes out into the market it will be a big hit.

    4. Posted by Jimmy  on  08/07  at  07:08 PM

  4. Following Inductive Charging over time there are many questions about it’s safety, like Cell phones which the industry claimed were safe come to find out they weren’t and needed special handling which most users do not abide by and might end up with early brain cancers or abnormalities with. There are strong EMF field disturbances with these Charging Pads, which are on all the time. We need to be aware of the warnings from the manufacturers and those environmentalists who have now been proven right again and again to a point we had better pay attention and use this technology sparingly until these questionable issues are resolved.

    5. Posted by Barry  on  08/07  at  07:16 PM

  5. Wireless charging sounds cool until you start adding up the costs, like the adapter each device will need (abt $50 each). 

    Also, nobody is talking about efficiency.  The inductive transition is essentially a transformer. The efficiency and amount of energy transferred depends on how well the two coils are aligned and if there are stray paths for the magnetic fields.

    Mis-aligning the coils will prevent the maximum amount of energy from being transferred to the device. This will cause devices to be under-charged or not charged at all. Efficiency goes down since the drive circuitry must be active whenever it sees any load.

    Stray magnetic fields are caused whenever a conductor (other than the pickup coil) is within range of the pad.  You might remember the “Inductive Cooktop Ranges” for your kitchen. They used the same drive coil system to create currents in you kitchen pots & pans.  Placing car keys, coins or other metal on the pad will interfere with the charging and cause the pad to scale back power or turn itself off.

    Finally, we are talking about efficiency vs convenience.  Nowhere do the manufacturers specify what percentage of the energy from the wall outlet actually gets to your devices.  I suspect it is very low, and until they start publishing this information, we should suspect these systems to be energy guzzlers.

    Beware of the bleeding edge of technology.

    6. Posted by Joe  on  08/08  at  04:25 AM

  6. You missed another “wireless” option. You can purchase hand-crank chargers for small electronic devices. Much like the solar chargers these don’t require you to plug into a wall outlet, but they still require you to have the correct tip for the device you want to charge. http://www.amazon.com/Charger-dynamo-Adapters-Batteries-Required-Charger/dp/B000Y9H0W8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312806238&sr=8-1

    7. Posted by Bill  on  08/08  at  06:01 AM

  7. This is all good information,but unless I can save some $$ because of it, (via solar)will probably just stick with all the plugs.

    8. Posted by Greg Brecker  on  08/08  at  08:22 AM

  8. I really like it as an alternative to the standard cable charging. When the Palm charger came out I thought it was brilliant. We need inventors to step up to the plate on this one and get good quality items to market, not just a few of the “big boys”.

    9. Posted by Rob Benwell  on  09/08  at  05:51 AM

  9. While it’s been around for a long time, inductive charging, up until not too long ago, remained in the province of shavers and toothbrushes when you talked small consumer electronics. But that is so Twentieth Century! Cool devices such as the Powermat inductive charger used with the Palm phone a couple of years ago really pointed to the future of, as well as piqued interest in, wireless battery charging. Welcome to the Twenty-first Century!

    10. Posted by Alexander  on  09/10  at  02:55 AM

  10. Good one, also you can use batteries like Alkaline to charge you cellphone’s batteries

    11. Posted by Rugged Computer  on  09/19  at  06:18 AM

  11. I’ve seen a video on youtube of a TV that was wirelessly powered, that future is next week!

    12. Posted by iPhone Release Date  on  10/06  at  10:40 PM

  12. The iPhone 4G is just as highly anticipated as all the other iPhones have been since Apple began producing and releasing them. It seems that once a year the new phone is released to the public with new features that are bigger and better than the previous.
    iPhone Release Date

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