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Wireless-charging systems begin to appear in the mobile-phone market

Since last July’s WPC (Wireless Power Consortium) announcement of its Qi (pronounced “chee”) standard for wireless charging, hardware companies have been releasing both charging stations and device adapters. Last month, for example, Energizer (www.energizer.com) introduced both adapters and charging mats for mobile phones. The mats look like the protective case that many users purchase for their phones; hence, they are a perhaps-unnecessary expense. An iPhone-adapter sleeve and the charging mat together sell for approximately $120.

Meanwhile, LG (www.lg.com) has introduced the 6.29×3.54×0.39-in. inductive charging pad for the $70 WCP-700, which will become available this month. According to officials at Fulton Industries (www.fultonindoh.com), the creator of the eCoupled intelligent wireless-power technology that the Qi standard employs, the LG device uses hardware from Texas Instruments (www.ti.com) that provides the Qi technology for the WCP-700.
The eCoupled/Qi approach is not the only wireless-charging technology choice available. At January’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show), mobile-phone chip-maker Qualcomm (www.qualcomm.com) announced that it was forming separate alliances with Duracell (www.duracell.com) and PowerMat (www.powermat.com). Qualcomm has developed WiPower, a wireless-charging technology that uses what the company terms near-field magnetic resonance to wirelessly transfer energy between a charging pad and a mobile device. WiPower can work at greater distances than the Qi standard. Powermat has its own wireless-charging technology, and Duracell has introduced MyGrid, which the company based on technology it licensed from WildCharge (www.uk.wildcharge.com).
All of these approaches are much more expensive and less energy-efficient than using a wired “wall wart,” but several companies clearly see a demand for wireless charging due to the “coolness factor” and ease of use. (For a summary of the pros and cons, see “Industry consortium releases Qi wireless standard,” EDN, July 28, 2010, http://bit.ly/fe3rD6).
Wireless Power Consortium