Qi
Fulton Innovation demonstrates latest wireless power breakthroughs at CES 2013
Michigan's Fulton Innovation has been perfecting its eCoupled wireless power transfer technology for over 14 years, and is really pushing the boat out at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with a number of new breakthroughs. In addition to demonstrating the first ever example of two-way wireless power transfer, the company is also showing off an interactive printed poster featuring an illustration of a DJ console that can actually be played, and a new Nokia Lumia phone that charges while it's inside a handbag. Read More
New vehicle models have been incorporating smartphones into their design, primarily for powering cloud-based services like navigation and Internet radio. The new Toyota Avalon offers a different type of smartphone integration: Toyota says its the first car in the world with an in-console Qi wireless charging unit. Read More
electree+ bonsai solar charger combines form and function
Sitting somewhere between the "solar trees" erected on parking garages at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) and the nanotrees developed on the same campus, the electree+ is a sculptural bonsai tree with 27 solar cells for "leaves." The tree's branches can be adjusted to catch the rays just right, and its internal battery will store enough electricity to charge an iPhone5 nine times over, a Galaxy S3 seven times, or an iPad 2 twice. Read More
Nokia has added two new cellphones to its Lumia range: the budget-friendly Lumia 820 and flagship Lumia 920 – the latter handset boasting enough new features that, on paper at least, looks like it could be one of the most exciting Windows phones to be unveiled thus far. Read More
Between Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and the latest-gen cell phone networks, we hardly ever have to plug anything into our mobile devices these days. That is, until the batteries die. Then we’re rooting through a rat’s nest of USB cables and adapters trying to find the right wall wart and a plug that fits the charging port. Clearly wireless charging’s day has arrived, and Texas Instruments has released the industry’s first Qi-certified wireless power development kit. The bqTESLA kit is meant to help design engineers integrate wireless power technology into devices such as smartphones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Read More
As the number of portable electronic devices we carry around has multiplied, so too have the chargers we need to keep them running. Over the last couple of years wireless chargers such as the PowerDisc and Powermat have started popping up to save users the hassle of dealing with a mass of charger cables, but these require specific adapters for the different devices being charged. A business alliance of 20 firms has banded together to form the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) to develop open standards for wireless charging and has just finalized its Qi low power standard that is aimed at delivering wireless charging stations that can charge a range of compatible devices. Read More
