Hasta La Gadget!

Palm’s Touchstone dock immediately came to mind when we first saw LG’s Nexus 4 Wireless Charger last fall (now available for $60 in the Play Store). Both devices are circular, with a micro-USB port in back and a slanted front surface on which to rest the phone. That’s where the similarities end — while the Touchstone is cylindrical and uses a proprietary wireless charging system, the Nexus 4 Wireless Charger is larger, spherical and Qi-compatible. Another major difference is that Palm’s dock uses permanent magnets to line up and secure the handset, and LG’s accessory relies primarily on the friction / suction between a rubber ring and the glass back of Google’s flagship phone. Design-wise the Nexus 4 Wireless Charger looks similar to a smaller Nexus Q cut in half, down to the matching recessed square connector cutout.

In the box you’ll find a 5V 1.8A AC adapter (vs. 1.2A for the one supplied with the Nexus 4) along with a micro-USB cable (longer than the one provided with the handset). The manual warns to “use only the power adapter and micro-USB cable that come with your Nexus 4 Wireless Charger”, but we didn’t have any trouble with other USB power sources beyond longer charging times. We tested the dock with the Nexus 4, Droid DNA, Lumia 920 and Lumia 822 (with the optional Wireless Charging Cover) — basically, LG’s accessory provides the same experience as Nokia’s Wireless Charging Plate ($50), which is also Qi-compatible. The $10 difference buys you a matching design and a spare USB power adapter and micro-USB cable (Nokia’s plate comes with a proprietary AC adapter). It takes about 4 hours to fully charge Google’s flagship phone using wireless power — check out the gallery above for some action shots.

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Mobile, Google, LG

Comments

Samsung may be trying to usurp Qi’s wireless-charging dominance, but for the moment it still has to play along with the de-facto industry standard. That’s why the company has pushed this Qi-compatible wireless charging plate onto the green baize of the FCC’s poker table, likely in preparation for a commercial release. Peel away the plastic and you’ll find a beefy arc reactor electromagnet nestled at the heart of the device — and since the Commission was kind enough to publish some pictures, we’ve thrown them into the gallery below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Samsung

Comments

Source: FCC

Denso Corp. of Japan is proud to announce that they believe they are first out of the blocks when it comes to the inaugural wireless smartphone charger designed for use in a vehicle worldwide. This charger is tipped for a rollout this coming spring, and will be available for those who have set their eyes and hearts on the “Toyota Avalon Limited” which will be sold to folks living in North America. At the moment, if you want to charge your exhausted smartphone’s battery when driving, you will need to hook up a charger and the smartphone via a cable, but with the new charger from Denso, all you need to do is place your device on the charging pad, and drive away cheerfully.

This wireless charging pad will play nice with smartphones that are compatible with the “Qi” wireless charging standard, but fret not if your smartphone fails to fall under such a criteria, as there is always a Qi-compatible cover to remedy that situation. Now, you just got to make sure that your smartphone does not go flying all over the place on the wireless charging pad especially if you tend to tackle those corners at high speeds.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Flying Cars Better Off With Robot Chauffeurs?, JVC MirrorLink Receiver Delivers Seamless Smartphone Control,

Wireless charging is slowly creeping into more and more devices, and the convenience it brings is a welcome addition to our technological lives. But what if you don’t have a charging pad nearby? With Fulton Innovation‘s eCoupled technology inside your device, you could use the charge in your tablet to charge your phone (or vice-versa). Essentially it enables the bi-directional movement of power between compatible devices. Any Qi enabled device can be charged by the eCoupled hosting device, and when two enabled devices are held back to back, then the one with the most power charges the other.

In the demonstration given to us on the show floor, Fulton Innovation had a reference device (a Samsung tablet) containing the technology, and demonstrated it by simply resting a Qi enabled mobile on top, and instantly it charged — just like placing it on a regular charging mat. Fulton were also keen to stress their intention to get the technology incorporated into the Qi standard, meaning that if this were the case, then bi-directional charging like this could eventually be common place. Beyond the more obvious application of charging devices, there are other applications that this idea opens up. One such example is the use of “printed electronics” that can be activated simply by resting your phone or other enabled device on top. As a demonstration, a printed picture of a DJ with some speakers become an interactive soundboard once the eCoupled device was rested on the relevant point. This could also mean lightweight printed keyboard, that wouldn’t require any charging, springing to life once you place your device on them. Check the gallery to see the idea in action, and the press releases over the break for more info.

Continue reading Fulton Innovation launches eCoupled technology for bi-directional wireless charging (hands on)

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Tablets, Mobile

Comments

Fulton Innovation comes to CES each year armed with the latest tricks in the field of wireless charging, and this year is no exception. Starting things out with a bang, the purveyor of all things Qi will be on-hand to demonstrate its newest feat: the ability to charge your Qi-compatible phone… on the back of a tablet. Indeed, your 7- to 10-inch slate may someday be able to double as its own wireless charging mat, allowing you to feed battery from your tablet to your smartphone just by holding the two devices back-to-back.

Additionally, Fulton promises to show off a multi-device charging platform capable of powering up two devices simultaneously. Even better, this surface can recognize and adapt to the needs of each particular product — in other words, tablets and smartphones can charge together on the same pad, each device receiving the proper amount of juice. Check out the video and press release past the break to see a few ideas Fulton is bringing to the table this week, and fortunately we’ll get to take a closer look at all of them soon.

Continue reading Fulton Innovation to demo tablet that doubles as wireless charging mat at CES

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

Comments