Nokia, you know, the guys in Finland who make 4 out of every 10 mobile phones on the planet, joined the Wireless Power Consortium on September 30th.
“Wireless charging technology carries significant potential to enhance consumer experience of battery charging” said Markku Verkama, Director, Devices R&D, Nokia. “Consumers expect ease of use and general compatibility of mobile devices. By joining the Wireless Power Consortium, Nokia continues to support the open standards approach that aims to meet these consumer expectations. Wireless Power Consortium is the first serious effort by the leading companies to harmonize the wireless charging technologies.”
First in a serious effort eh? Who else is a part of the Wireless Power Consortium you may be wondering: Olympus, the camera maker, Philips, who damn near makes everything, Sanyo, another camera maker, but they make phones too, Texas Instruments, who make the chips that go inside mobile phones, televisions, and a whole host of other devices, Duracell, the battery maker, Samsung Electronics, who like Philips, make damn near everything, and a whole range of other companies you can check out here.
Will there ever be a day when I can go to my local café, order my usual (double espresso), and be able to charge my phone as I sip my daily pick me up? The logistics of making this happen are hellish. First, everyone has to agree on a standard, then manufactures have to get a pair of balls and add the feature to their devices, despite the fact that it will increase costs, and finally all the cafés and restaurants around the world need to update their infrastructure to support wireless charging. It isn’t going to be easy, but it is nice to see Nokia taking wireless charging seriously.