Thanks to companies like Powermat, Wireless charging isn’t just some sort of far-away future based on the dream of doing away with all those random charging cables and adapters that come with portable gadgets nowadays. It’s now possible to charge your electronics sans wires and cables through magnetic inductive chargers like the Powermat. As it stand today, however, the wireless charging technologies currently available are still awkward and redundant. Soon, though, all that will change, and Powermat may single-handedly revolutionize the wireless charging industry with new integrated mobile phone batteries and truly wireless charging mats.
In order to charge your, say, Motorola Droid with Powermat’s wireless charging mat, you have to put the Droid inside one of Powermat’s custom-made cases which convert the charging mat’s magnetic waves into electrical juice. You also have to plug your Powermat mat into a wall outlet. That’s doubly redundant – you essentially need a charging case instead of a charging cable, and you still need a power outlet. But, Powermat’s soon-to-launch wireless charging solutions will change all that.
First, Powermat is doing away with the need to plug their charging mat into a wall. Their new travel pads feature one or two charging mats that draw power from a built-in battery that’s good for a handful of charges. Second, Powermat has developed aftermarket mobile phone batteries, called Powerpaks, that integrate the magnetic induction wireless charging receiver required to draw power from the Powermat. This second innovation is the technology that might just allow Powermat make wireless charging as common a technology as microwave ovens and TVs.
The Powerpak batteries are the same size as your phone’s factory battery, so there’s no awkward case or aftermarket battery cover needed. Once you pop the battery into your phone, all you need to do to charge the device is place it on one of the company’s Powermats and your phone will automatically start charging. You can use whatever protective case (or no protective case if that’s how you roll) your little heart desires and still take advantage of wireless charging pads. In other words, the new Powermat batteries will finally allow us to wireless charge our devices the way wireless charging was meant to be.
Powermat says their Powerpak batteries will cost about $40 and the dual-pad travel charger will cost about $100. Both will be available later this year. We can’t wait!
