Wireless charging sounds like such a great idea -- No more profusion of cables, and no more confusing plugs that always seem to be the wrong type or positioned upside down. Instead, just put your device down on a mat and it magically charges.
Someday, these chargers will be built in to our lives -- bedside tables at home, desks at the office, and side tables in hotels. However, this promise has been hampered for years by confusion in the market between different competing standards.
But now the industry has coalesced behind the Qi standard, from the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). (Think of qi as meaning "energy flow" from the Chinese.)
Qi wireless charging has the support of major manufacturers, including Apple, ASUS, Canon, Dell, Google, Lenovo, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony, and is built in to Apple's iPhone 8, iPhone 8 plus, and iPhone X.
These products use inductive wireless power transfer, which requires close contact (basically directly touching), and typically also requires aligning the device with the coils in the charging plate.
A second technology, resonant wireless charging, offers a more relaxed distance (up to 45 mm / 1.7 in), which is especially interesting for devices like laptops and wearables. This is under development by the WPC, as well as the new AirFuel Alliance, which was formed from several competing groups including the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), which has been used in some products.
Wireless chargers are typically designed as mats or pucks that you can lay a smartphone down on. Of course, you do then need to plug in the charging plate.
Ventev also offers the Ventev Wireless Chargestand for smartphones, in addition to its traditional batteries and chargers (see previous post).
The Wireless Chargestand is a combination desktop charger and smartphone stand. The wireless charging puck is removable, so you can use it (and the stand) independently.
The stand and its aluminum frame are adjustable, for two viewing angles, for different positions (portrait, landscape, or flat on table), and for optimal charging centered on the back of the smartphone.
The Chargestand provides 15W of power, so you can use the smartphone while it is charging. And it supports fast wireless charging, so the smartphone can charge 50% in one hour. It also has built-in protection from short circuit, overcharge, overdischarge, and overcurrent.
Interestingly, the Chargestand supports both the Qi and PMA wireless charging standards, so can work with a variety of older and newer devices.
The Ventev Wireless Chargestand is available for around $59. It's a nice flexible design, supporting multiple uses (flat and as a stand), and multiple devices (Qi and PMA).
- See full Holiday Tech 2018 presentation for my local talks in the Princeton area
- See companion article in U.S. 1 Newspaper, Nov. 14, 2018
Find the Ventev Wireless Chargestand on Amazon.com