Intel announced an agreement today with WiTricity that could one day lead to the end of chargers and power adapters.
WiTricity is a company that develops near-field resonant technology that allows simultaneous charging of multiple devices with differing power requirements. In other words they develop products that can charge your phone, tablet, laptop or other devices wirelessly.
The wireless charging technology from WiTricity adheres to the Rezence specification, which was developed by the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP). The specification has been adopted by some of the leading mobile chip makers, mobile phone manufacturers and other key industry players. Intel is also part of the A4WP alliance.
According to a statement made by Sanjay Vora, Intel’s general manager of user experience, “We have overwhelming feedback from end users that they are frustrated with dealing with all the different wires and power adapters for their devices – phones, tablets and PCs. At Intel, we have a vision to eliminate all wires from all of our platforms. This agreement is a major step in the right direction.”
Yep, we’re all frustrated with the vast array of power strips, power bricks, adapters, chargers and the thousands of wires dangling down behind our desks. And it is annoying to buy a portable device that is small and light and then realize you have to lug around a five pound power brick to keep it charged up.
I’ve got a six outlet power strip on my desk and I still have to swap out plugs when I want to print something (and risk unplugging my cable modem or router by mistake). Thank goodness I accidentally discovered that my phone charger will also work with my Kindle without frying either one.
I would be more than happy to get rid of a few chargers and keep my devices charged by simply placing them on a mat of some sort.
Even if they can reduce my wire clutter by 10% I would call that a success.
