Wireless Charging for the iPhone and iPod Touch

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/24/wireless-induction-charging-for-the-iphone-and-ipod-touch/)

A company called WildCharge yesterday announced (http://www.wildcharge.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_id=47) that it is set to begin offering the first wireless charging cases for the iPhone and iPod touch. This allows the devices to be charged by simply placing them on a special charging pad without the need for any cables. The iPod touch skin (http://www.wildcharge.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.display/Product_ID/510/WildCharge_iPod_touch.htm) is available for order immediately, while the iPhone skin (http://www.wildcharge.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.display/Product_ID/509/WildCharge_iPhone.htm), compatible with all iPhone models, will be available starting in early July.The WildCharge Skins are durable, protective, form-fitting cases that when placed on the WildCharger Pad, transfer wire-free power from the Pad to the device inside the skin. The soft cases provide the same protection consumers already enjoy from traditional skins, but have the added value and convenience of enabling a wire-free charge. The WildCharger Pad, used in conjunction with the skins, delivers full power to multiple devices, allowing them to simultaneously charge together on the Pad while eliminating the clutter caused by multiple chargers and power cords. The iPod touch skin is available for order today and the iPhone skin will be available in early July.Wireless charging has seen increased attention in recent months with the deployment of Palm's Touchstone system for use with the new Palm Pre. Palm's $70 Touchstone system includes both a charging dock and a separate back case for the Pre that is required to allow it to charge wirelessly.

Both WildCharge skins are individually priced at $34.99, or $79.99 for a bundle (http://www.wildcharge.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.display/Product_ID/511/WildCharge_Bundle_iPhone.htm) including both the WildCharge skin and the WildCharger Pad. The WildCharger Pad can also be purchased separately for $49.99.

Article Link: Wireless Induction Charging for the iPhone and iPod Touch (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/24/wireless-induction-charging-for-the-iphone-and-ipod-touch/)

[iMacmatician]

This looks very interesting!

[Trix]

Wireless FTW!

[TheShinyMac]

Take that PRE

[RKilbane20]

I think ill save the money and just plug it in.

[iOrlando]

meh....whatever is easier to bring traveling and the go....so probably not this....


moving on....

[macduke]

How does this fit the iPhone 3g / 3gs and the first gen iPhone? My Incase Contour and Slider don't fit on my old iPhone...

It must be magic.

[Edunwody]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

How do they fo that?
Magic?

[Shake 'n' Bake]

Now we just need to have real wireless power for iMacs. :cool:

[segers909]

That's not wireless!
The case has metal dots. The plate is designed so that one dot always has the negative pole, and one dot the positive.

[Darkroom]

I think ill save the money and just plug it in.

seriously... besides, the official dock takes up much less space and doesn't require a case for it to work.

[julianewus]

thats awesome!

[1rottenapple]

Wow thats ugly.

[jmorrison0722]

re-tard-ed

So, someone is going to be so lazy that they don't want to plug the thing in that they'll put an ugly ass case on it and have to set it on a pad. Where is the advantage here?

[FIJIGabe]

good idea, but if you plug your phone into the car, or when you need to plug the phone in to sync with your computer, you have to remove the cover, which i would imagine, will lead to breaking covers after a while.

however, if they can design a pass-through cover, where there's still a port at the bottom of the cover to plug the phone into the PC or the car port, then this is a great item (place it on your night stand, or your dresser, and when you get home from work, put the phone on there and you don't have to worry about plugging it in).

I'll give it a 6.5/10. work in a pass-through port, and that rating will jump up!

[gt1948]

I think ill save the money and just plug it in.

Same here....just modified three old docks to fit the 3GS.... beside that case could overheat my Baby :cool::cool:

[mavfan11]

When they make one that will sync wirelessly as well as charge w/o needing to plug in I'd think about it.

[chr1s60]

I think ill save the money and just plug it in.

This.

Plugging the phone in has never been an issue for me and it certainly isn't worth $70 to make a little bit easier.

[RMo]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

How do they do that?
Magic?

I don't know how this particular charger works, but my Sonicare toothbrush does this, too. Basically, the charging base and the toothbrush itself form two parts of one transformer; when put together (it even works up to a couple inches away), a transformer is created, and the toothbrush can charge, even though there is no phsyical/metal contact between the two. They both have plastic surfaces.

I'd imagine this case+charger use a similar method of inductive charging.

[Jaredcwood]

i'm glad this is out just so pre users will shut up... but i dont really see a need for this unless it'd be sorta cool in the car but I'm holding out for TOMTOM's dock and charger should be great :)

[oldwatery]

And the point of this pointless piece of equipment is what:confused:

[Makindosh]

Wireless Electricity will be here soon! Bye-bye wires...

Actually, most of my gadgets are charged with solar chargers. I have a backpack with a solar charger on it and I just plug it in and go!

[-LD]

It's not wireless nor is it induction.

It's wired conduction. WildCharge even states it's' conduction on their website, though they do push "wire free" which isn't exactly true. It still requires direct metal to metal contact between the phone and the pad. I call that a "wire" still.

[-LD]

I don't know how this particular charger works, but my Sonicare toothbrush does this, too. Basically, the charging base and the toothbrush itself form two parts of one transformer; when put together (it even works up to a couple inches away), a transformer is created, and the toothbrush can charge, even though there is no phsyical/metal contact between the two. They both have plastic surfaces.

I'd imagine this case+charger use a similar method of inductive charging.

Nope. Regular old conductive. Sonicare uses true induction, as does the Pre.

[jbernie]

While at this level of integration the system isn't perfect, this sort of technology has a lot of potential if it licensed to the manufacturers. Think of all the devices we have which have different types of connectors for the chargers. It might be gen 2 or 3 before this is really something, but as always you have to start somewhere.

As to the "just plug it in crowd", granted, I don't see me wanting to spend $70-80 on this, but at the same time, rest the device on the charging pad, when you get a call just pick up the iPhone and you can move around and not worry about ripping the cable out of the laptop etc :).

Also, when I think about it, I have my iPod Touch connected to my computer 98% of the time to charge it, 2% is need to synch data as it doesn't change much. So in reality my need to have the dock port available is minimal.

[mobi]

Maybe Apple can work this in as an OEM feature?

[co.ag.2005]

I honestly don't see the need for this... but to each their own...

[rickdollar]

Charging via Bluetooth would be interesting. This is not. IMO.

[iSee]

That's awesome!
I like how you could just throw multiple phone/ipods/etc. on to the same charging pad.

But...

1. How nice are the cases? You're stuck with the case they choose.
2. Charging is just one of the reasons you plug in your phone/iPod. Do you have to take it out of the case to sync with iTunes? (Would be no issue if Apple would get wireless iTunes syncing done).
3. The existing iPhone dock is pretty nice. Not exactly difficult to slap your phone or touch into one of those. This product pretty much solves a problem I don't have.

Still, wireless charging is just plain awesome!

[mkrishnan]

Nope. Regular old conductive. Sonicare uses true induction, as does the Pre.

How energy efficient is inductive charging? Recognizing that charging a battery from an AC wall adapter is not that energy efficient to begin with, there is a fairly substantial loss of electrical efficiency in the step to the inductive circuit, is there not?

[-LD]

How energy efficient is inductive charging? Recognizing that charging a battery from an AC wall adapter is not that energy efficient to begin with, there is a fairly substantial loss of electrical efficiency in the step to the inductive circuit, is there not?

Beats me.

[dubhe]

I would like to support this technology, but that it is too ugly.. :o

[grayskies]

I'll keep the induction for my toothbrush :D


re-tard-ed

So, someone is going to be so lazy that they don't want to plug the thing in that they'll put an ugly ass case on it and have to set it on a pad. Where is the advantage here?

[mkrishnan]

Beats me.

Hmmm, I found one reference to something seemingly fairly similar...

http://www.springerlink.com/content/p0q1k530x4150k16/fulltext.pdf

That claimed that inductive charging had about 70% the efficiency of charging via shielded cable. I guess that's not awful considering these are low power devices....

[Avatar74]

Apple did file a patent some time ago concerning true wireless induction charging for various Apple devices. Perhaps they'll introduce it in a couple years.

[Marx55]

Charging by induction?

NO, THANKS! A huge waste of energy and anti-ecological!!!

[iGeRmAn]

If you really need this, take a look at that

http://www.mojomobility.com/index.html

[Shake 'n' Bake]

Wireless Electricity will be here soon! Bye-bye wires...

Actually, most of my gadgets are charged with solar chargers. I have a backpack with a solar charger on it and I just plug it in and go!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_energy_transfer

[emerrill]

This is not inductive charging - not even close.

This setup uses alternating strips of + and - on the pad, and a cleaver arrangement of contacts on the back of the case. This arrangement guarantees that no matter how you set the case down, it will make contact with at least on + and one -. Then some diodes in the case orient the power the right way into the phone.

If it was inductive you would put a piece of paper (or say the vynal of a dash board) between the pad and the phone - in this case, the phone has to make direct contact with the pad.

Not inductive. Gizmodo made the same mistake in their post...

[UMHurricanes34]

This is not a competitor to the Touchstone because the Touchstone does it the right way. It's integrated, it's seamless. I don't want to keep my iPhone in a case with bulging bits. I don't want to have a giant pad that I have to find room for. This feels like a Microsoft solution, so I'm going to sit by and wait for Apple to offer an official solution.

Do it the way Palm did it, because that's the right way.

[bencredible]

The Pre does this nicely by changing the back of the case so there is no ugly sleeve around the device and the ports are not blocked. While the Wildcharge solution is a nice step, in my opinion it needs to work in much the same way as the Pre. Rather than having a case around the device, find a way to swap out the back of the iPhone/iPod Touch and link the case to the battery for inductive charging. Much sexier solution.

This solution as it sits with Wildcharge as well as the Pre solution is a nice first step, but where this gets really interesting is when you start to cover entire desks and surfaces with the charging plate (in a stylish way that also does not leak power everywhere so to speak). Imagine your iPhone, camera, even wireless mouse / keyboard and laptop all getting power right from the desk they are on without having to plug them in to anything. They need to figure out how to move data down the line as well so it syncs while it is on my desk or nightstand. They also need to make it more efficient so we're not taking more power for the convenience of no cables. For any of this to happen I think we will need some standards built so every device manufacturer can build against that spec. Not a tech for today, but an interesting look at a possible future, IMO.

[gcoghill]

Instead of a case, they should just make a "nub" that plugs into the bottom and does the charging. Easily removed when you want to sync, use in your car with other dock devices, etc.

Not a case fan here :)

[puffnstuff]

uh.. the pad still needs to be plugged in

call me when over the air charging works or I can get a solar panel sticker to put on my ipod to charge it.

[sellitom]

m.e.h.

[Feng Shui]

Take that, pre.

[NinjaHERO]

I think ill save the money and just plug it in.




Plugging the phone in has never been an issue for me and it certainly isn't worth $70 to make a little bit easier.


Yeah, I agree with the above, I can't say I have too much trouble plugging in my phone. 70 bucks for a case that saves half a second of time doesn't make sense.

[rayuen]

When they make one that will sync wirelessly as well as charge w/o needing to plug in I'd think about it.

I AGREE. this is cool and nice, but I want wireless sync as an option. If you just want to throw 1 song or update 1 event or contact on your phone. Make it happen Apple!

[twoodcc]

i'm glad this technology is evolving, but i'll just plug mine in

[williamtcforsyt]

Are you able to sync the iPhone/iPod through this means of charging like with just using a CABLE/docking station! Apparently not, so this product suggests I can come back form work and show off to myself about how cool the wireless technology is and THEN liberate my iPhone from the disgusting heavy looking charge cover and pop it in my dock??!!

I guess kudos on the technology to an extent, but I can't think how you could make it more impractical WildCharge.

More like WildCard!!

[pacohaas]

Maybe Apple can work this in as an OEM feature?

Yeah, I think moving that ugly dongle internally would be great. Wireless syncing(songs/podcasts/photos/etc) should come before this though...

[EarthDawn]

something new and maybe a stepping stone to something better...

either way I am not changing my very cool case for that case period !

[gregslc66]

My WII controllers have something like this. Place them on the pad. It's not induction, but it's ok for just charging...syncing would be a PITA with this.

[ilfn143]

if it's not induction then it's not wireless, please change the title.

[macbookfan]

re-tard-ed

So, someone is going to be so lazy that they don't want to plug the thing in that they'll put an ugly ass case on it and have to set it on a pad. Where is the advantage here?

The only one i can think of is not wareing out your usb connector as fast.

[fblack]

Pricey for what you get. If there was an option to drop all my devices on the pad and charge them that then would be a good start. Family has several ipods, phones, laptops etc. Dropping them on a pad for a quick charge might be decent again if the pad serviced several items and the cost was more reasonable.

[doctor-don]

Maybe it would be a practical appliance in a few more years - charging all those cell phones, iPods and batteries for cameras with just one piece that is plugged into the wall outlet ... or into the car DC outlet.

Then it might be worth $80.

[thearne3]

I like this trend...

[macgrl]

For me it is not worth the money. It is not that big a deal for me to plug in the charger or place the iphone into the dock

[Dagless]

I'm hoping for the day this technology is universal and desks have chargers built in (or running underneath them). Or an iMac with it's stand sitting over one of these induction power things, reducing the number of cables.

But I do hope this stuff really kicks off in the future.

[eastercat]

I was excited about this, until it mentioned you had to put a case on the iPhone before using the charger. I'm not interested in removing the case I have now and putting on another. That sounds too much like effort. :D

[fef714]

How does this fit the iPhone 3g / 3gs and the first gen iPhone? My Incase Contour and Slider don't fit on my old iPhone...

It must be magic.

:eek:

Yup, it's defiantly magic. I've seen magic before, and this is the real deal. :rolleyes:

Although, if they can do this, do you think they could magic my iPod touch into an iPhone 3G S?

[markredf150]

This is pretty cool, but if that's the case that is intended for daily use, it has one minor problem...the case occupies the 30-pin connector, and if you need to plug something in like an FM transmitter, you would have to take the case off, thereby abandoning the safety of the case. If only these guys added a pass-through on the connector, that would be something cool. But i'm sure some idiot out there would put the case on their iPhone, place it on the "wireless" charging dock, then plug in their iPhone cable into the pass-through, short the iPhone out, and then sue Apple and WildCharge for something the companies aren't responsible for.

[Blue Fox]

It's an interesting product, and some will find it useful. But as for me, I don't have a problem using my dock (because I can charge it and transfer data). Now if it charged AND transferred data.....THAT would be something!

[doctoree]

So instead of having to plug in the cable you have to plugin the case...:rolleyes:

[Gonzo3333]

Wireless charging seems about as useless and gimmicky as a forward facing camera. Oh yea and the Palm Pre's Touchstone. I just see it as a waste of money. The plug in charger will probably work faster anyway.

[jbernie]

Wireless charging seems about as useless and gimmicky as a forward facing camera. Oh yea and the Palm Pre's Touchstone. I just see it as a waste of money. The plug in charger will probably work faster anyway.

not too sure that speed is a deal breaker... with lots of people either sitting at their work desk 8 hours a day or sleeping for many hours a night, you don't always need a full charge in an hour. Under fairly normal usage most people would not even be bothered by a slightly slower charge time.

[DougB541]

I personally love the idea of inductive charging.

As the person above me said, when i'm at work, my cell phone is full charged, but I would love just something like the Touchstone on the Pre to sit my phone on and can move easily and effortlessly.

While i'm not a huge fan of THIS version, if Apple did something similar to the touchstone, that would be sweet.

[lilbutrfly]

I think the convenience is terrific. Once the technology improves so that just about all electronic devices can be charged by the mat it will become more widely accepted. Who would not like this kind of convenience especially if you own many devices? Just placing them all on a mat sounds good to me :)

_________________________________
Tena
wireless charging pad (http://wirelesschargingpad.org)