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Qi Wireless Charging Soon To Include Resonant Charging As Well

Wireless charging is starting to come into its own – the main roadblock is the lack of decision on a standard.  There are three competing methods of wireless charging – the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) or Qi is the most popular, followed by Power Matters Alliance (PMA) and the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) or Rezence.  WPC with their Qi chargers has been the most successful at seducing manufacturers and carriers to sign on to their ‘standard” – over 200 so far.  However, there has been one drawback – the standard only included inductive technology…in other words the device you want to charge needs to be sitting directly on top of the charging pad in order for the transfer of current to take place.  While it is certainly easier to set a smartphone on a charging pad rather than trying to plug it in, it was not a huge stretch of convenience, if you know what I mean.

WPC claims that with the new version 1.2, they will also add what they call, resonant charging.  This new standard will allow device to be as much as 45mm (about 2-inches) away from the charging ‘pad’ and still be able to charge your smartphone.  It will be backward compatible even with older devices, but only about 30mm rather than the 45mm.  Menno Treffers, chairman of the WPC stated, “The WPC is committed to advancing a specification that offers the best user experience without sacrifices in critically important areas to consumers and businesses alike.  This means backward compatibility with products already in the market and maintaining high-efficiency even over greater distances.” What we are talking about is the possibility of embedding a Qi pad in a countertop, coffee table, end table, desk, in the armrest on your couch or even a spot on your console or dash area.  Adults could come home from work and children come home from school and everybody could lay their smartphone of tablet on the designated end of the countertop until dinner or charge your device on your end table or armrest while watching TV.  We should begin to see this ‘second generation’ if you will, by the end of 2014.

Treffers also said: “It is clear there is room to safely and efficiently push the distance and power limits within the Qi specification.  And with more than 50 million receivers in the market and 500 certified products, Qi is well-positioned to continue its market leadership as it drives forward the global wireless charging ecosystem of manufacturers, innovators and end-users.” Please hook up with us on our Google+ Page and let us know if you are interested in wireless charging or will a lot of improvements have to be made before you will give it a try…as always, we would love to hear from you.