Let's Talk Tech
Samsung vs OnePlus! Wireless charging vs Wired FAST charging. YouTube Tech Guy vs SomeGadgetGuy!
It’s a FIGHT! Ricky Perez drops by to chat about wireless charging, and why he likes it so much! Has Samsung improved Qi charging on the Galaxy S24? Should folks use it over fast charging?
How did we test these phones year over year? Continue reading “Wireless Charging -vs- FAST Charging Debate (with Ricky the YouTube Tech Guy)!”
More phones are arriving with wireless charging built in. Nokia pioneered the tech in the Lumia line, Samsung has made specialty back plates and built it into the GS6, and several Nexus phones have incorporated the technology.
Even with growing support from phone manufacturers, it’s still largely regarded as a “geeky” tech, and utilizing it means buying a special charging pad. IKEA is looking to make the adoption of wireless charging easier with a surprisingly comprehensive live up of products.
Lamps, desks, end and bedside tables, stand alone pads, they’re even providing a kit to help consumers drill holes in existing furniture to build in their own charging pads. This is not a company dipping a toe into the tech market, they’re betting big on being first to market.
Each product will feature a small circle with a + sign on it. Plop your phone down on that and it’ll start charging. No more fuzing with charge cables.
Based on the Qi standard, this line of products should be compatible with most of the phones that have wireless charging built in, and for iPhones and Galaxy S phones that lack wireless charging, IKEA will have cases available that will add the charging coils.
You can see the whole line up via the IKEA press release, and the collection should be available later this Spring.
Ok, so wireless charging isn’t that confusing a concept. You take a device, slap it down on a pad, and it charges the battery. What IS confusing is having to deal with two different standards for wireless charging which aren’t cross compatible.
There are two different versions of chargers Qi and PMA, and each has carved out a niche of the market. It gets even more confusing with companies like Nokia. International Lumias support Qi, but AT&T is partnered with PMA, so their phones wont support Qi chargers anymore. It’s a tricky roadmap to navigate for consumers who want to know which accessories will work with their phones.
Broadcom has announced a new SoC which should eventually ease that confusion as it’ll work with both standards. It’s an exciting innovation. Having competing “standards” is a sure fire way to halt progress of a new technology. Anyone remember the Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD war for HD content? Of course you don’t we all moved over to Netflix.
Broadcom’s full pr below for all the technical details.
Continue reading “Wireless Charging to Get Less Confusing Thanks to New Broadcom SoC”
Talk about getting juiced up!
There are a pair of competing standards for wireless phone and gadget charging. Duracell and Powermat use PMA while Nokia helped developed Qi for use in their Lumia phones. You can also find Qi on Samsung and Nexus devices. It’s one of my favorite convenience features on the 920. I pop it down on the Nokia pad and it charges. No messing with cables, easy peasy.
Well now Nokia’s Qi standard is going to be getting a significant boost in terms of mind share. The group Consumer Electronics for Automotive (CE4A) works with European auto makers to standardize mobile interfaces. They’ve recommended that vehicles implement Qi wireless charging and the big four German auto makers are already on board. They’ll likely also make recommendations on where charging surfaces are placed inside vehicles.
This comes after Toyota has started offering Qi charging in the 2013 Avalon.
If you were backing Powermat’s PMA standard, fret not. GM is set to push their flavor of inductive charging on select cars and trucks as part of an accessories package in 2014.
Full PR after the jump.