Always worried about the battery in your mobile phone or tablet dying out? That may soon be a concern of the past with the announcement that IKEA is launching a new line of tables, lamps and desks that will wirelessly charge your wireless devices.
The new "Home Smart" line, which will launch in Europe and North America in April, makes use of the Qi standard for wireless charging from the Wireless Power Consortium, a group of companies that includes IKEA, HTC, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and others. Apple is a noticeable holdout among mobile device manufacturers.
"Our belief is that mobile phones are vital parts to people's lives at home and their desire to stay connected, and Qi addresses an unmet need to keep devices powered," said Bjorn Block, range manager for lighting and wireless charging, at IKEA, said in a statement.
Today there are 80 Qi-enabled smartphones on the market and wireless charging stations are available in 3,000 locations, including airports, hotels, restaurants and other locations around the world.
"This is [a] very early time in the furniture business to blend wireless technology," Jeff Kagan, a technology industry analyst, told AFP. "I expect every other furniture maker to jump on this same bandwagon."
Last year, Starbucks began adding Duracell Powermat technology to its stores to allow customers to charge their wireless devices. The equipment complies with open standards supported by AT&T, Blackberry, HTC, Huawei, LG, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, TI and ZTE.
- New IKEA Collection Blends Style with Qi Wireless Charging Functionality - IKEA/PRNewswire
- Ikea turns furniture into wireless phone chargers - AFP/Yahoo News
- Alliance for Wireless Power and Power Matters Alliance Agree to Merge - Powermat
- Starbucks customers get charged up over new service - RetailWire