Next generation Sony smartphone could wirelessly charge in just one hour

We're an impatient bunch, and waiting around for hours to charge our phones while they are tethered to an outlet with a cord is way too long for most of us.
And while there are already wireless chargers on the market that can do the same job, there's still the matter of it taking several hours to do so. But a new wireless charger promises to be able to recharge our smartphone battery in just one hour.
Sony's coming wireless charger, which meets the Qi wireless platform standards, is said to put out between 10 and 15 watts of electricity, effectively cutting charging times in half. The new fast charging system, which is expected to be rolled out to the Sony Xperia smartphone sometime in 2014, will also need capable control chips to be able to handle the increased wattage without overheating, and those microchips, from Rohm, are also expected to be incorporated into the new devices.
Until supercapacitor technology gets advanced to the point of being able to be successfully integrated into our mobile devices (which may cut charge times down to just a few minutes), the new fast-charging wireless platform from Sony may be the gadget of choice for the impatient and the early adopters as early as next year.

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LG Shows Off 'World's Smallest' Wireless Charger

BARCELONA — LG is definitely one of the most active companies at this year's Mobile World Congress, having already shown several new smartphones and announcing it has acquired webOS from HP. It seems LG doesn't plan to stop there, as it just announced the "world's smallest" wireless charging device.
The WCP-300 is a little black pad, just 6.9cm in diameter. It's compatible with a standard 5-pin micro-USB charger, and complies with the Qi standards of the Wireless Power Consortium.
As for the devices that support it, there are two available in the U.S. market: the LG Spectrum and the Nexus 4. The freshly showcased LG Optimus G Pro also supports this technology, but we don't know when it'll become available in the U.S.
Like all companies trying to push wireless charging tech to the market, LG hopes more and more upcoming smartphones will have built-in support for this tech. LG itself plans to introduce smartphones with "more advanced" wireless charging tech in the global market.
The WCP-300 will become available next week in South Korea for about $60; a global and U.S. rollout is pending.
LG has also demonstrated their wireless Ultra HD Transmission technology, which enables fast delivery of high-resolution multimedia content from smartphones to TVs.

By "Ultra HD" LG means 4K video content, and the entire technology works by using Wi-Fi, but LG would not go into specifics. LG also claims the tech uses "less than half" the power of other similar technologies, and it does that by reducing the strain on the CPU and other hardware resources.
Of course, 4K content is still hard to find, which means this tech is currently merely a reminder of how one day we could all enjoy the wonders of 4K video and stream it around our house to whatever device we like.
Images courtesy of LG
Source:Internet

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Fulton Innovation launches eCoupled technology for bi-directional wireless charging (hands on)

Wireless charging is slowly creeping into more and more devices, and the convenience it brings is a welcome addition to our technological lives. But what if you don't have a charging pad nearby? With Fulton Innovation's eCoupled technology inside your device, you could use the charge in your tablet to charge your phone (or vice-versa). Essentially it enables the bi-directional movement of power between compatible devices. Any Qi enabled device can be charged by the eCoupled hosting device, and when two enabled devices are held back to back, then the one with the most power charges the other.

In the demonstration given to us on the show floor, Fulton Innovation had a reference device (a Samsung tablet) containing the technology, and demonstrated it by simply resting a Qi enabled mobile on top, and instantly it charged -- just like placing it on a regular charging mat. Fulton were also keen to stress their intention to get the technology incorporated into the Qi standard, meaning that if this were the case, then bi-directional charging like this could eventually be common place. Beyond the more obvious application of charging devices, there are other applications that this idea opens up. One such example is the use of "printed electronics" that can be activated simply by resting your phone or other enabled device on top. As a demonstration, a printed picture of a DJ with some speakers become an interactive soundboard once the eCoupled device was rested on the relevant point. This could also mean lightweight printed keyboard, that wouldn't require any charging, springing to life once you place your device on them. Check the gallery to see the idea in action, and the press releases over the break for more info.

Source:Internet

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Getting Power Without A Plug :Concept of Wireless Charging

The Power Consortium is a business alliance of more than 80 companies that are working on similar technology. The list of the member countries include: Convenient Power, Fulton Innovation, National Semiconductor, Nokia, Philips, Sang Fei, Sanyo and Texas Instruments etc. The organization started in 1998 with the aim of creating a Wireless power charging standard so that the charging station and the electronic product recognize each other and charge automatically.

The consortium has already proved that the electric power can be transmitted without wires and over limited distance this process is pretty simple as well. The company has worked on developing a pretty simple mechanism using which they can develop a platform that could recognize the device that is kept on it and keep it fully charged all the time. The technology that they use is pretty simple and pretty effective one as well in simple words it is called the Electromagnetic Induction and the phenomenon is known as Inductive charging, In this method there exists a charging station that sends power to the device kept on top with the help of a inductive coupling the induced charge on the other device is stored on separate batteries.

Qi wireless charging standard basics.

The Qi standard has been developed by the Wireless Power Consortium and is applicable for electrical power transfer over distances of up to 40 millimetres (1.6 inches).
The Qi wireless charging standard uses a power transmission pad that is akin to the charger that would be used in a normal wired system, and a compatible wireless power receiver that is located in the device to be charged. The power transfer then takes place using magnetic induction.
The way in which the wireless power charging is achieved conforms to the standard and allows a single Qi wireless charger from any supplier to be used to charge any Qi compatible device. As most wireless charging systems now conform to this standard, it means that only one charger pad is required to charge all devices.
There are two categories for Qi wireless chargers:

• Low power:   The low power category covers chargers that can deliver power in the range 0 - 5 watts. This will cover most of the domestic portable devices like mobile phones, music players, Bluetooth earpieces, etc..
• Medium power:   Chargers in the medium power category can deliver power up to 120 watts.

Within any Qi wireless charging system, there are two main elements:

• Base Stations:   The Qi base station is the device that provides inductive power for the wireless transmission. As such it contains a power transmitter of which a major element is the transmitting coil. The overall Qi charger typically has a flat surface. This is normally referred to as the Interface Surface. The mobile device or devices may be placed on top of this surface.
• Mobile Devices:   The Qi mobile devices are those which consume the wirelessly transmitted power. This is typically used to charge the battery contained within the mobile device.

To keep the efficiency as high as possible, it is necessary to ensure that he coupling between the transmit and receive coils is as high as possible. To achieve this the mobile device must be placed in the position where this can be achieved. The Qi standard defines two ways of achieving this:

• Guided positioning:   This form of placement on a Qi charger involves the use of means to guide the user to place the mobile in the correct place on the Qi base station for charging.
• Placement anywhere:   The second form of Qi charger placement does not require the user to accurately place the mobile device on a particular area of the charging surface. Instead a wider area is usable. This can be achieved by using more than one transmitter coil.

The frequency used for Qi chargers is located between about 110 and 205 kHz for the low power Qi chargers up to 5 watts and 80-300 kHz for the medium power Qi chargers.

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Intel to try out wireless charging technology in ultrabooks and smartphones in 2013

Intel may adopt its self-developed wireless charging technology into Intel-based ultrabooks and smartphones in the second half of 2013, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

In addition to Intel, there are already several smartphone players and telecom carriers aggressively developing wireless charging technology. Japan-based NTT Docomo and Sharp both previously launched smartphones with wireless charging functions that meet the Wireless Power Consortium's (WPS) Qi standard, but high prices are still creating barriers that distance consumers, the sources noted.

Samsung was originally expected to launch a resonance wireless smartphone charger in June, but the project was delayed to the end of 2012 or into 2013 as performance still needs some improvements. Some market watchers expect Samsung will launch a magnetic induction wireless charger to fill the spot first.

Intel's wireless charging solution uses an ultrabook as the power source paired with related software and a transmitter to wirelessly charge a smartphone. According to Intel's data, the solution will feature lower power consumption and does not require the phone to be put in a very specific position.

Intel also provides design suggestions to integrate the transmitter and receiver together to lower production costs, and Intel has also designed software exclusively for power charging with functions such as power charging equipment examination, smartphone charging control, and equipment position tests all included.

Sources from notebook players also pointed out that Intel's Haswell platform is unlikely to fully adopt the wireless charging technology and the idea is expected be seen in just a few models in the second half of 2013.

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