Thursday, December 20, 2012

Qi Makes Smartphones Even Smarter




How many times have you been out on the road and found that your phone was running short of battery life? It’s a problem we have all encountered and apart from always charging your phone, there are two obvious remedies, suppliers investing in better battery technology, or providing portable top up solutions.
Toyota is leading the way to make charging more available and easier whilst on the move. Next year they will introduce Qi (not the Stephen Fry game show) pronounced ‘chee’. Qi works via magnetic induction that transmits energy over a magnetic field and was used on the, no forgotten Palm Pre. There are no wires, you just rest your phone on a mat and ‘Hey Presto’ it charges.
Toyota will introduce Qi in its new Avalon sedan and others are queuing up to follow. Also Powermat Technologies are currently deploying charging mats in US public sites such as Starbucks.
Currently, Qi wireless charging is supported by 34 mobile phone models and there are additionalsystem to facilitate other smartphones. The Wireless Power Consortium that is pushing Qi, has more than 100 members, including Samsung, Nokia, HTC, Motorola Mobility and Sony and importantly means that any Qi-enabled handset is compatible with any Qi charger, regardless of the brand.
The Smartphone is about to become a bit more smarter

No comments: