powermat

As obviously useful as wireless charging is, it suffers from a Tower of Babel problem with incompatible standards and competing interests keeping it from truly going mainstream.

But the industry may yet be inching toward some level of sanity. AT&T is seeking from its handset vendors a commitment to one standard of wireless charging, CNET has learned.

The standard, known as PMA, or the Power Matters Alliance, is spearheaded by Powermat Technologies and Procter & Gamble, two unlikely leaders considering their highest-profile products are the bulky iPhone charging covers that only true power-hungry users submit themselves to using. … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--We stopped by Powermat's booth at Pepcom's MobileFocus Global show (which happens just before the first day of Mobile World Congress) and found that the company was showing off a new prototype of a wireless charging case for Apple's iPhone 5.

Like the Powermat Receiver Case designed for the iPhone 4 and 4S, the iPhone 5 version will let you put your smartphone on a wireless inductive charger from Powermat, but it isn't quite as thick as the older model.

It does, however, have a strange design, with two gaping holes at the bottom of … Read more

The ability to charge a smartphone by simply placing it on a tabletop has been around for a while, but it's more of a novelty, for early adopters and gadget buffs.

Wireless charging cases, back covers, and pads are out in the market, and the Palm Pre memorably championed its Touchstone charging stand a while back, but the options are either too complicated, expensive, or, in the case of the Pre, not popular enough to really resonate with consumers.

That's poised to change over the next year, with momentum and a lot of big-name companies behind the idea. … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Drivers don't have to buy a Chevrolet Volt to take advantage of wireless smartphone charging in the car. Powermat is releasing its wireless Car Charger later this year.

The windshield-mounted aftermarket accessory is powered by a 12-volt outlet and uses magnetic induction to wirelessly charge devices in the cradle. The Car Charger adjusts its width to hold any of the mobile phones that Powermat supports, and consumers will need to purchase the Powermat Battery Door separately ($19-$29) for each smartphone they wish to charge.

It's not as sleek as the integrated solution in the Volt. Plus, … Read more

LAS VEGAS--At CES 2011, GM announced it would include Powermat's charging technology in its entire vehicle line-up, starting with the Chevy Volt. We took a close-up look of how Powermat implemented the technology.

Powermat put a Chevy Volt in its booth space at CES with its charging pads in front and back. This setup was conceptual, and GM will finalize the placement of the charging pads later. But the front pad, placed on the top of the center console, seemed a likely place. A pad between the rear seats is a less likely implementation, as GM probably would not … Read more

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Motorola announces the Xoom tablet and 3 new Android phones

LG shows off the Optimus 2X

AT&T announces its 4G plans for 2011 and 20 new smartphones

Research In Motion gives us some details about the BlackBerry PlayBook on Sprint

Toshiba shows off glasses-free 3D TVs

Mitsubishi shines the light on a 3D projector

The 2012 Ford Mustang will have voice-controlled apps called App:Sync

Microsoft is adding more functionality to Kinect with video streaming control

GM partners with PowerMat to put wireless chargers in car consoles

Universal chargers for portable electronics will someday seem quaint when wireless charging technology becomes ubiquitous, and that may happen soonest in your car.

General Motors has partnered with Powermat to incorporate its wireless charging mats into car interiors, both companies announced from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today.

Starting with the Chevy Volt, drivers and passengers will be able to lay things like phones and MP3 players on the center console and have them wirelessly charge while they're sitting there.

GM said consumers will be able to get the tech for the 2011 Chevy Volt, and that … Read more

Mobile phone chipmaker Qualcomm has inked a partnership to explore wireless charging technology with Powermat, a specialist in the area.

Wireless charging holds the promise of ridding people of a lot of wires but poses risks that different devices will use incompatible charging methods, so it's no surprise that part of the partnership involves building an industry alliance around the technology.

Qualcomm's current wireless approach, called WiPower and using a method called near-field magnetic resonance technology, is on display at CES this week.

In their deal, the companies agreed to a broad partnership designed to explore the technology … Read more

For this week's Crave giveaway, we've got Powermat's upcoming new Wireless Charging System for the iPhone. Yes, you heard right, upcoming, which means if you win you'll be this first on your block with one of these puppies when it's officially released mid-April.

In case you don't know what Powermat's all about, its products allow you to charge cell phones (and other stuff) by simply laying the product down on a mat that's plugged into the wall. Powermat's new Wireless Charging System for the iPhone comes with a Powermat 1X mat, … Read more