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I look forward to the day we stop using cables at all for these devices. My electric toothbrush charges without a connector by simple induction; I don't see why

by eksith 13y ago

I look forward to the day we stop using cables at all for these devices. My electric toothbrush charges without a connector by simple induction; I don't see why a phone shouldn't either. Plus a phone should be able to transfer data wirelessly at reasonable speed.

mintplant 13y ago
To be fair, your phone likely consumes far more power than your electric toothbrush. I would be interested in learning about the viability of this type of technology in the phone space.
- eksith 13y ago
  That's true. The draw is quite a bit higher than for a simple electric motor, but as devices use less and less power in the future, it should at least be available for some. Something like a Moto Fone shouldn't need cables https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_FONE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_FONE
- viraptor 13y ago
  There are many examples already in use. At least Palm Touchstone (charging lots of late palm phones and the touchpad) and Qi (Nexus 4, Galaxy S3, some htc phones) are out there and usable.
pacaro 13y ago
That's a matter of device choice. My phone charges wirelessly.
- eksith 13y ago
  Power mat I presume? Doesn't that still require a device specific base/connector?
alanctgardner2 13y ago
> I don't see why a phone shouldn't either Any Nexus 4 can charge inductively. The problem is that the 'standard' charging docks are actually incompatible (my $80 Nokia one doesn't work), and they take about twice as long to charge. > Plus a phone should be able to transfer data wirelessly at reasonable speed Like, say, 802.11ac speed?
- eksith 13y ago
  There should be one standard for wireless charging, but I'm afraid we'll end up with just one more if that's the case. Obligatory http://xkcd.com/927 http://xkcd.com/927 802.11ac Will do nicely. It's supposed to be gigabit capable (allegedly). Considering we've been transferring files between PCs at that speed for a while, it's about time this came to wireless.

by eksith 13y ago

mintplant 13y ago

To be fair, your phone likely consumes far more power than your electric toothbrush. I would be interested in learning about the viability of this type of technology in the phone space.

eksith 13y ago
That's true. The draw is quite a bit higher than for a simple electric motor, but as devices use less and less power in the future, it should at least be available for some. Something like a Moto Fone shouldn't need cables https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_FONE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_FONE
viraptor 13y ago
There are many examples already in use. At least Palm Touchstone (charging lots of late palm phones and the touchpad) and Qi (Nexus 4, Galaxy S3, some htc phones) are out there and usable.

pacaro 13y ago

That's a matter of device choice. My phone charges wirelessly.

eksith 13y ago
Power mat I presume? Doesn't that still require a device specific base/connector?

alanctgardner2 13y ago

> I don't see why a phone shouldn't either Any Nexus 4 can charge inductively. The problem is that the 'standard' charging docks are actually incompatible (my $80 Nokia one doesn't work), and they take about twice as long to charge. > Plus a phone should be able to transfer data wirelessly at reasonable speed Like, say, 802.11ac speed?

eksith 13y ago
There should be one standard for wireless charging, but I'm afraid we'll end up with just one more if that's the case. Obligatory http://xkcd.com/927 http://xkcd.com/927 802.11ac Will do nicely. It's supposed to be gigabit capable (allegedly). Considering we've been transferring files between PCs at that speed for a while, it's about time this came to wireless.