Reported at Techradar is the news that swedish flat-pack furniture company Ikea will incorporate wireless charging into some new product ranges.
Starting April, Ikea will begin to roll out a new series of furniture including bedside tablets, desks and lamps that will double up as charging spots using the Qi standard.
The Qi Charging standard is a publicly available standard for charging via electromagnetic induction (up to 5W), and claims to be "the most widely deployed wireless power standard".
Additional coverage available at The Telegraph and International Business Times. A press release is also available at CNBC.
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Ikea Integrating Wireless Charging into Furniture
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(Score: 3, Funny) by SuperCharlie on Sunday March 01 2015, @09:47PM
The instructions are in Chinese and I think I just shocked my dog.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday March 01 2015, @10:31PM
As interesting a technological breakthrough as the "Alien 3" movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Insightful) by SlimmPickens on Sunday March 01 2015, @10:41PM
Isn't it about pervasiveness rather than breakthrough? I know this won't excite you, but this seems more like the internet of things than an internet refrigerator.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by rts008 on Sunday March 01 2015, @10:58PM
Instead of seeing this as 'not new/innovative tech'(you are correct in that), look at it from the perspective of 'well, it's about time some of this useful tech is FINALLY getting put to some good uses' and not cloistered away somewhere niche.
But then again, hmmm, Ikea patrons? It may still be that cloistered niche... ;-)
Anyhow, I just saw this and thought 'It's about time someone is trying to put useful tech to good use for the 'masses'.
I cannot afford a Tesla sedan(much less the roadster) no matter how cool they are, but I could afford an endtable that charges my ebook reader to put next to my favorite easy chair. I find that very cool, but not really innovative, or 'OOHHH! High Tech!'.
And I am pleased to see them pushing a fairly 'open' standard that is publicly available, so anyone can even build their own charging stations compatible with Ikea's stuff.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @11:27PM
Agreed. However, Ikea might suffer from a new breed of customers that build their own furniture but would be interested in buying the charger parts for their own projects.
(Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Monday March 02 2015, @12:30AM
I have woodworking as a hobby, but I'd rather buy directly from Ikea's "manufacturers" [aliexpress.com] than from Ikea: even including the H&S costs, it will still be cheaper at comparable quality.
(I won't, because I haven't found any advantage for me in using smartphones/tablets)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Informative) by tibman on Monday March 02 2015, @12:38AM
Here you go: http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/Wireless-c-1_119/?ref=side [seeedstudio.com]
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2015, @10:24AM
Not sure where you are posting from, but in the UK most people own Ikea furniture...
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2015, @02:17AM
welcome gov/mil into your homes, just by buying furniture!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Marneus68 on Monday March 02 2015, @07:59AM
Adjust your tinfoil hat and read up on what an inductive charger is.
This is not on the same level as the samsung smart tv bullshit.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday March 02 2015, @09:38AM
every time you insert a plug into a socket, or remove it, it wears out a little bit. Quite likely, in the long run, it will be cheaper and easier to design wireless recharging hardware, than to design, manufacture and install connectors that will last for a long time.
Consider that AppleCare just gave me a free replacement for my MagSafe 2 Power Adapter.
I was going to say that dear Nikola is at last vindicated, however this only has a range of four centimetres. He knew very well what was about to happen to Serbia, and so hoped to keep his Mother Country of Serbia powered over a distance of hundreds of miles.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by everdred on Tuesday March 03 2015, @08:27PM
Yes, this. My last phone began to have physical USB port problems after little more than a year of use, so I can certainly appreciate this lesser-known benefit.