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The Economist has a free article titled Coiled and ready to Strike which provides a summary of the state of wireless charging technologies.
From simple, but inefficient induction, to resonant induction, to lasers, many different avenues are being developed for charging different devices. There are efficiency problems with all of these.
Phones are the obvious target, with companies like McDonald's and Starbucks planning wireless charging stations in their restaurant tables. But other targets include electric cars, and buses, roadways, not to mention drones.
The story makes a good read to bring you up to speed without digging too deeply into the technical aspects of each method. Standardization seems the big problem, and even in the electronic device market there are competing non-inter-operable standards, being pushed. Oddly, the automotive industry may be closer to a standard than many.
Original Submission
(Score: 3, Interesting) by TheGratefulNet on Friday June 26 2015, @10:02PM
while microusb is more robust than miniusb, it still wears out and the connector does come undone from the pc board due to the cost involved (or, rather, the slim margins that devices have these days). some phone users had to throw their phones out when their usb ports broke.
so, its one less wear item. and if you pick up and put down the device (like a remote or a phone) it makes sense to avoid having to cable it up just to keep it charged.
if you are in a hurry, wired power is still unbeatable but if you are ok trickle charging or letting it charge overnight, wireless power is very useful.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."