'WildCharger' leads wireless power revolution

WildCharge Inc.'s new wireless charging pad has recently won several awards and sparked the interest from the electronics, automobile, and furniture industries as one of the first wireless charging devices.

Most recently, the company's product, the 'WildCharger,' won the International Consumer Electronics Show 2008 Best of Innovations Award. The award, given in the Portable Power Category, was presented to the company by the Consumer Electronics Association. Last month, the WildCharger was selected as one of TIME Magazine´s Best Inventions of the Year for 2007.

Currently, the WildCharger charging pad sells for $60 on the company´s Web site. In addition to the pads, adapters for different cell phones and other devices must be purchased, which sell for $30 to $35, depending on if they are bought together with or separate from the pad. The company currently offers adapters for AT&T/Cingular, Verizon, Sprint, Alltel, and T-Mobile Motorola RAZR phones. In the future, they plan to offer adapters for iPod Nanos, Blackberries, and iPhones, as well. The charger is even strong enough to power laptops.

But eventually, WildCharge's President Izhar Matzkevich hopes that leading companies in electronics and other industries will embed the WildCharge technology into their products, which many companies are already planning to do.

WildCharge has been developing the technology since 2001, and claims to be the first and only provider of technology of its kind. When the pad is plugged in to a wall socket, power is transferred from the pad's surface to electrical contacts on a device´s adapter. WildCharge says this power transfer is basically 100% efficient, and doesn´t emit harmful radiation or magnetic fields.

Besides being convenient, WildChargers also offer environmental benefits by eliminating the need for separate devices that require separate wall plugs, since one pad can charge up to five devices simultaneously. The technology also minimizes the number of disposable chargers. Because WildChargers work with any phone that has the embedded technology or appropriate adaptor, consumers who upgrade their phones won't have to purchase new chargers.

More information: www.WildCharge.com

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HeRoze

5 / 5 (1) Nov 30, 2007

Hmmmm, wonder if things get 'exciting' if, when you place your phone on the WildCharger, you accidently drop a coin or keys on it.
>> Their website answered that question: "Once a metal object is placed on the pad, the pad will gracefully shutdown and restart once the device is removed. The metal object will have no harmful effect on the pad, and the pad has no effect on the metal object"

freemind

not rated yet Nov 30, 2007

I really think it's our future

loboy

4 / 5 (1) Nov 30, 2007

"WildChargers also offer environmental benefits by eliminating the need for separate devices that require separate wall plugs..."

Come on! Too many companies are using these green tag lines with no evidence of "environmental benefits".

For example: I have four devices with four chargers, all about the same mass of plastic, iron, and copper. So, would I be reducing the manufacturing footprint for these transformer parts? The "benefits" would come only if every single portable device incorporated this tech. That would mean every manufacturer of portable device transformers would have to move to producing these units.

For example: I could either have four small transformers at 0.5 amp each for four devices, or I could have a single larger transformer at 2 amps for four devices. The amount of copper and iron is relatively the same.

But say I buy this unit and I have one device, that would mean I am essentially purchasing a transformer that is overqualified for the job, and actually increasing the manufacturing footprint.

My math seems correct. Someone please correct if I am wrong.

Oh, and it's not truly"wireless", the electrical contacts are the wires. It is a lumped element in a circuit.

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