News - Dell to spearhead laptop wireless charging

[HEXUS]

Joins the 'Alliance for Wireless Power', becomes first major PC maker to do so.

Read more.

[herulach]

With the addition of good wireless display tech this could be a pretty great docking solution, although 35W can't leave much over for charging after a decent sized screen?

[edzieba]

But how will they do Vendor Lock-in without proprietary charger plugs?

[wasabi]

With the addition of good wireless display tech this could be a pretty great docking solution, although 35W can't leave much over for charging after a decent sized screen?

My thoughts exactly - if they can get a standardised business grade variant sorted they'll bag a shedoad of corporate buys.

[herulach]

But how will they do Vendor Lock-in without proprietary charger plugs?

It includes a data spec, so you could easily have it work with only one type of charger, however, in theory all a4wp chargers should be compatible.

[kingpotnoodle]

Business environments only really, who actually uses a LAPtop on a fixed regular desk at home very often (i.e. not the kitchen table, coffee table etc)? I can see the application for integrating into the likes of train tables or meeting room desks to reduce cable clutter in environments where its a bigger hassle but otherwise I really don't see the benefit over docks and charger cables. Wireless power seems inherently wasteful due to lower efficiency and in the era of rising bills and energy costs as our fossil fuels dwindle I find it rather hard to reconcile the tiny increase in convenience against the higher costs of operation.

[shaithis]

This is the tech I have wanted for over 30 years....and it still annoys me that after more than 5 years since the tech came to fruition it is still so niche it's untrue. I've seen it available for a couple of Blackberry devices and a few other SKUs from various manufacturers but never anything I have owned.

There is the problem of efficiency though. At a time when most of the world are trying to curtail their power usage, we are trying to get a new tech in place that will always "waste" energy.

I would happily spend the time and money buying or retro-fitting power surfaces to my furniture at home if you could buy compatible batteries.........and at the moment that is the biggest stopping point IMO. The price of fitting/repurchasing furniture combined with phone and tablet manufacturers making sealed units now....mobile devices would be the number one target for wireless charging IMO

[kingpotnoodle]

This is the tech I have wanted for over 30 years....and it still annoys me that after more than 5 years since the tech came to fruition it is still so niche it's untrue. I've seen it available for a couple of Blackberry devices and a few other SKUs from various manufacturers but never anything I have owned.

There is the problem of efficiency though. At a time when most of the world are trying to curtail their power usage, we are trying to get a new tech in place that will always "waste" energy.

I would happily spend the time and money buying or retro-fitting power surfaces to my furniture at home if you could buy compatible batteries.........and at the moment that is the biggest stopping point IMO. The price of fitting/repurchasing furniture combined with phone and tablet manufacturers making sealed units now....mobile devices would be the number one target for wireless charging IMO

For me it's a solution looking for a problem that doesn't really exist, cables are actually in some circumstances preferable... imagine you've just come home, your phone battery is at 5% so you put on the charge pad, 2 mins later it rings - if you pick it up no charge and call time of a few mins left... if you put it on speaker phone then sub-optimal call experience... alternatively if you are charging from a cable then no problem, pick it up, talk and charge. Same situation for laptops, tablets etc., wireless charging currently sucks because the device is even less moveable when charging than it is with a cable.

For fixed appliances there is only a small neatness argument that could be better resolved by installing cable management, for example kitchens could really do with desk style holes and under-counter plugs, how often to do move the toaster that a tricky to reach plug is an issue...

[herulach]

This is the tech I have wanted for over 30 years....and it still annoys me that after more than 5 years since the tech came to fruition it is still so niche it's untrue. I've seen it available for a couple of Blackberry devices and a few other SKUs from various manufacturers but never anything I have owned.

There is the problem of efficiency though. At a time when most of the world are trying to curtail their power usage, we are trying to get a new tech in place that will always "waste" energy.

I would happily spend the time and money buying or retro-fitting power surfaces to my furniture at home if you could buy compatible batteries.........and at the moment that is the biggest stopping point IMO. The price of fitting/repurchasing furniture combined with phone and tablet manufacturers making sealed units now....mobile devices would be the number one target for wireless charging IMO

a lot of new mobiles are already wireless charge capable, but since the charges are pretty niche and USB is nearly ubiquitous its kind of redundant.

Wireless charging doesn't necessarily have to be less efficient than wired, but even assuming say a 10% efficiency loss changing a single bulb to an energy save offsets 30 of these chargers. Its really weird how obsessed everyone is with power consumption recently, your average gaming pc uses less electric than a typical fridge freezer.

Getting energy out of the mains into batteries is a fundamentally inefficient process.

[crossy]

Business environments only really, who actually uses a LAPtop on a fixed regular desk at home very often (i.e. not the kitchen table, coffee table etc)?

That would be me. My "office" laptop moves off of it's space on the (works provided) desk about two weeks a year. Likewise, my main machine (also a laptop) lurks on it's pedestal for about the same amount of time. That laptop of mine (not the works one) was the best solution to the knotty problem of accommodating a "PC" with keyboard and screen in a minimal space.

Like you, wireless charging strikes me as something very desirable for low power uses like phones, portable hi-fi and tablets. But for larger gear like laptops ... and even ultrabooks to an extent ... I remain to be convinced that it's anything but an expensive (and unnecessary) gimmick.

[Jake12321]

Honestly, Wireless charging for laptops sounds AMAZING, however a bit disappointing that it doesn't apply to phones aswell because sometimes i wish i could charge my phone when i have lost a charger lol

[shaithis]

For me it's a solution looking for a problem that doesn't really exist, cables are actually in some circumstances preferable... imagine you've just come home, your phone battery is at 5% so you put on the charge pad, 2 mins later it rings - if you pick it up no charge and call time of a few mins left... if you put it on speaker phone then sub-optimal call experience... alternatively if you are charging from a cable then no problem, pick it up, talk and charge. Same situation for laptops, tablets etc., wireless charging currently sucks because the device is even less moveable when charging than it is with a cable.

Everyone requirements are different. I come home and throw my phone on the frontroom table, where my tablet is already sat.....having cables reach them is messy and a trip hazard.

For fixed appliances there is only a small neatness argument that could be better resolved by installing cable management, for example kitchens could really do with desk style holes and under-counter plugs, how often to do move the toaster that a tricky to reach plug is an issue...

Agreed for the most part but then think about water spillages. They will run down into your neat cable management, whereas the wireless power would be perfectly safe and sound.

Wireless charging doesn't necessarily have to be less efficient than wired, but even assuming say a 10% efficiency loss changing a single bulb to an energy save offsets 30 of these chargers. Its really weird how obsessed everyone is with power consumption recently, your average gaming pc uses less electric than a typical fridge freezer.

Getting energy out of the mains into batteries is a fundamentally inefficient process.

But transferring power from one form to another is lossy, so as far as I understand, it would have to be less efficient......and while it may be as little as 10% (or even less, I am not sure) that can start adding up over multiple devices.....one of the things manufactures have used as an example is lights anywhere you want them....so your already making your energy saver bulbs less energy saving.

I really think a lot of people don't realise how quickly they could adapt to wireless power......and for every one of you who thinks otherwise, there is probably a "other half" who would disagree

[Devastater6194]

About time we started getting wireless charging. The tech has been around for a while but no-one has pushed for it.

[Apex]

So we are finally seeing the 'big guns' get behind tech that Nikola Tesla thought of how many years ago......

[Funkstar]

Wireless charging would work in our house quite well. We generally have a collection of devices sat in the kitchen/dining room. One chargin mat on a sideboard would keep both my phones (personal and work) and my wifes topped up (providing she remember3ed to sit it there as opposed to a candom place around the house where she can't find it). Same goes for the cordless house phone, my our kindle e-readers, two of our kids phones, two tablets and probably another two to come this year. No idea how many microUSB chargers are currently plugged in at home, sometimes being used and sometimes not.

The sooner wireless charging becomes as ubiquitus as microUSB the better.

[theleader]

I hope this wireless charging systems works more reliable then the intermittent charging process of my Dell inspiron 1525 laptop battery!