By Evan Ackerman

Last year we saw a couple different stabs at wireless power, including WildCharge, PowerCast, and eCoupled. Power cords suck, and with the potentially beneficial establishment of a Wireless Power Consortium, we’re all hoping that we can do away with those horrible betanglements behind our desks sooner rather than later. Powermat has a consumer solution ready to go, with the familiar hardware combination of a non-conductive charging mat and adapters for various devices. You can either plug (!) your gadget into a Powermat enabled dock, plug (!) it into an adapter which gets placed on a Powermat, or equip it with a case with an integrated Powermat receiver:

Powermat is also apparently able to transmit data through the same system, allowing the transfer of audio and video at unspecified rates, which could be neat. But, the big question is when will wireless charging capability be integrated into the devices themselves, and Powermat’s obligatory answer is that they’re “working on it.” I dunno, guys… I’m a little bit worried that until that actually happens, the rest of us (i.e. the consumer base) are just going to suck it up and keep plugging stuff in rather than have to buy a bunch of expensive adapters.

The mat part of the Powermat system will hit retail in Q4 for about $100, and the adapters will go for between $25 and $35 each.

[ Powermat ]

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37 COMMENTS

  1. it might take a while for the integration into the devices but still, not having to use all the wires? charging all the portable devices in one spot? I'll buy it

  3. it might take a while for the integration into the devices but still, not having to use all the wires? charging all the portable devices in one spot? I'll buy it

  10. What makes this so worth it is the convenience. After the initial investment the cost of adapters is pennies per day over the life of the device. I want one!!

  13. I'm impressed that the sleeve actually looks decent. When i saw that the devices need the sleeve I was skeptical, but I think it will actually look decent as well as keeping my iPhone scratch free. I wanna see one in action.

  14. I'm excited to try this out for myself once it hits the market; I look forward to no longer having to carry cords for my iPod, cell phone, blackberry and laptop everywhere I go.

  15. The PowerMat means I can buy more electronic gizmos to charge at my desk without having to worry about another cord. Awesome! Do you know when this will definitely be released?

  17. I'm excited to try this out for myself once it hits the market; I look forward to no longer having to carry cords for my iPod, cell phone, blackberry and laptop everywhere I go.

  18. The PowerMat means I can buy more electronic gizmos to charge at my desk without having to worry about another cord. Awesome! Do you know when this will definitely be released?

  21. This is a real revolution in technology. I usually wait until at least the 2nd or 3rd generation before picking up a gadget, but I think I'll get one of these at launch.

  35. To the people who have been leaving glowing comments for Powermat: we're not stupid. We like Powermat, but this practice is cheap and makes Powermat look bad, regardles of whether they're aware you're doing this or not. I'm closing the comments here, you can spam someone else.

  36. To the people who have been leaving glowing comments for Powermat: we're not stupid. We like Powermat, but this practice is cheap and makes Powermat look bad, regardles of whether they're aware you're doing this or not. I'm closing the comments here, you can spam someone else.

  37. To the people who have been leaving glowing comments for Powermat: we're not stupid. We like Powermat, but this practice is cheap and makes Powermat look bad, regardles of whether they're aware you're doing this or not. I'm closing the comments here, you can spam someone else.

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