RSSPowerMat intros an innovative battery charger
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published January 6, 2009, 11:54 PM
LAS VEGAS -- At CES this week, a company called "The Power Mat" will roll out a slick portable "mat" designed for charging up to about six mobile phones at a time.
The mat works with all sorts of mobile phones, contended officials in a booth at the CES Unveiled press preview event Tuesday night. The devices can be charged simply by placing them on the mat, which comes with its own power cord.
The power mat and power cord each fold up into a single small, neat carrying case.
The PowerMat had been trying to drum up interest in its mat for several weeks by sending out rather mysteriously written promotional materials to journalists.
When asked how the mat works, though, officials in the booth remained somewhat quiet, saying only that the technology is "proprietary."
Please please please get this to market NOW! I need this!
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Yes!!! I cannot wait for this to come out!! I NEED this! I have wires coming out of my wires over here..
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This will be great for home organization!
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This is a dream for techies
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This is going to be so great to not have to worry about those damn wires anymore!
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The PowerMat seems to be an amazing concept. I can't wait to try it out when it comes to market. This will clear up cord clutter and I will no longer need to carrry cords for my iPod, cell phone, blackberry and laptop back and forth between home and office.
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Considering the fact that other companies, like SplashPower, have tried to do the same in the past and failed, I was actually impressed from the working product that Powermat displayed at the CES. Just cause magnetic induction sounds simple doesn't make the ability of Powermat less impressive. As someone that has to charge laptop, cell phone, ipod and other devices every day, I like the option of one charger, one power outlet for all. Sure, I'll have to buy the case but I buy protective cases anyway,like most people, so what's the big difference? the point is, it solves a problem
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Proprietary technology? Gimme a break... it's *induction*, and my electric toothbrush uses it.
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I grilled 'em separately, virtualbry -- obfuscation will not be tolerated when I'm at your booth! :-) It's a combination of magnetic induction, just like your electric toothbrush charger and such, and RFID. The intelligence rests on both sides according to the person to whom I spoke; the chip communicates what sort of device is in the sleeve / holder, and the pad handles the rest. I must say that this use of RFID troubles me far less than some, though I didn't get specifics on the chipset and thus cannot be sure how far the chips are emitting the info that I have X, Y and Z electronics somewhere nearby. If I get a chance later in the week I mean to run that info down.
I also wish to point out that Jacqueline's CES photos are far, far better than mine. Don't think I haven't noticed.
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Just what the guy with far too much money needs!
So here we have the item described in the "CES Unveiled" thread as "the Powermat, a deceptively simple-looking item that's got some fancy stuff happening behind the scenes. Essentially, it's a flat, highly portable charger -- slip your gear (phone, MP3 player, laptop, gaming device) into an RFID-chipped sleeve and lay it on the mat, and the sleeve and mat will communicate to ascertain what the gadget is, how much juice is required, and when it's charged."
Sound nifty? Sure!
"You will need a sleeve for each gadget, and those will run $20-$50 apiece; the pad itself is expected to go for $100."
So now we discover the oh so nifty device costs $125-$150 to do the same thing the included charging cord does. And if you are afraid of parasitic current costs, plug the damned device(s) into a strip when you go home (or wouldn't you NEED the device then?!)($6) Oh, but that's why strips have an ON-OFF switch!
So, its YOUR call!
Free or $125-$150!!! (Yup, and YOU were so worried about the cost of parasitic always on devices!!!!) LOL!
With no additional functionality except that you save the exorbitant expenditure of energy to actually plug in your device. Oh, I'm exhausted at simply the thought! ;-)
And you won't even have to worry about your nifty overpriced low-fi MP3 player or whatever gadget you simply can't live without being ripped off as it sits for everyone to admire.
Nifty, but a solution looking desparately for a problem. They would be better off trying to license the technology for integrated use to the manufacturers.
Wow! I'm underwhelmed!
;-)
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Foxfyre, I'm gonna pack you in my bag next year and bring you right with me to CES -- I will point you at the PR folk and the marketing guys and you will blast them with the snark 'til they are immobilized and mute. Heck, I may sell tickets. It would be refreshing!
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Angela, I have certainly been to my share of CES and other MI and IT industry shows. It would be fun to have a reason to go again.
And asking the folks serious questions only to have them look at you with a blank look once they are diverted from their canned PR spiel - especially when questioned about the actual technical operation - is indeed fun. ;-)
Let me know and we'll make it a date! ;-)
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