Wireless power standard almost here, named Qi (of all things)

We're not sure whether to chalk this up to the fact that every good brand name is already taken, or to some folks' delight in torturing us with obscure pronunciation -- but whatever the case may be, it looks like the Wireless Power Consortium have finally come up with a spec for Wireless Power, and for it they're using a name (and logo) probably dreamt up after repeat viewings of Big Trouble in Little China: Qi. Pronounced Ch'i (you know, as in "prana" or "life force"), the first universal wireless standard has achieved 0.95 for interoperability testing a mere seven months after setting their eyes on the goal, paving the way for an "accelerated" acceptance of 1.0, according to a company spokesperson. The Qi standard applies to devices 5 watts and below, and members of the consortium include Duracell, National Semiconductor, Olympus, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, ST-Ericsson, and Shenzhen Sangfei Consumer Communications. At any rate, it's nice to hear about something happening ahead of schedule for once.

[Via SlashGear]