AllianceForWirelessPower
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Wireless charging's smaller players unite as the AirFuel Alliance
The wireless charging world can usually be reduced to two factions: the Qi standard... and then everyone else. However, those frequently neglected alternatives are now rallying around a common banner. Meet the AirFuel Alliance, the new name for the recent union between the Alliance for Wireless Power and the Power Matters Alliance. The name is a bit silly (fuel isn't exactly electric, folks), but it'll give Intel, Samsung and the 193 other member companies a clearer way to represent their "inclusive" approach to wire-free power.
Major wireless charging groups team up for the technology's future
The three biggest wireless charging standard groups are now down by one, because two of them have decided to join forces. Power Matters Alliance (PMA) and The Alliance For Wireless Power (A4WP) have just made signed a Letter of Intent to merge on the dotted line. The merger, which will operate under a new name, will be finalized by mid-2015, and the two groups hope it can give the technology a boost. "Consumers will gain access to an exciting and enhanced battery charging and power management experience sooner across the full spectrum of devices in daily use," the groups' press release said. "Mobile network operators and commercial and retail brands can commit to the necessary investment confident of stable, long-term evolution and management of innovative wireless charging technologies."
Lenovo and Dell back effort to bring wireless charging to laptops and tablets
Wireless charging is a technology often reserved for smaller devices -- smartphones, watches and electronic toothbrushes -- but that's about to change. The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) just updated its Rezence charging standard to support laptops, tablets and devices requiring up to 50 watts. The Alliance only just made this change official, but it's been coming for awhile: when Dell joined the group back in February, the A4WP promised to introduce a higher-power specification that would enable Ultrabooks to charge untethered.
Broadcom's new chip lets your phone use any wireless charging standard
Wonder why only a handful of mobile devices support wireless charging? It's partly because the standards are horribly fragmented: companies have to choose between technologies like PMA, Rezence and Qi, and it's not clear which of those will last. Broadcom might put the issue to bed with its new (and awkwardly titled) BCM59350 chip, though. The hardware lets gadgets charge using any existing wireless technology -- you won't have to hunt for specific charging pads. It can also handle up to 7.5W of power instead of the usual 5W, so your gear might charge faster than it would using old-fashioned wires.
Alliance for Wireless Power introduces Rezence as its consumer-friendly brand
The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) was formed over a year ago to come up with a wireless charging solution that would allow for greater spatial freedom when charging your favorite gadgets. "A4WP" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue however, which is why the group today announced its consumer-facing brand, hereby known as Rezence. The release states that the name was derived from the words resonance and essence, which tells the tale of how the technology works -- that of non-radiative magnetic resonance -- and how it can be used to charge all kinds of devices, not just phones. Indeed, the alliance teased us that a major PC OEM has just got on board, and will reveal more about it at CES next month. The logo, which is simply the letter Z with an electricity symbol running through the middle, will be used on all devices that have gone through A4WP certification. This way, consumers will know that any surface with the logo will play nice with a Rezence-compatible item. Geoff Gordon of Qualcomm, who's also A4WP's marketing committee chair, tells us that the introduction of the Rezence brand goes hand-in-hand with the certification program it's about to roll out by year's end. Indeed, they've just completed their third and final Plugfest, which is an event where electronics makers get together to ensure interoperability of a certain standard. While we're not sure just what devices will be incorporated with the Rezence technology -- that's up to the individual member companies to decide -- it seems we'll finally be able to see the fruits of A4WP's labor sooner rather than later. To find out more about Rezence and A4WP, go on and hit the source link below.
Alliance for Wireless Power and Bluetooth SIG team on smarter charging stations
Wireless charging stations aren't currently very bright, but they're about to learn some new tricks. The Alliance for Wireless Power and the Bluetooth SIG are collaborating on an updated A4WP specification that uses Bluetooth Smart to manage wireless charging sessions. Future Bluetooth-equipped stations should optimize power delivery, prioritize charging for multiple devices and launch apps; you could order a meal by setting your phone down at a restaurant table, for instance. Just when we'll see these smart stations isn't certain, though. When the first A4WP-ready products aren't likely to reach the market until next year, it could be a long time before wireless chargers become truly multi-talented.
Qualcomm joins Wireless Power Consortium board, sparks hope for A4WP and Qi unification
Qualcomm, the founding member of Alliance for Wireless Power (or A4WP in short), made a surprise move today by joining the management board of the rival Wireless Power Consortium (or WPC), the group behind the already commercially available Qi standard. This is quite an interesting development considering how both alliances have been openly critical of each other, and yet now there's a chance of seeing just one standard getting the best of both worlds. That is, of course, dependent on Qualcomm's real intentions behind joining the WPC.
Alliance for Wireless Power shows off its spec's spatial freedom
The Alliance for Wireless Power's (A4WP) board approved its spec on January 2, 2013 -- the spec itself was approved back in October -- and we're already seeing them showing off some of the capabilities we'll benefit form as consumers. One of the key differences in the A4WP spec is being touted as spatial freedom which will see greater flexibility in how the wireless power is integrated into devices and even surfaces. Multiple devices can be charged at once even if they each have different power requirements and the devices don't even need to physically touch the surface -- so feel free to stack your tablets and phones one on top of each other. We're all for convenient charging as long as our furniture still looks pretty and isn't at risk of catching on fire. PR is after the break if you're inspired to give it a read.
TI joins the Alliance for Wireless Power, tells the WPC it can still be friends
It's not quite a "Dear John" letter, but we're sure the Wireless Power Consortium is heartbroken all the same. One of its key members, TI, has just signed up for the Alliance for Wireless Power to build cable-free charging on what's effectively a competing standard. The chip designer doesn't view the move as abandoning a long-time partner, though -- it remains part of the WPC and plans to produce Qi-based wireless power chipsets alongside future A4WP components. Without any related chips to announce, there's a long wait left before we know how well TI can juggle the two charging formats without appearing to play favorites. We'd recommend that the WPC not grow too attached in the meantime.
Alliance for Wireless Power approves its specification, edges closer to truly cable-free charging
Design by committee might not be the death knell for technology after all. Over four months after the Alliance for Wireless Power was founded in earnest, the coalition has already greenlit a specification for its partners to work from. The guideline lets device makers start building devices that charge through a magnetic resonance technology more forgiving of distance and material than Qi while simplifying the process through short-range wireless formats like Bluetooth 4.0. While the A4WP group hasn't made all the details public, it's holding meetings this week to speed up the commercialization process -- it's here that we'll learn whether the corporate bureaucracy is just as quick at getting wireless charging hardware into our hands as it is handshaking on standards.
Samsung, Qualcomm start up Alliance for Wireless Power to take on Qi
Wireless power has until now been closely associated with the Wireless Power Consortium's Qi standard. There's now a second proposed common ground in the Alliance for Wireless Power, or A4WP. Samsung and Qualcomm, along with some help from Powermat, SK Telecom, Ever Win Industries, Gill Industries and Peiker Acustic, are making an alternative that allows for "spatial freedom" between your gadget and the charging source, although whether or not that's better than the 1.6-inch distance of the updated Qi spec is left to the imagination. The strategy doesn't just let your device avoid French kissing the charger: it lets you power up through a material besides a metal plate, and it reduces the cost by eliminating repeaters. A4WP should power everything from low-power headsets through to smartphones and tablets, although with partnership talk just getting started at CTIA Wireless 2012, we wouldn't hold off on buying wired-power gadgets in the near future.
