TrulyObscure - article - gadgeteer - Powermat: The Best Induction Charger Yet

Posted by Greg May Jan 20, 08:37 PM to gadgeteer : -

Wireless power had a bigger showing than ever at CES this year. And while there isn’t a default standard yet- we aren’t going over to our hotel room or friend’s house expecting to be able to use our induction chargeable devices- one standard has certainly pushed it’s way to the front of the line.

Powermat aims to be the complete charging solution for all of your devices. They are talking about adding the technology to walls and tables and furniture, but are starting with the two core products- the Powermat Portable Mat and the more attractive but less flexible Powermat Home & Office Mat. We’ve been trying out both, along with the various sleeves that are required to use the system, and comparing them to the other heavyweight contender(s) in the arena. The two others, Duracell and WildCharge, are actually siblings as the myGrid licenses the Wildcharge technology.

Powermats function precisely the same as the others- you need to plug the mat in, and then can lay several devices atop the pad, and the devices charge quite quickly. One difference: the Powermats support up to 3 devices at a time charging wirelessly, while the competition allows 5. However, we should add that it’s nearly impossible to fit 5 devices on the pads- and even connecting 3 at a time is unlikely for most people. Another difference is price: the Powermat is around twice the price of the others, though it’s not quite apples to apples as their version comes with a USB adapter built into the pad as well as an included basic charger.

Other than those downsides though, the Powermat wins handily. For starters, their pads are sleek and sexy, with no exposed metal that may cause visitors to wonder why you have a hotplate on your nightstand. They also offer an iPhone 3G-compatible sleeve (not compatible with the 3Gs though!), as yet unavailable from Duracell, and a very cool docking stand for iPods and iPhones which worked quite well. We should note though that, disappointingly, Powermat doesn’t recommend the iPhone cases for daily use and that it does obstruct the docking port. Regardless, the included Powercube is quite versatile, with support for most major manufacturers out of the box (including micro-USB, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia, LG, and even Apple and the Nintendo DS and DSi).

And if it’s the DS Lite or DSi you have, Powermat also offers handy sleeves for those portable gaming devices. With the DS and DSi we found them quite useful, since we didn’t already have or use sleeves. With your phone, the sleeve adds bulk and width and thus can be detrimental to the portability. Finally, we really liked the portable Powermat- allowing you one for home, and another one that folds up nicely to take with us on trips or to work. It’s durable, sturdy, and though it isn’t quite as attractive as the household version, it managed to get through airport security without a second look. At $100 for a Powermat, it’s likely still in the early adopter phase and for those with several gadgets and a propensity to lose power cables. We do look forward to the technology becoming more widespread, as well as charging a wider range of devices like laptops, DSLRs, and the like.