If like me, you tend to collect devices, then you know that keeping them all charged and ready to go can be a problem. There has been a few times that I have gone to pick up my iPod, only to discover that the battery is flat. Now what if you could get in of an evening, and throw your phone, PDA, even laptop down, and the surface it rested on charged your device? Well, the people at Powermat have done just that with their errrm… Powermat!
All you need to do is plug the Powermat into the wall, and place a special cover over your device that will protect your gadget, and also allow the power to flow. The Powermat is magnetic, so what you are charging will snap to the surface. A blue LED will also light to let you know you have made a connection. Not only will it be able to charge iPods and the like, it will also be able to charge your laptop by means of an adapter that will rest on the surface, and supply the laptop with power. The Powermat will have adapters for batteries too, and cases for more and more devices will be available in due course.
The Powermat uses RFID to tell the devices apart, supplying the correct voltage so as not to fry your beloved phone. The people at Powermat hope that in the future, gadget vendors will incorporate their own batteries that will use the magnetic induction technology from the get-go. The Powermat will initially come in two version, a home/office version, and a portable version. The portable version you will be able to fold, and take with you, of course.
The makers of the Powermat believe that not only is this an easier way to charge things up, it is also more efficient, as the mat will stop supplying power when the charge is over, and top it up only when there is a need. They also claim that it will charge in roughly the same time as their wired counterparts. If you are interested, whiz over to their website here. I think it will be a bit of a revolution for us gadget junkies. Imagine every surface in your home and office having this incorporated? Would battery life be a problem any more?