Famous furniture maker, Ikea, has finally come up with the answer to mobile users' problem on battery and power. The Swedish company unveiled a lineup of furniture at the Mobile Congress in Barcelona that could charge mobile phone batteries.
According to BBC News, the furniture lineup is called the "Home Smart" range. It would feature bedside tables, lamps, and coffee tables that could charge mobile phones.
The company utilized the wireless charging standard QI for their products. It is the same thing used by Samsung in their new flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy S6.
The furniture is outfitted with charging pads where owners could place their devices that need energy, said Realtor. It is charged through the energy transfer called induction.
While the devices would not need plugs and cables to charge, which ensure wireless power transfer, the furniture should be plugged in to a power source that would transfer the energy into the devices.
The new lineup of wireless charging furniture for Ikea would solve the problem of smartphone users who lose a lot of battery and power because of the numerous applications open. Moreover, charging devices would now be possible in a neat and organized manner.
Jeanette Skjelmose, Business Manager of Lighting and Wireless Charging in Ikea said, "People hate cable mess. They worry about not finding the charger and running out of power."
"By adding wireless charging to home and office furniture, we minimize the amount of separate chargers needed," she added.
The furniture would provide the answer to this problem.
In the future, the Swedish home solutions maker hopes to roll out separate charging pads that would work on their other furniture. This kit would cost around €30 while the furniture with built-in charging pads would cost an additional €20.
While this innovative idea would definitely help a lot of smartphone users, not all devices would be compatible with the charging pad. Ikea's furniture only adheres to one wireless charging standard, the QI standard under the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) Units. Hence, only gadgets manufactured by Samsung, Microsoft, and HTC are compatible with the charging furniture.
Meanwhile, devices that adhere to the standards of the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) and Alliance For Wireless Power (A4WP) may not be compatible with the new lineup yet.
