charging - SlashGear

Microsoft confirms support for Qi standard by joining WPC

Chris Burns | Mar 11, 2014

The wireless charging wars continue. Today Microsoft has let it be known that they’re officially tossing their hat in with the Wireless Power Consortium for the standard wireless abilities quite a few Windows Phone devices already have. Given the idea that Nokia really will end up having their handset business owned by Microsoft in full in the near future, it makes a lot of sense that Microsoft would support the wireless standard they’d already have in place.

Nokia kinetic phone charging made real: dancing for power

Chris Burns | Mar 4, 2014

There’s a fellow by the name of Markku at Nokia’s Sensors and Energy department - the Principal Researcher of that department. He’s working on a project that’s going to allow users to dance to charge up their smartphone. While it’s relatively far off from a final product, the team has taken to the streets to show the concept off.

Apple wireless battery charging experiments could end up in iWatch

JC Torres | Feb 3, 2014

As mobile devices get more powerful and wearables start getting traction, the bottleneck of delivering a great user experience lies not on the processor anymore but on batteries. While other companies are sweating over the next battery revolution, Apple is reported to be taking a more muted approach and focusing on improving charging methods instead.

Hevo Power bringing manhole-disguised electric car chargers to NYC

Brittany A. Roston | Oct 16, 2013

Electric cars are gaining traction among consumers, but the issue of charging while on the go is still one that needs addressed on a larger level. Hevo Power has taken to the topic, looking to add a charging option for EV drivers in New York in the form of circular manhole-disguised units. If all goes as planned, they will be available next year.

Formula E taps Qualcomm Halo for multi-year electric vehicle racing partnership

Chris Burns | Sep 9, 2013

This week it's been announced that the high-powered Formula racing circuit known as the FIA Formula E Championship will be working with Qualcomm as their official charging technology provider. This racing series is one made unique by featuring only Formula cars powered exclusively by electric energy. Qualcomm's part in this will be providing their own Halo Electric Vehicle Charging technology to the pits for all vehicles in the circuit to utilize.

The Practical Meter aims to tell you how fast your phone is charging

Chris Burns | Jul 26, 2013

If you've ever wondered if plugging your smartphone in to one power outlet was charging it up to full power faster than another, there's a tiny device made by a fellow named David Toledo that'll get you thinking. What you're seeing here is a sort of half-way point between a USB port and your USB-based power cord. What the Practical Meter will do is show you a number of lights depending on how fast your device is powering up. With this information, you'll be able to find the most optimized power source and charge your device up as fast as possible.

Tesla targets 5-minute Supercharger recharges for Model S

Craig Lloyd | Jul 17, 2013

Electric vehicles are pretty great since you don't need to hit the gas station and drop $50-$60 on a tank of gas every week (depending on how much you drive, of course), but charging times for electric vehicles are the trade-off to not paying for gas. For some EVs, it take all night to completely charge a dead car battery, but Tesla is aiming for much faster times than that.

Griffin PowerDock 5 arrives as five-port charging station

Craig Lloyd | Jul 16, 2013

It's been awhile since we last heard about Griffin's PowerDock 5 charging station -- back in January at CES, in fact. However, the company finally launched the new product today and is touting it as a central place to charge all of your mobile devices, including tablets, complete with five charging bays with their own USB port.

iPhone vulnerable to hacking with malware-infested charger

Craig Lloyd | Jun 3, 2013

You might think the only way malware could ever get onto your phone is if you installed an app or some piece of software that was infested with malicious code, but it turns out that modified wall chargers can be used to hack phones as well. Researchers say they've built a custom iPhone wall charger that can install malware when connected to a device.

Tesla’s Elon Musk says SuperCharging network will be tripled

Brittany A. Roston | May 30, 2013

With a gasoline-powered car, refueling is as simple as pulling into a gas station and waiting a few minutes for the gas take to be refilled. Things are a bit trickier with electric vehicles, however, which require charging stations rather than gas stations. Tesla has been rolling out it SuperCharger network over many months, having added six in California back in October, for example. At tonight's D11 conference, Musk made an announcement early: Tesla's SuperCharger network will be tripled.

New microbatteries can jump-start your car battery and still charge your phone

Brian Sin | Apr 17, 2013

The researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed new microbatteries that are extremely small in size, but pack a huge amount of power. Not only do they pack a huge punch, but they recharge "1,000 times faster than competing technologies", according to the research team. The team wanted to find a solution to the dilemma that afflicts current power sources, where power sources can either have a lot of power, or have a lot of energy, not both at the same time.

Apple files for Smart Cover inductive charging patent for iPad

Craig Lloyd | Mar 14, 2013

Apple's new Smart Cover for the iPad has a lot of potential, and it seems the company thinks so as well. Case in point: Apple just applied for a patent that would see the Smart Cover being used as a wireless charger to charge up the iPad when the Smart Cover is closed. Both the iPad and Smart Cover would have induction coils to make the wireless charging possible.