If you are like most people these days, especially mobile workers, you likely have a bag full of chargers that you cart around with you. This made me crazy years ago and I've dealt with the ever growing number of chargers I require by leveraging USB charging cables and most recently, investing in an iGo universal charger and the tips I need to keep everything powered up and charged. Even with that, I still carry both a USB battery and a unique battery based USB charger from Boxwave to insure I always have the power I need. Still, this means I'm also carrying around a bit of extra bulk and weight everywhere I go.
My friend Tom Andrulis from Intelligent Technical Solutions in Las Vegas sent out his newsletter recently and in it, he highlighted a very intriguing product, the Powermat. It's due on the market in the Fall of 2009. Simply put, it's a mat that can wirelessly charge the devices placed on it. This means, one plug into the wall and then a lightwieght, portable mat that you unfold and simply place your devices on to charge. This is really ingeniuous. I haven't fully researched their technology yet, but there web site does a nice job explaining their technology. Depending on the price point and the breadth of the devices they will be able to support, this could be a fantastic development. I would love to lighten my load, that's for sure.
My current portfolio of devices includes my Toshiba M700 Tablet with extra capacity battery, my Samsung Saga smartphone, my Plantronics Voyager 510 bluetooth headset, my 80 GB iPod (lots of audio recording and music), my Amazon Kindle (1st generation, though I'm coveting the Kindle 2...someday) and my DocuPen scanner. If I had to carry an individual charger for these 6 devices I probably wouldn't do it. Not to mention all the chargers that you may have scattered around your home and office to be sure your devices are always charged. If Powermat can do what it says it can, it will be revolutionary. I know I will try one out when it is released and will post back on what I think about it. In the meantime, keep your eye on this product. It should be great.
