This sounds really cool!
Jacob
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Thompson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "ACB-L" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 10:41 AM
Subject: FW: ARTICLE: Wireless power charges gadgets


-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, 22 March 2003 10:10 AM
Subject: vip-l: Fwd: ARTICLE: Wireless power charges gadgets


The following article was taken from the bbcnews web site at
http://www.bbcnews.com under the Technology section.

Wireless power charges gadgets
Alfred Hermida
By Alfred Hermida
BBC News Online technology staff
You could soon be saying goodbye to having several different chargers
for
all your
handheld gadgets like your mobile phone or MP3 player. SplashPower pad
The pad uses magnetic induction to charge the devices A British start-up
called SplashPower has come up with technology that can
wirelessly
charge all of them at once, without having to plug any of them into the
mains. The system is based around a small flat mat that plugs into the
main
electricity
supply and a special module inside a gadget.
"You pick up your phone, drop it on the pad and it charges. The pad does

all the
thinking for you," explained David Whitewood, Vice President of Business

Development
for SplashPower.
The technology developed by SplashPower is based on the principle of
magnetic inductive
power transfer.
Inductive charging systems are already used in products like
rechargeable
electric
toothbrushes.
"That technology had a lot of limitations," said Mr Whitewood, "and
SplashPower have
come up with a solution that works for mobile electronic equipment."
'Green pay-off' David Whitewood The cost to add SplashPower technology
to phones or MP3 players is very low
and very
affordable
David Whitewood, SplashPower
The system works by generating a magnetic field which transfers the
energy
into a
gadget with a Splash module. This in turn transforms the energy into the

direct current
that the battery uses to recharge.
The company says the system is perfectly safe and will not even wipe
credit
cards
if you accidentally put one on the pad.
The Cambridge-based company is talking to the big electronics
manufacturers
about
integrating the technology into their products.
"The cost to add the SplashPower technology to phones or MP3 players is
very low
and very affordable," said Mr Whitewood.
The company says the technology will only add 25 cents to the cost of a
device and
the module itself is less than a millimetre thick.
The system could hold added benefits for businesses such as mobile phone

manufacturers
as it could help them cut costs.
"You don't have to put a charger in every box if you implement
splashpower
in your
products," said Mr Whitewood, "and there's a green pay-off in that.
"Every time you change your mobile phone, you perhaps keep your charger
in
a drawer
or throw it away. With SplashPower, you wouldn't have to do that." The
company hopes to see the first pads on sale by the end of the year,
costing between
$25 and $50.


Susan Thompson
Email: [log in to unmask]
Phone:  home +61 2 9552 2121
Phone:  work +61 2 9334 7854
Mobile: 0425 334404 (drop first 0 if overseas)



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