Gadgetwise Blog: Wireless Charging on the Go for the iPhone 5

The PowerSnap kit from Duracell includes the AccessCase and the SnapBattery.

Duracell wants to make sure you never have to beg for a phone charger or hunt for a power outlet again.

The copper-top battery maker recently introduced a charging case for the iPhone 5 that works with its Powermat, a charging station for mobile devices that was introduced in 2009.

The Powermat charges devices that are laid on it through inductive technology. Unfortunately, that technology has yet to be incorporated into Apple devices, so Duracell has come up with the PowerSnap Kit, which includes an AccessCase and a SnapBattery, both designed for the iPhone 5.

The case comes in two parts: the top snaps on the phone and the bottom includes a Lightning connector. They clip together, but a single unit would have been better. The case feels fragile, as if it would crack easily if the phone were dropped.

Once encased, the phone will charge when placed on a Powermat. A magnet ensures the phone is aligned properly; the mat chirps when the alignment is correct, and again when the phone is removed. I was able to fully charge my phone on the Powermat in two hours.

If a Powermat is not available, the SnapBattery is a capable backup. It attaches to the back of the AccessCase, adding a little bulk but also more protection. It was a little tricky to slide into place, but once it was there, it held firm. The battery can be charged on a Powermat or via a USB cable.

The PowerSnap Kit costs $100; it is available on Duracell’s e-commerce site and at other retailers. The Powermat is sold separately, but Duracell has partnerships with sporting arenas and airports to install Powermat stations that are free to use.

Duracell is also testing the Powermat in Starbucks locations in the Boston area. On a recent trip to Boston, I took the opportunity to check out the Powermat stations, which were inlaid in a long table inside a Starbucks. They worked remarkably well, even the one that was cracked, charging my phone the instant I laid it down.

Duracell is negotiating with wireless carriers to incorporate the technology inside smartphones, but it faces competition. Wireless charging stations could become as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi hot spots, but it remains to be seen whether Powermat will dominate.

AT&T to Introduce Solar-Powered Charging Stations

Starting Tuesday, 25 solar-powered charging stations will sprout in parks, beaches and other outdoor spaces in the five boroughs, part of a pilot project from the wireless provider in partnership with the city. The stations — 12.5-foot steel poles with three petal-shaped solar panels fanning out on top — can accommodate up to six devices at a time regardless of wireless carrier, with dedicated ports for iPhones, Androids, BlackBerrys and standard USB charging cables.

Designed by a Dumbo-based firm, Pensa, with solar technology from Goal Zero, a mobile solar start-up, they are to remain in place in spots like Union Square Park, Metrotech Plaza and Rockaway Beach for three to four weeks at a time until October. If successful, AT&T could expand to other cities. The project will cost $300,000 to $500,000.

“We view this as a commitment to being a part of the New York community as a corporate citizen but also as a way for New Yorkers to continue to engage with their technology as they continue to consume more and more data,” said Marissa Shorenstein, president of AT&T’s New York division.

It is also good for the company’s bottom line. The city has more mobile customers than in any other market, and executives, who have promoted use of their network by providing free wireless in subways and at parks and cultural events, realized there was a need for more frequent charging.

And it is the biggest area of growth for the major telecommunications companies, said Eddie Hold, vice president of the Connected Intelligence unit at NPD Group, a market research firm.

“People are making less phone calls than they’ve made before and more importantly the newer generation of people are really not making many phone calls,” he said. “To make money out of data services the telecom companies need to convince you to connect as many devices as possible. The more you connect, the more data you use, the more money they make.”

The spark for the project came after Hurricane Sandy, when AT&T supplied diesel generators and cell towers on wheels to hard-hit neighborhoods in the five boroughs.

Working with Goal Zero, which makes portable solar chargers, and Pensa, which had been experimenting with creating stationary street chargers, the company won approval this spring from city Parks Department officials to test them. They will rotate locations — including Orchard Beach in the Bronx, Governors Island, Pier 59 in Hudson River Park, Coney Island, the Staten Island Zoo and several cultural events.

In creating and testing the stations, said Chris Abbruzzese, vice president for marketing at Goal Zero, they found that consumers are aware of exactly how much of a charge they need to power a phone or tablet for, say, a commute home. Three 15-watt panels and a 168-watt-hour lithium ion battery pack can keep the stations operating through the night or five days without sunshine. The stations will allow a user to fill a smartphone in two hours, or grab a 30 percent charge in 30 minutes.

Bits Blog: Intertrust Sues Apple, Charging Patent Violations

Intertrust, a company that nabbed a huge settlement over patents in a lawsuit with Microsoft nearly a decade ago, has turned its focus to Apple, suing the technology giant on Wednesday and charging infringements of its security and content protection patents.

Intertrust, which is largely owned by Sony and Philips, sued Apple in Federal District Court in the Northern District of California, claiming it violated more than a dozen patents throughout its product lines, including the iPhone, Apple TV, iPad, iPod and Macintosh computers. Intertrust is best known as an early developer of digital rights management technologies — software that is used to prevent unauthorized access to music, movies, apps and other forms of electronic content.

In its complaint, Intertrust alleges that the security technology used on Apple devices infringes its patents, which have titles like “Techniques for Defining, Using and Manipulating Rights Management Data Structures”; “Systems and Methods Using Cryptography to Protect Secure Computing Environments”; and “Systems and Methods for Secure Transaction Management and Electronic Rights Protection.”

“No other entity uses Intertrust technologies so extensively at so many levels of its enterprise,” the company said in its complaint.

Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman, declined to comment, citing the company’s policy of not commenting on pending litigation.

Apple and other big technology companies with deep pockets are often targets for patent lawsuits (and sometimes initiators of them). A particular irritant to these tech companies is a class of plaintiffs pejoratively called “patent trolls,” which dedicate most of their energies to suing rather than making products.

But Intertrust does not quite fit that profile. The company has been around since the early 1990s, went public in the late 1990s and was taken private in 2003 through a deal that resulted in Sony and Philips owning the vast majority of the company. The company has teams of programmers that work on security software and services, according to Talal Shamoon, chief executive of Intertrust.

“We have a very focused mission around trust and security and around open platforms,” Mr. Shamoon said. “We’re not a troll by any stretch of the imagination.”

Litigation is also rare for Intertrust, which previously has sued only one other company, Microsoft, for patent infringement, according to Mr. Shamoon. That lawsuit resulted in a $440 million settlement from Microsoft in 2004. Intertrust has reached patent licensing agreements with Adobe, HTC, Samsung and others.

Mr. Shamoon said he had sought to negotiate similar licensing deals with Apple for years but the conversations never went anywhere. “You have a culture over there where they see the courtroom as an extension of the conference room,” he said.

“I have a lot of respect for the company,” Mr. Shamoon added. “I’ve been using their equipment for years. But you can’t be the only person on earth who ever invented anything.”

Mr. Shamoon said that Sony and Philips had not directed Intertrust to go after Apple in court to further their own strategic objectives. “This is not some proxy war between big companies,” he said.

Wireless Charging Mat Could Work as an iPhone Dock Someday

Prior to a number of major leaks, there were rumors the iPhone 5 would be Apple's first device with NFC and inductive charging. Instead of an NFC chip for mobile payments, Apple made the Passbook app.

And instead of including inductive wireless charging, they built a better dock connector. As Apple's Phil Schiller told AllThingsD, "having another device you have to plug into the wall (i.e., a wireless charging station) is actually, for most situations, more complicated," than using a charging cable.

Schiller went on to promise Apple will continue to use the Lightning connector "for many years to come."

 

But a new patent application, dug up by Apple Insider, shows that Apple hasn't written off wireless charging at all. The company has been researching it (and possibly developing prototypes) while its executives belie its utility.

But Apple didn't invent inductive charging! you're probably thinking. How could they get a patent for it? Good question! Apple isn't actually seeking a patent for inductive charging; the application pertains to additional docking-station type functions for a wireless charging pad, based on how various devices are oriented on it.

 

So for example, placing your (future) iPhone face-down could both charge and sync it to iCloud, whereas placing it face-up could just charge it. Make room for a second iPhone or iPod Touch or compatible camera, throw NFC into the mix, and you could do all kinds of cool things.

Of course, patent applications don't necessarily indicate a company's intentions, so it's totally possible we'll never see Apple implement anything like this. And even if we do, that doesn't mean Lightning will go the way of the buffalo.

Does wireless charging make sense for the iPhone? Let us know in the comments.

Jon Fox is a Seattle hipster who loves polar bears and climbing trees. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.