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Charge your iPhone wirelessly with Gear4's PowerPad

13 OCT 2009

Gear4 PowerPad

Gear4's new PowerPad will charge your Apple iPhone or iPod wirelessly, with no need for any cumbersome connection between your electrical items and the charger pad.

All you have to do is pop your iPhone 3G/3G S face up on the pad and it will begin charging.

Where other wireless chargers rely on contact points built into a case connecting with contact points built into a charge pad (conductive charging), the PowerPad uses inductive charging, where power is simply transmitted through the case to the iPhone's battery.

So your iPhone/iPod can be placed anywhere on the charge pad and does not require specific contact points and built-in magnets.

The PowerPad is Works With iPhone (WWi) certified, and plugs into the mains to transmit electrical charge to the iPhone through the liquid rubber receiver case. The case also acts as a protective cover when you're out and about with your iPhone.

It will be available for £80 in November from leading retailers and the Gear4 website.

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Comments

Mr.H October 14, 2009 14:40

To Big Aura - the *best* you can hope for with this method of charging is around 80% efficiency, but 60% is probably more realistic (in other words, 40% of the energy you put in is "wasted"). This is certainly not a "green" product.

To tractorboy - if you take a close look at the photo, you'll see the iPhone's dock connector is covered by the case. Presumably, there's a power-receiving coil and dock connector built into the rubberised case.

tractorboy October 13, 2009 20:41

So the iPod has to be in the protective rubber case type thingy for this to work? How does it work exactly? I'm familiar with the basics of inductive charging, but I don't understand how this is retrofittable by putting an ipod in what appears to be a rubber case?

dylan_williams October 13, 2009 20:06

£80? I think I can be bothered to plug things in manually rather than part with that much beer money!

Big Aura October 13, 2009 17:59

Interesting - does the press release mention what (if any) percentage of power is lost in transmission?