
Starbucks starts rolling out wireless phone chargers nationwide - trustfundbaby
http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/12/5801716/starbucks-rolling-out-powermat-wireless-chargers-nationwide
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jessriedel
Do HNers have an opinion about Qi versus PowerMat?

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drzaiusapelord
Qi is everywhere. The problem is that Starbucks announced this project back in
2012 when Powermat was more well known. Google, and others, shifted from
supporting pm to qi shortly after, I believe due to licensing costs, and now
the market is full of android phones that use qi. I've been using it for my
last 2 phones. Works fine with a cheap Energizer charging pad. Its simple and
it works. I'm now at the point where I'm annoyed with fiddling with little
connectors, especially if its late at night and I'm tired and keyed it the
wrong way. Less damaged cables as well. While I'm skeptical it'll be used in
public spots due to the potential of theft, its really nice to have at home.

From a tech perspective they both use induction. The A4WP product uses
magnetic resonance, but I don't think they have a sellable product yet, but in
theory they could charge your phone from across the room. I think demos have
only shown it work from a few inches away. This solution is very non-green
considering the inverse sq law. I have a feeling that there will be pushback
if people are wasting 2x or 5x the energy to charge their devices, as well as
larger electricity bills. Not to mentionn, Joe User asking about "radiation."

The war isn't over because Apple hasn't picked a side. I imagine they'll go
with pm to be difficult and to hurt Android's qi based phones. "Oh, you can't
charge here, its iPhone only," seems to be a narrative that helps sell the
"exclusivity" of their devices.

I also find it a little hard to believe that Starbucks would invest in all
this technology without some kind of nod from Apple that this will be in their
next phone. A4WP signed some agreement with PMA recently, so who knows whats
going to happen here. It sounded like a desperate move to me, but now I'm not
so sure with the starbucks roll-out and the Apple wildcard at play.

[http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/11/5398066/a4wp-and-pma-
merge...](http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/11/5398066/a4wp-and-pma-merge-tech-
to-win-wireless-charging-war)

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jessriedel
> While I'm skeptical it'll be used in public spots due to the potential of
> theft, its really nice to have at home.

Well, plug-in charging is already fairly common in coffee shops, and the cord
clearly doesn't provide security. I think wireless charging will be even
bigger since you just pull the phone out of your pocket and plop in on the
table, rather than bring the charger with you.

> From a tech perspective they both use induction.

One of the other commentators mentions that he thinks Powermat is more
forgiving on exact positioning of the device on the mat. Do you know if this
is real/important?

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chimeracoder
> One of the other commentators mentions that he thinks Powermat is more
> forgiving on exact positioning of the device on the mat. Do you know if this
> is real/important?

I think you're referring to gdilla, who stated (incorrectly[0]) that this
Powermat's technology is less sensitive to positioning because it does not use
inductive-based charging (in fact, it does).

I've been using wireless charging on the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 for a while
now[1], and the main factor is simply the size of the device and the surface
area of the charger. There might be some subtle difference beyond that, but if
so, it's too small for me to have noticed after several months of daily use. I
never have to think about it.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powermat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powermat)

[1] Qi-based, just like essentially all wireless-charging devices on the
market

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eevilspock
If wireless charging is 100% secure, then it's the best way to go for public
charging stations. USB cable is a potential path for malware.

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dublinben
You should be able to charge with a USB cable after you've snipped the data
lines. At that point, it only provides 5V of power, and nothing else.

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rahimnathwani
I was in an airline lounge at SFO a few days ago. Alongside the regular power
sockets were USB charging outlets. I tried to use one to charge my iPhone, but
the current (or voltage?) was so unstable that my touchscreen went haywire and
the device was unusable, just like when using super-cheap mains->USB adapters.

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freshfey
I just recently flew from Chicago O'Hare to CPH and there were multiple USB
ports at a bar table (just after TSA at the international terminal) which work
amazingly well (also: no lounge). I wish every airport had places like these.

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natdempk
At a stopover in an airport in Sweden, they had password protected locking
compartments with a multitude of chargers that you could leave your phone in
for free, so that you didn't have to stay in one location while your phone was
charging. I was a bit sleep deprived and almost forgot my phone, but other
than that the convenience was great. Definitely something American airports
should get.

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reportingsjr
There is a cafe at my university (Univ. of Cincinnati) that has something
exactly like what you are describing. I've used it a few times and it was
really convenient. It has taken people a bit to get used to it though.

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piratebroadcast
Weve had them in Cambridge MA for a while now- You have to have a special case
to use the wireless charging station. I predict this getting a lot of press
but wont be practically useful. If youre on the street going about your day
and need a charge up, it is unlikely youll have the required case nearby.

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jackgavigan
iPhone 6 to include wireless charging?

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hellweaver666
Starbucks and Apple have always had a close relationship... it may be a hint.

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vemy
I guess the new iPhone might have Powermat support.

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nodata
Powermat? What uses that?

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Shivetya
Obviously someone high enough up in Starbucks to influence the position.
Either they used it prior or were given enough incentive to use it now.

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hengheng
What's the wattage on these? AFAIR Qi is at 2.7W, which is not enough to
sustain my Note 2's charge during browsing or video.

~~~
reportingsjr
Looking at the wiki page and the spec on their website v1.0 of the spec is 5W
of charging[1]. There is apparently a new one that either has been released or
may be released soon that supports up to 120W.

[1]:
[http://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/developers/specificat...](http://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/developers/specification.html)

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jsumrall
Another way between standards. Hopefully this ends better than HD-DVD and the
poor consumers who thought they were on the right side.

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JohnTHaller
Considering that Blu-ray is dying along with physical media anyway, I don't
think there was a right side.

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CmonDev
Nationwide? In the nation of let's say Russia? Or the default nation?

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stingraycharles
I think it's acceptable for a US news source talking about a US company to
imply that "nationwide" means the USA.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Do you think The Verge consider their market to be only the USA? They are
using the www not the usw so far as I can tell.

Truth is they make it quite clear which nation in the first line of the
article - I think The Verge are a global news source [albeit, yes, with a USA
focus] and that they're quite cognisant of that, given the rest of this
article.

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fps
'www' is not their tld, .com is, and .com is a US tld, created by the US
government and administered by US corporations. Russia has .ru, and if there
was an article on theverge.ru talking about a nation-wide rollout, we could
assume they were talking about the nation of Russia.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
> _.com is a US tld_ //

.us is the ccTLD for USA. .com is the defacto default for all types of
entities from across the world. Verisign call .com "The Global Online
Standard". Yes, USA broke the convention and structure to preference
themselves - that seems to be a favorite passtime.

