Swedish furniture maker IKEA recently announced that it would be rolling out new furniture line that will wirelessly charge your mobile device. Whether you’re looking to charge up your smartphone or your tablet, this is great news. Moreover, it positions IKEA to take advantage of new wearable wireless technology. As more and more people look forward to the Apple’s smart watch and other examples of wearable wireless technology, the question turns to how those devices will be charged. As you probably already know, charging your smartphone or tablet by plugging it into a wall socket can be quite time-consuming and inconvenient. Wouldn’t it be nice to just simply set your wireless phone on the table and have it charged automatically?
It sounds very convenient and easy, but actually it can be a problem. You have to remember that if you charge your wireless devices improperly, you might be reprogramming the battery. You might be charging them in such a way that their battery life decreases. This can be a serious problem. It’s not uncommon for laptop owners to charge their units in such a way that after sometime, their laptops need to be recharged even after a short period of use. Again, this all boils down to battery programming issues.
If IKEA can resolve this, then its idea of wireless charging capabilities for its furniture would be a game changer. Otherwise, it looks more like a publicity stunt. As it stands, the whole idea of furniture passively recharging wireless devices seem more like a gimmick than anything else. Regardless, this announcement from IKEA should get market participants like furniture makers, accessory manufacturers, and others to think about mobile device recharging features.