Power To The People!

A number of groundbreaking advances in electronics have made today's mobile devices possible. High-performance and low-voltage microprocessors, spacious flash memory and sophisticated antennae allow for those stylish 6-mm thick works of art. However, one component has never been revolutionized - the battery.

That's not to say that they're still the "bricks" from the 70s. Steady evolution of chemical components and radically reduced power consumption of the hardware allowed to minimize the size of the unit. This came at a price - it's rare to see a phone that lasts more than a couple of hours when its multimedia features are used heavily. More importantly, charging still involves plugging in a sizable (more often than not, bigger than the phone itself!) compatible power plug. Charging is cumbersome, unsightly and unpractical - most of us will readily agree.

 Attempts have been made to rectify the situation. The "Mahogany  Charging Station" by Frontgate is one of them. The chargers and the power cords are hidden inside a beautifully designed cherry wood case. Now you can keep all your gadgets powered up in style, like a real gentleman should! The only problem is, it's inconvenient to carry such furniture with you. Hence if your phone goes low on battery when you're far away from heavy leather bound books of your home, the troubles are back.

If that's the case, maybe we should ditch conventional batteries altogether? Solar power sounds like a viable alternative. After all, the surface area of the phone allows for placement of several photosensitive plates. Those are usually pretty light as well and when protected with a good coating can be quite durable. But wait - the phone spends most of the day in pockets, purses and other dark places... And what if it's a cloudy day?

How about replaceable fuel cells? Well, these are great for "emergency" situations, when the phone has to be charged up as soon as possible. The prospect of paying for charging the phone on a regular basis is hardly exciting. Plus, the phone still has to be "plugged in".

 The optimal solution lies somewhere in the middle. Inductive ("wireless") charging allows for creation of a "charging surface". Put a compatible device on it and the magnetic field will induce electric current in the circuitry, charging the battery. There are several solutions created using this principle and all of them face an important challenge. The hardware has to be slightly modified in order to support induction and special infrastructure has to be widespread for it to be useful. What comes first? Phone manufacturers don't want to be investing into useless hardware and neither do the consumers. Someone has to make the first step (likely, it will be Nokia) to bring this technology to the market.

 Without a doubt, power requirements are one of the factors preventing the user from using the multimedia devices fully. Noone wants to end up without a mobile phone after watching a movie on it. This is the last obstacle that has to be overcome before our devices become truly wireless - let's hope it happens soon.