IKEA To Put Wireless Phone Chargers In Their Furniture

If you use a smartphone, charging cables are a necessary evil; they wear out, they fray, they stop working – and perhaps more often than not (according to my wife, at least) they vanish into thin air never to be seen again – until you buy a new one, of course. Wireless charging has been touted for years, but hasn’t really been capitalized on yet, as everyone still brings their cords with them everywhere they go lest their phones die. One huge furniture store is hoping to capitalize on it in a big way, though – if they have their way, IKEA will be installing wireless phone chargers to several pieces of their furniture. No cord? No problem!

Certain lamps, bedside tables, and desks will be equipped with Qi wireless charging capabilities. All you’ll have to do is place your phone on the “X” (“X” always marks the spot, you know) and your phone will start charging itself without the need of a cord which you can never seem to find right when you need it anyway. It’s a bit harder to misplace a desk or a bedside table than a charging cord, so this technology should at least help us immensely while at home or in the office, though you’d definitely still need a cord while doing any kind of traveling.

No word yet on how much these pieces of furniture will cost, but a Wall Street Journal site lists a North American availability date as April 15th.

What do you think? Can you envision the day when we’ll no longer use any kind of a cord to charge our devices? Do you think there’ll ever be a day when wireless charging is the norm rather than the exception?

[Image via Blogs.WallStreetJournal]

SOURCE: Gizmodo