back to article Wireless power groups join forces: One spec to rule them all

Two competing wireless power organizations have signed a pact to play nicely with each other in an attempt to defeat their bigger rival. On Tuesday the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and Power Matters Alliance (PMA) signed a deal for interoperability between their two very different standards for charging devices without a …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Adam 1

    Obligatory

    https://xkcd.com/927/

  2. Paul J Turner

    Losing side?

    Hard to find one that matters when the big companies Samsung, LG, HTC and Qualcomm, are actually members of all three competing consortiums.

    They're just being PITA's for the sake of it, it appears.

    I'll go with Google's WPC just to spite them back since I won't be buying a General Motors auto' any time soon.

    (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/21/gm_promises_dashboard_charging_in_2014/)

  3. Zola

    So two wireless power orgs with close to zero market share combine

    And this is meant to be a concern to Qi, the clear market share leader in this technology? What was that quote about two Turkeys not making an Eagle, as it seems appropriate for A4WP and PMA too.

    Combining their incompatible wireless tech, both having failed to achieve noteworthy market share, doesn't sound like a winning strategy but instead sounds like a last ditch effort to remain relevant before finally throwing in the towel.

  4. Random Coolzip

    So instead of simply buying a cheap cable, I can spend 3-4x more for a charging pad that will eat more desk space, just to save myself the exhausting labor of plugging in a cable? Sign me up!

  5. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
    WTF?

    "collaborate on a shared open network API"

    What? Anyone know why a network API is required for wireless charging? Are these people planning on scraping data on when each device is charged, for how long and recording the IP and it's approx. location?

    1. Zola

      Re: "collaborate on a shared open network API"

      What? Anyone know why a network API is required for wireless charging?

      PMA is big on getting their chargers into retail outlets (ie. coffee shops, airport lounges) where their "network API" can be used to manage (and no doubt "monetise") these outlets.

      Sadly, with so few consumer devices that are compatible with PMA chargers, you wonder why they bother. Chicken/egg, horse/cart, etc. What's the point in having all the infrastructure in place in retail outlets when their is no consumer demand, and their never will be any consumer demand because the consumer market is catered to by Qi, an incompatible wireless charging standard?

  6. Down not across

    One spec to rule them all

    Clearly not.

    Qi, I believe, has the lead and it is by no means assured that combined PMA/A4WP would be able to gain sufficient market share let alone beat Qi.

    Tssk. Rather inaccurate and misleading subheading.

This topic is closed for new posts.