Now you can charge your mobile device directly on various pieces of IKEA furniture, from nightstands and desks to even the base of a lamp. The Swedish furniture giant IKEA announced at Mobile World Congress on Sunday that it is incorporating Qi technology into some of its product offerings.
IKEA Furniture unveiled its “Home Smart” collection of wireless charging furniture that include lamps, bedside tables and a coffee table as well as individual charging pads for any surface. “Our belief is that mobile phones are vital parts to people’s lives at home and their desire to stay connected,” Bjorn Block, manager of lighting and wireless charging at Ikea said in a statement.
Ikea has used the wireless charging standard QI, which is also supported by Samsung in its latest handset, the S6. The company will sell charging covers for incompatible iPhone and Samsung models. There are currently more than 80 QI-compatible handsets and 15 QI-enabled cars on the market according to QI’s backers the Wireless Power Consortium, an industry body whose members includes Belkin, Motorola, Panasonic and Sony. Qi is a popular wireless power standard from the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) that is available in many hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, airports and other public locations.
Environmentalists said they hoped recycling was a priority for designers incorporating wireless charging equipment into their work. Ikea said in a statement that its wireless charging products are “easy to fraction at end of life”.
Additionally some existing users have reported on forums that their devices get hot while charging wirelessly. The Ikea range will go on sale in the UK and North America in April 2015, the company stated.
