"The filing goes on to use the Palm Pre's method of inductive charing as an example of how "cumbersome" and "bulky" other methods can be. The Pre, for instance utilizes a snap-on attachment to facilitate charging."
And Palm (HP) isn't the only company doing this. You can get snap-on inductive chargers for the iPhone from 3rd parties.
They are the only manufacturer who provide it for their own phones, which is what Apple are looking to do here.
There's nothing bulky or cumbersome about the Palm version, it fits inside the case of the phone, and is as simple as placing it on a Touchstone, it's elegant as you can get, and a hell of a lot better than those ridiculous tin foil charging mats you reference.
Except that the patent's description of HP/Palm's method is kind of BS. That "snap-on" attachment is the back cover of the phone which doesn't add to the bulk of the phone. The inductive charging backplate is standard on at least the Pre 2 and Pre 3, whereas other models need to buy it separately.
Thus, I'd say that the OP you're responding to is correct in saying that HP has the most elegant version of inductive charging at this point considering it is a part of the phone, not a separate piece of gear.
I love the inductive charger of my Palm Pre +. But, I upgraded to a Droid phone, and am looking at ways to remove the inductive coil and put it into the battery door of the new phone. The inductive coil really isn't that bulky.
Except that the patent's description of HP/Palm's method is kind of BS. That "snap-on" attachment is the back cover of the phone which doesn't add to the bulk of the phone.
Have you looked at the thickness of the Pre3, Veer and TouchPad? They're pretty thick compared to the competition. That's might be because of the charging device inside.
Who is going to WRAP their headphones around a pole and then lay the ends on top of their iphone? It just seems awkward as hell not to mention totally pointless.
This may be a stupid idea, but it is pretty clever nonetheless, using the headphone cables as an inductive coil.
I use the Powermat inductive case for both my and my spouses iPhone 4s. My daughter turned us on to the Powermat and we love it. Can't even imagine going back to the old plug it in every night routine. The case is NO thicker than other protective cases and it totally wraps the IP4 in a hard shell. It does add a small amount to the overall length, but only a slight amount. Having the ability to just drop our iPhones on to a cradle and have it start charging is wonderful. BTW, the Powermat does pass through the physical charging and syncing connections to a mini-USB connector built in to the bottom of the Powermat case. This is the same connector as the mandatory charging connector in the EU. Once iOS 5 ships, our iPhones will finally be cord free as the wireless syncing feature automatically kicks in whenever the iPhone detects that it is being charged.
I totally concur that the idea on this patent application is really something worthy of the competition, NOT Apple at all.
Have you looked at the thickness of the Pre3, Veer and TouchPad? They're pretty thick compared to the competition. That's might be because of the charging device inside.
I own a Pre 2. The inductive components add minimal thickness to the back cover. The slide out keyboard on the Pre 3 and Veer probably contribute to their thickness versus the iPhone. And dimensionally, the iPhone is taller than either of those phones as well. As for the TouchPad, maybe a bigger battery?
This just seems mad. A device will charge when docked with a standard connector, that's not exactly difficult to do.
Wrapping the headphones around an extra device that sits on your desk has no benefit that I can see - just more clutter.
I'm not saying induction can't be used somewhere but this doesn't seem to be the answer!!
While this particular idea is lousy, the entire premise of inductive charging is flawed, IMHO.
It takes just a second or so to plug in your device. If you choose inductive charging instead, you're wasting energy - no inductive system can be as efficient as a direct contact system. So, in order to deal with people who are too lazy to plug their phones into a charger, we're wasting a significant fraction of the energy consumed. We MUST stop wasting energy on stupid things. (and that's not entirely an environmentalist perspective. It also reflects our several hundred billion dollar trade deficit in energy, our funding of terrorist states via energy purchases, and the defense risk of relying on outside sources for energy).
And that doesn't even factor in the extra materials which are needed to make an inductive charging system compared to a direct contact one.
Who is going to WRAP their headphones around a pole and then lay the ends on top of their iphone? It just seems awkward as hell not to mention totally pointless.
Why do that, when you could just lay the iphone or ipod on top of the charging pad? Or next to it? Isnt that the whole point of this technology? To charge without wires? Lol.
Just silly. And so UN-Apple like. There is NO WAY Steve Jobs would ever approve this "wrapping your headphones around a pole" idea.
Have you looked at the thickness of the Pre3, Veer and TouchPad? They're pretty thick compared to the competition. That's might be because of the charging device inside.
They're thicker because of their form-factor (ie. slide out QWERTY). Here's the difference in thickness between the pre w/o inductive charging, and one with the snap-on back cover:
So, in order to deal with people who are too lazy to plug their phones into a charger, we're wasting a significant fraction of the energy consumed. We MUST stop wasting energy on stupid things.
And who is going to decide what those stupid things are? Maybe the government should shut down Rovio because playing Angry Birds is a stupid way to waste energy. Or ban portable media players because they're a waste of energy. Or shut down amusement because it's stupid for people to waste energy riding roller coasters.
Making people change to energy-efficient light bulbs would probably quickly save more energy than banning inductive charging. Or we could more heavily invest in alternate energy sources like solar and wind (I'd be more than happy to let the federal government fund the installation of solar panels on my house).
This just seems mad. A device will charge when docked with a standard connector, that's not exactly difficult to do.
Wrapping the headphones around an extra device that sits on your desk has no benefit that I can see - just more clutter.
I'm not saying induction can't be used somewhere but this doesn't seem to be the answer!!
Agreed, what a waste of someone's time.
Now a good idea would be figuring out a way that the iPhone can receive charge back from your body when you have the thing in your hand or have headphones on, or maybe even include kinetic energy charging.
And who is going to decide what those stupid things are? Maybe the government should shut down Rovio because playing Angry Birds is a stupid way to waste energy. Or ban portable media players because they're a waste of energy. Or shut down amusement because it's stupid for people to waste energy riding roller coasters.
Making people change to energy-efficient light bulbs would probably quickly save more energy than banning inductive charging. Or we could more heavily invest in alternate energy sources like solar and wind (I'd be more than happy to let the federal government fund the installation of solar panels on my house).
Who said anything about banning it?
The point is that people should have the sense to stop doing things that waste energy and add no value.
If someone enjoys playing Angry Birds, then no one is suggesting that they stop it. They are getting value from their time.
But inductively charging a device instead of plugging it in wastes energy but doesn't add any value, nor does it save any significant amount of time. That makes it a foolish idea.
Hey, I'm a representative from Energizer. This is definitely an interesting patent filed by Apple, but if you're interested in inductive charging for your iPhone, the Energizer Inductive Charger is a great option that's already available.
All you need is the charging pad and the iPhone 4 sleeve. Then, just set your phone on the charging pad and it will start charging your battery.
If anyone is interested, it's available at Target, Amazon.com, BestBuy.com and HomeDepot.com
Comments
Yes:
"The filing goes on to use the Palm Pre's method of inductive charing as an example of how "cumbersome" and "bulky" other methods can be. The Pre, for instance utilizes a snap-on attachment to facilitate charging."
And Palm (HP) isn't the only company doing this. You can get snap-on inductive chargers for the iPhone from 3rd parties.
They are the only manufacturer who provide it for their own phones, which is what Apple are looking to do here.
There's nothing bulky or cumbersome about the Palm version, it fits inside the case of the phone, and is as simple as placing it on a Touchstone, it's elegant as you can get, and a hell of a lot better than those ridiculous tin foil charging mats you reference.
Except that the patent's description of HP/Palm's method is kind of BS. That "snap-on" attachment is the back cover of the phone which doesn't add to the bulk of the phone. The inductive charging backplate is standard on at least the Pre 2 and Pre 3, whereas other models need to buy it separately.
Thus, I'd say that the OP you're responding to is correct in saying that HP has the most elegant version of inductive charging at this point considering it is a part of the phone, not a separate piece of gear.
I love the inductive charger of my Palm Pre +. But, I upgraded to a Droid phone, and am looking at ways to remove the inductive coil and put it into the battery door of the new phone. The inductive coil really isn't that bulky.
This just seems mad. A device will charge when docked with a standard connector, that's not exactly difficult to do.
Wrapping the headphones around an extra device that sits on your desk has no benefit that I can see - just more clutter.
I'm not saying induction can't be used somewhere but this doesn't seem to be the answer!!
Agree. This has to be a protective patent by Apple - way too cumbersome for Jobs to approve something like this for an actual product.
Except that the patent's description of HP/Palm's method is kind of BS. That "snap-on" attachment is the back cover of the phone which doesn't add to the bulk of the phone.
Have you looked at the thickness of the Pre3, Veer and TouchPad? They're pretty thick compared to the competition. That's might be because of the charging device inside.
I agree. STUPID STUPID STUPID.
Who is going to WRAP their headphones around a pole and then lay the ends on top of their iphone? It just seems awkward as hell not to mention totally pointless.
This may be a stupid idea, but it is pretty clever nonetheless, using the headphone cables as an inductive coil.
Could user blood somehow be used to charge these devices?
Reminds me of the movie Matrix.
I totally concur that the idea on this patent application is really something worthy of the competition, NOT Apple at all.
David
Have you looked at the thickness of the Pre3, Veer and TouchPad? They're pretty thick compared to the competition. That's might be because of the charging device inside.
I own a Pre 2. The inductive components add minimal thickness to the back cover. The slide out keyboard on the Pre 3 and Veer probably contribute to their thickness versus the iPhone. And dimensionally, the iPhone is taller than either of those phones as well. As for the TouchPad, maybe a bigger battery?
This just seems mad. A device will charge when docked with a standard connector, that's not exactly difficult to do.
Wrapping the headphones around an extra device that sits on your desk has no benefit that I can see - just more clutter.
I'm not saying induction can't be used somewhere but this doesn't seem to be the answer!!
While this particular idea is lousy, the entire premise of inductive charging is flawed, IMHO.
It takes just a second or so to plug in your device. If you choose inductive charging instead, you're wasting energy - no inductive system can be as efficient as a direct contact system. So, in order to deal with people who are too lazy to plug their phones into a charger, we're wasting a significant fraction of the energy consumed. We MUST stop wasting energy on stupid things. (and that's not entirely an environmentalist perspective. It also reflects our several hundred billion dollar trade deficit in energy, our funding of terrorist states via energy purchases, and the defense risk of relying on outside sources for energy).
And that doesn't even factor in the extra materials which are needed to make an inductive charging system compared to a direct contact one.
Are we EVER going to grow up?
http://www.youtube.com/user/WiTricityCorp
Apple should buy these guys out!
I agree. STUPID STUPID STUPID.
Who is going to WRAP their headphones around a pole and then lay the ends on top of their iphone? It just seems awkward as hell not to mention totally pointless.
Why do that, when you could just lay the iphone or ipod on top of the charging pad? Or next to it? Isnt that the whole point of this technology? To charge without wires? Lol.
Just silly. And so UN-Apple like. There is NO WAY Steve Jobs would ever approve this "wrapping your headphones around a pole" idea.
or just plug it the fuck in
But the last I heard inductive charging (the MIT one as I recall) either has a 30% loss of power (wasted) or was it 30% efficient?
In either case, it stinks in so many ways: environment, cost to the country, dependence on oil, etc.
I also don't like big gov, but my actual second thought was the gov should ban it.
nothing is perfect I guess
Have you looked at the thickness of the Pre3, Veer and TouchPad? They're pretty thick compared to the competition. That's might be because of the charging device inside.
They're thicker because of their form-factor (ie. slide out QWERTY). Here's the difference in thickness between the pre w/o inductive charging, and one with the snap-on back cover:
So, in order to deal with people who are too lazy to plug their phones into a charger, we're wasting a significant fraction of the energy consumed. We MUST stop wasting energy on stupid things.
And who is going to decide what those stupid things are? Maybe the government should shut down Rovio because playing Angry Birds is a stupid way to waste energy. Or ban portable media players because they're a waste of energy. Or shut down amusement because it's stupid for people to waste energy riding roller coasters.
Making people change to energy-efficient light bulbs would probably quickly save more energy than banning inductive charging. Or we could more heavily invest in alternate energy sources like solar and wind (I'd be more than happy to let the federal government fund the installation of solar panels on my house).
This just seems mad. A device will charge when docked with a standard connector, that's not exactly difficult to do.
Wrapping the headphones around an extra device that sits on your desk has no benefit that I can see - just more clutter.
I'm not saying induction can't be used somewhere but this doesn't seem to be the answer!!
Agreed, what a waste of someone's time.
Now a good idea would be figuring out a way that the iPhone can receive charge back from your body when you have the thing in your hand or have headphones on, or maybe even include kinetic energy charging.
And who is going to decide what those stupid things are? Maybe the government should shut down Rovio because playing Angry Birds is a stupid way to waste energy. Or ban portable media players because they're a waste of energy. Or shut down amusement because it's stupid for people to waste energy riding roller coasters.
Making people change to energy-efficient light bulbs would probably quickly save more energy than banning inductive charging. Or we could more heavily invest in alternate energy sources like solar and wind (I'd be more than happy to let the federal government fund the installation of solar panels on my house).
Who said anything about banning it?
The point is that people should have the sense to stop doing things that waste energy and add no value.
If someone enjoys playing Angry Birds, then no one is suggesting that they stop it. They are getting value from their time.
But inductively charging a device instead of plugging it in wastes energy but doesn't add any value, nor does it save any significant amount of time. That makes it a foolish idea.
All you need is the charging pad and the iPhone 4 sleeve. Then, just set your phone on the charging pad and it will start charging your battery.
If anyone is interested, it's available at Target, Amazon.com, BestBuy.com and HomeDepot.com
Also, this is a great Engadget article about how inductive charging works, if anyone is curious: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/24/e...harging-works/