Have They Added A “May Fools Day”

No sooner had I written about being taken in on an April Fools hoax for a “wireless extension cord” than I come across this.

The article was about a product that can wirelessly transmit power for recharging to any device that is equipped with a special Powercast module. While this device doesn’t have the ability to transmit large amounts of current like the wireless extension cord promised, it does have great potential for ridding us of all the cables needed for recharging our wireless devices.

Powercast has been nameda “Best of CES 2007” designation from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, so I guess that this one is not a hoax.

A device like a cell phone or an MP3 player which has the powercast module included can communicate and receive power from is charger wirelessly via radio waves. Products enabled with Powercast Technology will make it to the marketplace before the end of the year.

This technology has generated lots of interest in the tech publications industry. Popular Electronics says that Powercast is capable of delivering up to two watts of power, using transmissions in the 915 megahertz range. Power can be transmitted over a range as great as 10 feet and multiple devices can be charged (each with its own Powercast) at the same time. Its even considered safe enough for you to charge your cell phone while it is in your pocket.

While there doesn’t seem to be any device that can replace the extension cord on the horizon, the prospect of getting rid of all those little cables attached to device chargers is really intriguing. Battery chargers are really hard to keep organized, so the concept that each device might be able to keep track of its own charger, without the user constantly plugging and unplugging could be a real boon to the growth of wireless, battery powered devices.

I hope my new theme song is “He won’t get fooled again“.

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