Look, No Wires – Charge Your Phone on Your Furniture

If you have a mobile phone, then you are probably familiar with the ongoing battle with the charger. We frequently lose them, they often get tangled, and a few of you will know the troubles of having pets chew through cables... Well, what if we told you that it was possible to simply place your phone on your coffee table, desk, maybe even your lamp, and your phone would charge away? Okay, maybe not your *current* coffee table, desk or lamp, but with Ikea's new Home Smart furniture. The new furniture range is fitted with wireless charging spots that allow the user to place their device down and have it charge using wireless technology. Of course, these pieces of furniture will have to be plugged in, but it means that those unsightly cables can be neatly tucked away, out of sight. Each piece also has a "+" to indicate to the user where the charging spots are and where to place their device for optimum charging. Ikea corporate manager, Jeanette Skjelmose, explained that a mutual hate for cable mess has inspired this new line of furniture. "[People] worry about not finding the charge and running out of power," she said. "Our new innovative solutions... will make life at home simpler." And what about the people out there who would love to be able to charge their phone wirelessly but are perfectly happy with the furniture they already have? That's where charging pads come in. Charging pads can be bought individually and be placed down on any surface. However, these pads appear to act much in the same way as current chargers do - just without actually having to plug a cable into the device. And if all else fails, Ikea is also genuinely going to be selling hole-saws. These saws will enable the customer to drill a circle into their existing furniture just the right size for one of the company's wireless chargers (though the saw and charger are sold separately). To make all this happen, Ikea has used Qi, a wireless charging standard developed by industry body Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). There is, unfortunately, a downside to all of this excitement. Lots of models of mobile phone and other devices don't support wireless charging. This includes the iPhone and older versions of the Samsung Galaxy S. And the silver lining? For owners of iPhones 4/S, 5/S, and 6, and the past three generations of Galaxy, Ikea will be selling special charging cases. The user only has to slip the case onto their device, and it will be able to charge with just about any wireless charger. Though, this isn't anything that owners of the latest Samsung S6 will have to worry about because these handsets already support Qi. In a statement, Ikea said: "By adding wireless charging to home and office furniture, we minimise the amount of separate chargers needed." "We applaud Ikea for its unmatched insight and their unique passion for making wireless charging affordable and simple for consumers," declared WPC Chairperson Menno Treffers. The new furniture is set to be released in North America and Europe from next month, with Ikea working on a global rollout. Now, we don't know about you, but we can't wait until we're able to charge our phones just by leaving them on the desk!