Qi (pronounced chee) is a new universal standard for inductive charging that was established by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). Qi charges smartphones, cameras, mp3 players and anything else that needs 5W or less without directly plugging the devices into separate chargers. Since it is an open-sourced, interoperable standard, it is very similar to other open standards like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
The members of the WPC anticipate that the Qi standard will be broadly adopted to provide users the freedom to charge all Qi-enabled devices on a single station without multiple cords and eventually without required accessories (sleeves). The first phone with integrated Qi power receiver was released at CES. That phone is an LG Revolution (Android) phone for Verizon's new 4G network.
Menno Treffers is Chairman of WPC and was kind enough to respond to my questions about Qi.
Doesn't the Qi standard really stand to benefit the manufacturers?
[MT] Qi products use energy responsibly and make it easy for people to use energy responsibly. The low standby power helps a lot. If you want to calculate exact numbers of power usage, it gets complicated. You need to make assumptions about what current chargers are replaced and how the user now charges. That's why the numbers and the calculation become complicated. In any case, we position Qi first of all as an improvement in convenience. It improves your experience with charging. Qi is not primarily positioned as the solution for energy saving.
Isn't Qi just an interim solution?
[MT] No. Qi will be integrated in infrastructure (furniture in offices and hotel rooms, public transport etc.). This will be around for a while because it makes life easier.
Wasn't Nokia experimenting with harvesting "energy" from the airwaves? (Cell phones that recharge from harvested energy--no cords, just the cell phone)? Is this something (out of thin air) that the Qi future holds?
[MT] Harvesting energy is possible, but the energy levels are too low. Much too low. With energy harvesting it is possible to extract energy needed to operate a wristwatch (that's where it is now used). That is at least two-three orders of magnitude (a factor 100-1000) below what you need to operate a mobile phone.
What is the future of Qi?
[MT] Higher power levels. Invisible power transmitters (that means integration into infrastructure)
Does WPC plan to meet Cradle-to-cradle certification? [MT] The WPC specification deals with the interchangeability of wireless chargers and receivers. Our members design and manufacture their own products and make the design decisions that determine whether cradle-to-cradle certification is possible. The Qi logo tells you "this product will work correctly".
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Motorola Mobility just joined the WPC membership of 70 others, and other manufacturers are following Energizer with Qi-enabled products. Manufacturing chargers creates an appetite for natural resources, energy in manufacturing and then in delivering them. Reducing shipping weight was an old rant I had with legacy IP phones pre-PoE standards era. Then as Menno points out--the users will have less clutter and the Qi charging pads make it easy and efficient. The phantom (vampire loads) that chargers consume is extremely hard to predict and calculate into savings when compared to Qi charging pads. The Qi standard has demonstrated a system with only 0.0001-Watt (100 W) standby power consumption. Qi also benefits users that own more than one device because it improves in efficiency.
Just by sheer numbers of wireless devices and digital consumer products, the Qi charging standard can reduce wasted energy through standby power (phantom loads) and deter resources utilized to manufacture separate chargers for numerous devices. Qi is a hopeful development because it solves a problem and provides a convenient solution while reducing waste and electricity consumption.
