Posts Tagged ‘Private Tour’

Powermat’s 2010 Roadmap: Too Early To Crown Them? I Don’t Think So!

April 21st, 2010 BBerryNews


As promised, we made sure to visit Powermat during CTIA to catch up with our friends during the show and see what they’ve brought to the table. To be perfectly honest, there really wasn’t anything new that impressed. Well, not to us anyway. We already saw their roadmap into the near future at CES back in January. The difference now is that we’ve been given the green light to share the knowledge with our loyal readers! What was taboo to speak of before is now fair game; complete with photos of our private tour!

If you missed our previous article which reviewed the Powermat product, it is essentially the premier wireless charging solution for all your favorite small electronics. Imagine the ability to simply rest your device on a mat and have it begin a charge and notify you when it is done; completely free of wires. This is what Powermat delivers. If you ever felt that Powermat was a one trick pony in the wireless race, boy, are you in for a treat!

Let’s take a look at some of the options Powermat plans to roll out later this year:

Introduction of 1x, 2x, and 3x (updated) mats. This finally offers the consumer a solution to fit their needs at different price points while sustaining the high level of performance set forth by Powermat. Expected price for these mats will range from $69.99 to $99.99 (keep in mind that these are unreleased products and prices are subject to change). Some mats may be bundled with other options as Powermat may have agreements with various manufacturers/carriers.

Below is a specially designed Powermat for use with netbooks. You’ll notice that it is slightly larger on one of the three mat positions. This is to focus more of the charging power to the netbook as the other two spaces on the mat are more for lower power devices such as phones and music players.

This is Powermat’s own take on the hands-free mount for the car. Implementing their technology into the mount itself allows you to charge your phone wirelessly while maintaining strict safety guidelines when driving.

Shown here is Powermat’s two position travel mat with an integrated battery. What this does is provide a true 100% portable option for the consumer which is ideal for travel. Simply charge the unit, fold it up and go. While we were unable to get a concrete number on the milliamps, this unit promises up to four full charges on a device such as the iPhone.


As the current lineup stands, Powermat only offers receiver units for a handful of phones and electronics. Because of this, I kept asking and probing them why it is taking them so long to expand their offerings, what designs they had in mind, whether or not it was going to be lighter and slimmer, etc. Turns out I was running in an entirely different direction. Below are photos of my favorite reveal during the tour; the Powerpacks. With these, Powermat has brought to the market a complete OEM type solution in making your device compatible for wireless charging. By replacing the battery of any given electronic with one specially designed by Powermat, you need not worry about extra weight, bulkiness, or look of an added receiver casing. The receiver unit is built directly into the battery Powermat manufactures and gives an option that does not compromise the design of a given device. Anticipate the Powerpacks hitting the shelves with a starting price of $39.99. There is a huge market for phone personalization as each individual has their own unique style. Powermat recognizes this and has done well in manufacturing this solution that accomplishes two things:

1)     The consumer can sustain their individuality and utilize the Powermat product at the same time.

2)    Appealing to the masses without wasting time or money to appease the consumer in the saturated market of accessories.

Powermat anticipates many of the products displayed here to be ready during early summer in June but no official date was mentioned to us. Of course, these are estimated projections and as always are subject to change. We know a few of our loyal readers were in attendance at CTIA and got a chance to check out the Powermat first hand; let us know what you think! Everyone’s comments and thoughts are always welcome!

To read more about Powermat, or if you would like to purchase one, click here.

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Powermat Wireless Charging Solution

March 12th, 2010 BBerryNews

Powermat is a company pioneering its way into the future of our wireless charging solutions. They’ve released their product less than one year ago in October of 2009 and the industry has been buzzing ever since. Powermat offers the consumer the option of wirelessly charging up to three of their personal electronic devices simply by dropping them on to a mat; resolving the issue of tangled wires. Its sleek and elegant design, in my opinion, clearly gives it an advantage over competitors such as WildCharge and Duracell’s myGrid.

During CES this past January I was fortunate enough to receive a private tour of Powermat’s current lineup as well as some information on exciting new items to be added in the near future. I’m pleased to say that they have done their homework. They’ve listened to the consumer, to the demand, and to the market; and the direction they are taking their products is one in which I very strongly support.

Powermat currently offers two solutions to the consumer, a home and office mat and a portable mat that folds up easily for travel. In each respective box, you can expect to find one mat and its power source, as well as eight tips to use with the included Powercube. These tips include Apple, Micro USB, and Samsung to name a few; all of which make your favorite electronic products compatible with Powermat and ready for wireless charging. Additional Powermat receivers can be purchased for supported electronics and not only provide true drop and charge functionality, but may offer protection to the device as well. Each mat is priced at $99.99 each; while you can expect to find the additional receivers ranging from $29.99 to $39.99.

Our friend Jim Curzon over at Powermat sent the home and office mat our way last week and our team has been very pleased with its performance thus far. These days “going green” is the ever so popular trend, in fact it can’t even be called a “trend” anymore. It’s starting to become anything but that; a way of life, a business model, a message for humanity. Powermat aligns their focus with this by providing us with an outstanding product that not only uses less energy, but charges the devices, on average, 20% faster than the standard wall charger. Here are some notes from my review of the product:

What I Liked:

-       The overall design is very solid and incredibly sleek. From the color choices, to the LED indicators, to the signature mount and dismount sounds, and down to the smooth rounded edges. This was no doubt an exciting un-boxing experience.

-       Efficiency of the charging. I’ve charged through the wall outlet, desktop, laptop, you name it. Hands down this is the fastest I have seen. BlackBerry for example: a completely drained battery on average will take 20-30 minutes on a wall charger to see any life again; took 10 minutes on the Powermat.

-       When charging multiple devices, the mat does not overheat or get too hot; a problem found in many multiple device charging solutions.

-       Ergonomic clean design. It’s the little things that always matter, in anything you deal with. Here, the design of the power source to the mat allows for a very clean folding of its wire avoiding any tangles and allows it to be neatly stowed away if needed. Same can be said for the included Powercube.

-       iPhone receiver unit converts the iPhone into a more standard Micro USB charging solution for use away from the Powermat.

What I Didn’t Like:

-       The price point. As great as this product is, it is pretty expensive to get started up with it. In a nutshell, to get the TRUE drop and charge wireless charging experience it is going to cost you about $140 to get started. And that is only if they offer a receiver for your current device; otherwise your only option is the Powercube which then essentially turns your Powermat into a $99.99 standard wall charger.

-       When using the Powercube, if it is left on the mat, you cannot simply plug your device back in to charge. The Powercube must be first plugged into your device, lifted off the mat, and then placed back on the mat.

-       Weight. Now this is much more personal preference than anything. On the iPhone in particular, I’m used to simply having a skin on there. With the added weight of the receiver unit it definitely took some getting used to. Not unbearably heavy by any means, just more weight than I’d prefer.

Overall I loved the product and the things that I didn’t like were mostly user preference. I give Powermat the benefit of the doubt because their product is still very young and already far above and beyond the competition in my opinion. As I mentioned earlier, they do their homework and based on what we saw at CES 2010 and are allowed to talk about, they’ve listened to the consumer and have some great things in store for us.

We are anxious to see Powermat during CTIA held in Las Vegas, NV at the end of this month and hope to follow up with their progress in the way of new products and compatibility to the ever so quickly growing electronics industry. If you have any questions about their products are have something in particular we would like to cover during our visit with them, please feel free drop a comment.

If you are interested in purchasing the Powermat, or would simply like to learn more in detail, you can do so by following this link.

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