“Samsung Galaxy S III to feature wireless charging!" Yes, prepare to be dazzled by wireless power claims.

Wireless charging is a hot new feature more than 100 years in the making. But that’s how technology trends so often develop.

PHANDROID STORY >>

As often is the case, it’s not who does it first, but who does it loudest.

A story originating out of Korea has it that Samsung’s next iteration of their successful Galaxy super phone line will feature some form of wireless charging. Sure, wireless charging has been done before, even in smartphones. Just see the last HP WebOS device with its “Touchstone” charging system.

More than 100 years ago, Nikola Tesla demonstrated real wireless electricity. And practically every electric toothbrush on the market over the past 20 years have featured some form of inductive coupling. And now the same convenience will soon become mainstream in the handset market.

Nope, wireless charging is not breaking news. The Wireless Power Consortium was formed more than five years ago to address the specs that could boost the market for such a feature, and their Qi standard was first published in 2009. And other organizations and companies have been proposing their own solutions along the way.

So get ready for great claims and power games. There’s always some smoke and mirrors when it comes to rolling out such new old technology. In reality, it’s done with wires.

Palm did it long ago. Who?

Qualcomm's WiPower. The (wireless) power struggle as the last cord shivers in fear.

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These are not easy days to be a wire. Everyone is gunning for you. You can smell extinction. Now the power cord will feel the wrath of development.

So, wireless power transfer is the future. And it has been for the past 100 years. Yes, it was early last century when Nikola Tesla demo'd true wireless energy transfer.

The first step into a wireless power world will start with some sort of inductive coupling method. This isn't revolutionary as inductive coupling has been the technology used in sealed devices such as electric toothbrushes for years. Now it is standardized by the Wireless Power Consortium under the Qi brand name and should begin its march toward mainstream soon.

But there is always a power struggle with such widely-employed standardization initiatives. And Qualcomm promises something better with their WiPower technique by enabling everyday objects such as tables and counter-top to become convenient charging stations. And Qualcomm says that WiPower enables real contactless charging up to around 50mm (around two inches).

This is cool stuff. Power to the people.