General Motors wants to keep your smartphone charged in the car, wire free. The U.S. automaker is said to be the latest in the industry to add wireless charging technology the cockpit, according to Bloomberg.
GM is expected to begin offering wireless charging options in a handful of its vehicles. The feature is being offered with the help of Powermat, which will install its wireless charging pads in certain 2014 vehicle models, though which ones hasn't been disclosed yet. The option should make charging your smartphone in your car a much more seamless affair.
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The one roadblock to the problem, no pun intended, is that users' smartphones will have to have their own built-in wireless charging technology. The vast majority of smartphones on the market do not include such a feature, so users will likely have to opt for a wireless charging case if they want to use the charging pads.
Apple iPhone 5 users, for example, would have to shell out $50 for a Duracell Powermat wireless charging case. GM also faces problems with how few smartphone makers use the Powermat standard as opposed to the more popular Qi standard, which is backed by the Wireless Power Consortium. Currently, Nokia's Lumia 920 is one of the few phones with the standard built-in.
GM isn't the first automaker to offer wireless charging technology in its cars. Toyota is already selling a similar feature in its 2013 Avalon, while Dodge made it available in the 2013 Dart. As more handset makers begin including wireless charging technology with their devices, you can expect to see the number of vehicles with installed charging pads increase dramatically.
via Bloomberg
