BlackBerrys are UK debut for WildCharge wireless chargers

BlackBerry phones first to enjoy questionable benefits of WildCharge
BlackBerry phones first to enjoy questionable benefits of WildCharge

Time is money. Minutes are pounds. Seconds are pence. Even microseconds are about a million Zimbabwean dollars.

BlackBerry owners know this. They value each precious second as a chance to scan another email. Now owners of the BlackBerry Pearl and Curve can become 0.003 per cent more efficient, thanks to the WildCharge wireless charging system.

Power crazed

Simply fit a replacement battery cover to your electronic loved one and you can then charge its battery by simply placing it on the WildCharge power mat. Bingo! Two seconds saved! High five! Unless you've left the bulky pad at home and have to let your digital darling expire. But don't even go there.

The pads can theoretically deliver up to 15W simultaneously to multiple devices, leading CEO Dennis Grant to gush: "This technology offers true economical and environmental benefits by reducing standby electricity leakage when devices are unplugged, and by eliminating the need to dispose of older chargers when upgrading to new devices, as consumers regularly do."

Watt nonsense

Complete gibberish, of course. By 'electricity leakage' we assume he means the gradual discharge of any battery-powered item, which is almost certainly less wasteful than leaving the WildCharge's transformer constantly plugged in. Or perhaps it's something coming out of those 'internet pipes'.

And for the WildCharge to have any effect on the disposal of unwanted chargers, it would have to become so popular that manufacturers didn't need ship a dedicated charger with every new product. Bold words from a product that is currently compatible with, er, three products: two Blackberrys and the Motorola RAZR.

If supporting such arrant greenwash is your bag, you'll be able to unwire your BlackBerry on or about October 1, no price quoted yet, but probably around £75 for a pad and adaptor.

Mark Harris is Senior Research Director at Gartner.

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