Starbucks to Start Offering Wireless Charging in San Francisco

Starbucks is planning to add another bit of ambiance to its stores: wireless charging for smartphones.

The company has announced it's in the early stages of a national deployment of Powermat chargers — little circular pads embedded in counters and tabletops that juice up compatible devices.

Pads will show up in San Francisco shops first, with expansion to other cities starting next year.

Powermat competes with existing wireless power standards, most notably the Qi system, found on handsets from Nokia and recent Nexus devices Read more...