Wireless Charging

The Gotham Gal wrote a post on monday in her Woman Entrepreneur Mondays series on Elizabeth Ormesher who is building a startup called Everpurse. She is starting with a Kickstarter project and attempting to raise $100,000. Here's the video explaining her idea:

I bring this up because apparently Apple thinks that wireless charging is not easier. I would beg to differ. I think wireless charging is the future. And I think we will make more progress with wireless charging faster than we will increasing battery life, at least in the near term.

I just backed the Everpurse project (no reward for me) because I love the idea and I love the concept of wireless charging.

#mobile

Comments (Archived):

  1. gregorylent

    the possible downside is that the subtle structures of the body and consciousness may not be very happy in this electromagnetic energy soup we have created on this earth.and science is not yet subtle enough to investigate this.

    1. andyswan

      Actually I think we’re built for volcanos, jungles, galactic tsunamis and hand-to-hand combat. and life is currently far to comfortable to investigate this.

      1. Carl Rahn Griffith

        β€œThe universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it’s stranger than we can imagine.” ~ Arthur C Clarke.

      2. karen_e

        #pappy

      3. ShanaC

        I thought we were built for plains

    2. Preston Pesek

      I was thinking the same thing… How many electrons, etc. must be spewing out of this thing and into our adjacent bodies? But it’s just like anything else I guess, if our crude instruments can’t measure it (or if we fail to even try to measure it), it must not exist.

      1. Yaniv Tal

        electrons don’t spew through dialectrics.. those would be photons, the carrier particles for airborne electro-magnetic waves..similar arguments were made about the AM radio at the turn of the last century. turns out that electromagnetic waves are a lot less harmful than a lot of the physical objects we create.

    3. ShanaC

      True

  2. kidmercury

    this is really cool.but fred, i hope you will repent for your sin of daring to question apple. please go to your nearest apple store, kneel before the genius bar, and beg forgiveness from the almighty company that has invented the rectangle.

    1. gregorylent

      etch-a-sketch

    2. Carl Rahn Griffith

      The Apple never falls far from the (money) tree…

    3. fredwilson

      Never!

    4. Abdallah Al-Hakim

      Maybe Apple can introduce a repent feature in Siri πŸ™‚ this way I can repent every time I think badly of them

      1. kidmercury

        lol! +1

      2. raycote

        I’m sure the Pope has his people working on a Siri based confessional as we speak.Word has it the App will be donation based!

    5. raycote

      Forgiveness only comes with an act of redemption which requires you buy at least one accessory before you leave the store!

      1. kidmercury

        lol +1

  3. Carl Rahn Griffith

    Could Apple be concerned that the more we move to wireless the less opportunity there is for a plethora of ever-changing rip-off-price physical adapters; or am I being cynical? πŸ˜‰

    1. fredwilson

      The very fact we wonder that is all you need to know

    2. kidmercury

      iphone 5 is completely underwhelming, so they have to run scams like changing adapter standards and suing companies that are innovating to keep the profit margins going.

      1. Carl Rahn Griffith

        Indeed.Give them a while, and I believe Samsung could/will Tear Apple a New Arse, as they say.I was intent on refraining from any comment at all on the iXXXXXn topic, but it somehow crept into my blog, last night…http://carl-rahn-griffith.t

        1. awaldstein

          I’m not sure. I’m a believer that Apple can fall from consumer grace. Anyone can.But Samsung may develop tech but I have zero belief or indication that they understand the consumer market.Beat up Apple as they will but no one has understand the mass market better than them.

          1. fredwilson

            They do. I am completely smitten with their products and brands. I buy their phones tablets and TVs religiously

          2. awaldstein

            I’ll take a look. I’m less an Apple fanboy than a consumer that wants products built and sold to my needs. If they get that they may get me.

          3. Carl Rahn Griffith

            More apt than ever before – bloody good ad, especially the ironic-laden creative/barista jibe, lol ;-)http://www.youtube.com/watc…

          4. raycote

            Coming to a Samsung store near you soon.

          5. FlavioGomes

            So perfect in every way… kudos to the creative folks on that one.

          6. Carl Rahn Griffith

            The current TV ads (Samsung) they are running over here for their new generation TVs look pretty stunning and all the gadget folks I know with the spare cash necessary say they plan on getting one. Their latest generation of notepads/phones are also very well designed/received. Even the brand is perceived as pretty cool – over here at least.And they never inflicted iTunes on anyone, lol. Massive brownie points! πŸ˜‰

          7. awaldstein

            Fair enough.Ads really mean little to me and don’t make the brand. Honestly, I really am an anti-ad economy marketer.Stuff that works. Real people to talk to on the phone when it breaks. Ideas that are productized ahead of market need.That’s what brands are made of!

          8. Carl Rahn Griffith

            Good points.However, if ‘talking on the phone’ is required, it is probably best one is using a (eg) Samsung device, and not an iPhone(!) πŸ˜‰

          9. raycote

            Do they sell more advanced Smart TVs over there because I have a newer Samsung smart TV and it is not really anything to get too excited by.

          10. Carl Rahn Griffith

            Can’t see the current UK ad online but this is the smart TV product range they are pushing very slickly over here…http://www.samsung.com/uk/c

          11. raycote

            I guess Apple will only release a TV if they think they can eclipse Samsung’s lead in innovating the TV set experience?But with Samsung having years of head start at TV design that outcome would be somewhat embarrassing to Samsung’s innovator status.Will that ever happen?Place your bets gentlemen!

          12. RichardF

            Couldn’t disagree with you more Arnold, Samsung products are fantastic imo. The Galaxy S3 is a fantastastic mobile, I thought the S2 was amazing but the S3 is even better.Apple should be going flat out for a 7″ tablet because they are way behind the rest of the market.

          13. awaldstein

            Sounds like I need to take a serious look.We all know consumer dynamics including my own when it comes not to trying but to switching. We’ve all built products against incumbent brands.Personal reference are the only thing that will make that happen. General media, never.

        2. JLM

          .It is either very easy to love Apple (cult like really) or it is easy to deride — OK “hate” — them.It is not easy to fail to admire their innovation and the wealth of products — desktops, monitors, laptops, tablets, iPods, iPhones and the other doodads — they produce.It is particularly gratifying when you think of some of the truly hideous and ugly stuff they made in the early days.They have made industrial engineering into an artful pursuit. Their stuff is pretty and pretty amazing.Whether you love or hate them, they have made the entire market more competitive and more attuned to consumer satisfaction. Their cool stuff has made others make cooler stuff.They have become drivers of innovation and glorious industrial design. And for that we all should be grateful.The other thing about Apple is their corporate mindset. The issue with the new adapter is a perfect example of how they thumb their noses at convention or gouge their customers perhaps..

          1. LE

            “or gouge their customers perhaps.”As I’ve stated in my other comment I don’t agree with the concept that they are “gouging” their customers. Not in the least. They provide value for what they charge for.I had an experience where a Mac Pro (the tower) went bad after about +- 3 years. It was under one of those very affordable warranties that you buy when you buy the product. They replaced it with a completely new model which was something like $2800.Wasn’t an issue at all.Doesn’t work?Hm, we no longer sell it.So here’s a new one.Problem solved.Here is your new machine.When the first iphone came out the lens was a little dirty I had complained to them. Most people would have ignored it and taken shitty photos. They tried to wipe it clean and couldn’t. Ok, here’s a brand new one. Then something else was wrong and they gave me another new one. No problem no questions.YMMV with Apple of course, (I’m sure there are “horror” stories out there) but I’ve had a very good experience with them and have been buying their products since the 80’s.I’ll tell you something else. When I need a new hard drive I pay for the OEM Apple version at the Apple store (if it’s for a primary purpose not for redundancy). Why? I figure the manufacturers are offering their best inventory to Apple and selling the other drives in the crap channel. HD are’s important and I want the probabilities in my favor and I’m willing to pay Apple 10% more for the same thing I can buy off of Amazon (and save sales tax on..) While I don’t have proof of this I have enough experience in business to know things like this happen.

          2. FAKE GRIMLOCK

            ME, GRIMLOCK, OWN LOTS OF COMPUTERS.HP LAPTOPS? HAD TO BUY NEW ONE 4 TIMES, USUALLY ONLY LAST 2-3 YEARS.TOSHIBA? LASTED 3 YEARS.DELL DESKTOPS? 1 LASTED 3 YEARS, OTHER ONE 5 YEARS.NEWEST DELL DESKTOP? BROKE BEFORE TURNED POWER ON FOR FIRST TIME.EVERY APPLE PRODUCT OWNED?STILL RUNNING.

          3. jason wright

            Thinkpad – a bit of a brick, but 7 years and still running.

          4. fredwilson

            sadly i have had the opposite experiencehere is my pile of crapplehttp://www.flickr.com/photo…@disqus: i tried to embed this photo and it didn’t work this morning

          5. jason wright

            that’s a lot of evil

          6. William Mougayar

            I’ve had a similar experience. Add to that list a Gateway desktop that is 12 years old, but still running in a clunky way.

          7. Abdallah Al-Hakim

            my apple laptop is still running strong after almost 6 years. My previous two were Toshiba and they lasted 3-4 years. I have had some problems with the mac laptop but as JLM mentioned – I had the warranty and each problem was resolved very efficiently

          8. FAKE GRIMLOCK

            NEW ADAPTER HAS GOOD REASON.IT WORK IN EITHER DIRECTION.BIGGEST SOURCE OF REPAIRS TO IPHONES?STUPID HUMANS SHOVING OLD ADAPTER IN WRONG WAY.NOW IMAGINE APPLE INVENT USB THAT GO IN EITHER WAY.THAT WOULD WIN ENTIRE COMPUTER INDUSTRY.

      2. LIAD

        new adapter seems like a mafia style shakedown.

        1. fredwilson

          At least you can say no to apple. Not so much to the mob.

          1. Abdallah Al-Hakim

            has that been tested πŸ™‚

          2. Dan

            Yes. I had a very strange train trip to Naples while backpacking through Europe in college. It involved the mob, unscheduled countryside stops, cocaine hidden in a loaf of bread and fear. The mob is the real deal. Don’t say “no”.

          3. fredwilson

            wow

          4. Abdallah Al-Hakim

            I also wanted to know if you can say no to Apple πŸ™‚

          5. raycote

            News flash !Fred Wilson speaks out to defend Apple.

        2. LE

          The idea is to focus on making money so you can pay the perceived “vig”.

        3. FAKE GRIMLOCK

          ONLY IF MEAN THAT OTHER MAFIA THAT INVENT NEW THINGS TO SOLVE SERIOUS TECHNICAL ISSUES.

      3. jason wright

        Useless Facts Series: There were around two dozen different types of power socket and plug design combinations in use in different cities throughout the UK in the 1920s.

        1. ShanaC

          and this is why we should move to wireless charging of everything!

        1. Dan

          Wait for the 920 and I’m there with ya…I’m tired of the droid and not a big iphone fan. My friends with the 900 are all very happy and planning to upgrade when available.

        2. Yaniv Tal

          the 920 looks so damn sexy. the new windows design philosophy is killing it. a truly modern ui for a modern world. and that hardware? whoooo wireless charging, nfc, pureview camera. i’m in the bag!

      4. LIAD

        iPhone 5 may be underwhelming. But the iPhone 10….

        1. kidmercury

          lol +1

        2. Shyam Subramanyan

          Ha Ha, I will stick with my iPhone 4 until this baby is released.

        3. Carl Rahn Griffith

          Lol.

        4. raycote

          That indeed is very funny!

          1. kidmercury

            HAHAHHAHAHA this is hilarious man!!! watched and re-watched, could not stop laughing. thanks for sharing!

          2. Techman

            That video is pretty good. I’m going to put that on my site.

      5. LE

        “so they have to run scams like changing adapter standards”I totally reject the idea that Apple is doing this in order to make money off of selling extra gizmos for $20.I also reject the idea that anytime a company has an opportunity to make money, and they take advantage of that, it’s a “scam” or a “soaking” or whatever someone wants to call it. I buy and pay for quality because over time I’ve found that it makes long term sense. The 7 speed transmission went on my brand new car (it was a new model) and the company flew one in overnight from Germany at a cost of $8,000 in shipping and had it installed and gave me a luxury loaner.Companies that aren’t profitable go out of business, people loose jobs and we end up with sucky products.Companies have the right to make money. The cable companies that everyone complains about (or Verizon with FIOS) spend large amounts of money in order to offer a reliable service that in general works 24×7 with very little down time. When the power goes out in this country (unlike India and I’m not mentioning that because I believe that is your nationality just because it comes to mind with the recent outages there) there are work crews that come in from all over the country to fix the outage. Those work crews get put up in hotels, are away from their families, and make a great living doing that type of work. (I’ve had conversations with them about the subject.)If you want reliability and quality you end up paying for it. A company that is profitable and makes money can build quality products and survives. Apple builds quality products. I have an old IBM PC that I keep around for some things (I bought it for $200 it’s like 5 years old approx) and I swear I fucking cut my hand just removing the cover. It’s a total piece of crap (build wise). I’m not even talking about the OS, just the internal construction.So to me I think it’s great that Apple charges a high price for their products which of course nobody is compelled to buy and they have certainly earned the right to do that (unlike perhaps cable companies that have dejure monopolies.)

        1. kidmercury

          your reply suggests i say it is wrong for them to make money, or for them to charge whatever they want to charge. i did not say any of that. i totally agree apple has the right to sell chargers that need to be changed daily for $10,000 or more. if they can find enough suckers to fall for it, they can have a very winning business model, if one defines winning in terms of profits. apple’s success illustrates this clearly.personally i don’t like to do business with dishonest organizations focused on cheating me or belittling my intelligence, and so i avoid apple. i understand i am in the minority and that most people love being deceived, which i agree is their right.

          1. LE

            “your reply suggests i say it is wrong for them to make money”You said:”so they have to run scams like changing adapter standards and suing companies that are innovating to keep the profit margins going”To me, the use of the word “scam”, is certainly negative in my book.” if one defines winning in terms of profits”Profits are certainly a yardstick of winning. And there is absolutely nothing deceptive about the pricing that they charge and the fact that people pay that pricing. At all.”personally i don’t like to do business with dishonest organizations focused on cheating me or belittling my intelligence, and so i avoid apple.”Please give specific examples of “cheating” and “belittling my intelligence” for Apple relative to the way that other businesses, in general operate.”most people love being deceived”Totally separate issue though. One of the things I learned early on is that people do get value out of being deceived (although I don’t think my example to follow is what you mean but let me know).Example: A woman buys a fur coat because in her mind it makes her think something special of herself by buying that fur coat. Or maybe jewelry. Or maybe a man buying an expensive watch. The truth is those items have no value relative to their cost. At least no apparent value. They are totally and absolutely in your head. What I have always called “not what you think of yourself, but what you think people think of you”.As a result, if you are selling fur coats to fat middle aged woman, you don’t tell them that the fur is no better than the cloth coat. They don’t want to hear that. And you don’t tell the young guy who wants the expensive car that woman won’t care that much, only guys will. Because they think it will lead to getting laid. (I speak from experience here btw because if I had a $1 for every guy who wanted my car I’d be rich, (strangers make comments) but woman could give two shits about it. They don’t care at all. Good thing I’m married.)So my point is people are perfectly happy thinking and being convinced that what they buy has a particular halo on them and actually in many cases that halo turns out to be true. Or gives them a positive self image and enhances their behavior leading to better life outcomes. So deception you see isn’t all that bad.I do of course make one exception to my “deception isn’t all that bad”. And that applies to poor people and how they are taken advantage of by companies. Likewise I don’t sell anyone rich or poor products or services of dubious value like many of my competitors.

          2. kidmercury

            i view apple as deceptive in how they manage their ecosystem. they take a paternalistic approach in which they are “protecting user experience.” as with every great lie there is kernel of truth to this, but apple really uses that as a cloak to use their customers as pawns in their competitive wars. they have also been caught trying to establish illegal agreements to control the price of ebooks.i view their dock connector thing as a scam and i highly doubt it was necessary or the ideal approach. so to me this is a scam, although i acknowledge that others enjoy being deceived and that apple is free to engage in this type of deception of their customers as a strategy. so it may not be a scam for others.

          3. FAKE GRIMLOCK

            NEW CONNECTOR LEAVE MORE ROOM FOR BATTERY, CAN BE PLUGGED IN EITHER DIRECTION, FIXING MOST COMMON SOURCE OF DAMAGED PHONES.BOTH SERIOUS TECHNICAL ISSUES NOT RELATED TO SCREWING ANYONE.

          4. kidmercury

            apple is not amateur liars, they are pretty good at deception. good deceivers wrap their lie around a kernel of truth.

    3. Yaniv Tal

      apple’s follow up to the apps campaign: want to continue living life? there’s an accessory for that.

    4. Luke Chamberlin

      Okay, I’m going to say that people are going overboard re: the new plug (not just you Carl).The current iPhone charger plug was introduced with the iPod in 2003. It has not changed for over 9 years.The old plug technology took up a lot of space inside the phone. The new plug takes up less space and makes room for components that you actually care about (battery, speakers, etc).You get a free one when you get the phone.Hardly seems like a conspiracy.

      1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

        EVEN SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE HATE WHEN ANYTHING ELSE SUCCEED.

      2. fredwilson

        well we have three iphones and at least as many ipads in our house. and we have chargers in our rooms, in the mudroom, and in our bags and purses. all of them will not work on the new phone. that is fucking over your customers. they should just move to the usb standard that all of their competitors use. but they are being apple on this. which of course i detest

        1. Elia Freedman

          Ah, perspective. I think 9 years, okay, a change is inconvenient. But of course I’m thinking compared to PalmPilot, which literally changed connectors with every device!

      3. Techman

        Except all of those accessories are now worthless unless you buy an overpriced adapter. I hope some third party company comes out with a third party adapter, as paying $30 (or something really close to that) for an adapter is not worth it.

  4. RichardF

    Apple will get around to it by about iPhone 12 by which time the Samsung Galaxy s4 will have had it for five years ;)edit: and then Apple will sue Samsung saying they invented wireless charging

    1. raycote

      Since Samsung has been the king of the TV world for some years now and apparently is now also the new king of innovation I guess we will be seeing them release their new industry disrupting TV set any day now ?

      1. kidmercury

        they already have, the tv wars will play out the same way as the other markets. apple will probably blow it open because the product is simple enough and because of their marketing reach. once the customer is acclimated to apple’s products they are sufficiently informed to develop their own tastes and aspirations. that’s where the samsung/google combo can enter the scene and blow the market wide open.not to be forgotten is amazon, who after kindle fire HD is my new favorite to win the consumer tablet wars and the corresponding rise of multiple internets. #amazonpride

        1. raycote

          Tough crowd here!I don’t really like playing the defend Apple role here.But just in the name of balance I hate to stand around and watch an uncontested lynching.Your point is well taken but even as you have pointed out Apple’s role of innovation through simplification and mass marketing is indeed a valid and somewhat difficult contribution to the world of innovation.Alas everyone hates a Goliath and now that the shoe fits Apple is being forced to wear it.

          1. kidmercury

            i only mock apple for their arrogance and deception, not for their success (if one defines fooling people as success). apple is a great marketing company, though their technology strategy is doomed, and will ultimately rely on planned obsolescence, illegal collusion, and litigation.they make good ads though. very cute.

          2. raycote

            Still even the best marketing companies need to have something to market.Apple’s real skill is/was innovating on interface simplicity.We are accelerating into a virtual world of complex abstract spaces/relationships.The question is who will play the role of Steve Jobs at bringing the truly mind numbing simplicity required to interfacing mass market consumers into the complexities of these abstract spaces with a minimalist reusable metaphoric utility.That is a very tall order!Definitely not Samsung and probably not Apple?

          3. kidmercury

            amazon. bezos gets it. apple is still a hardware company, not an information processing company, which is why they rely so much on marketing fluff, litigation, and collusion. apple is cute a little art project, amazon is an industrial strength juggernaut capable of revolutionizing the world.

          4. raycote

            Maybe that is true but my gut reaction is to see Amazon as just another media content middleman.Disrupting the TV content delivery market is no just about better remotes with better content search/digital-access. It is all about dis-intermediating the content bundlers by directly powering all content producers to easily and effectively embed a standardized palette of algorithmic interactivity directly into the content itself.Remixing a standardized palette of algorithmic interactivity allows producers to compete in new ways limited only by their imagination at remixing that algorithmic palette to empower consumer utility and participation. Standardizing an algorithmic interactivity palette creates a realistically accessible set of memes for consumer to latch onto.That of course is just a long winded(my specialty) way of saying the Content-Delivery-App = the new Channel.I thing the App as TV-Channel can potentially provide a compelling enough experience and associative profits to slowly strip away content producers from their addiction to bundler based revenues?Now Apple is good at creating consumer-simple reusable interface palettes and supporting APIs so they may well have a good shot at this.You always seem to be accusing Apple of practicingrule #239 of Ferengi wealth acquisitionNever be afraid to mislabel a productWhen in fact they are fully invested in rule #2The best deal is the one that brings the most profit

          5. Yaniv Tal

            Let’s look at Amazon’s score with that model then:1) Ability to innovate on infrastructure and algorithms – AWS + one of the best recommendation engines in the industry – check2) Allowing producers to compete in new ways and reach audiences – 180,000 exclusive kindle titles + powering businesses through fulfillment by amazon + amazon prime – check3) Providing a beautiful palette to embed content – have you seen the kindle fire? – check4) API’s? The AWS API’s are just plain sexy – check and a checkAmazon just another media content middleman? Holy shit! And one that disrupted the ENTIRE computing industry with AWS, invented a NEW CLASS of device with the kindle, and all of this while providing some of the most impressive logistics infrastructure in the world… all along the way. Not bad for a middle man.Underestimating Amazon would be a silly move. Few companies have been able to innovate as well as they have and they execute like motherfuckers – reinvesting all of their money with a laser focus on a pretty grandiose vision. Amazon is the company to watch right now, no doubt about that.

          6. Alvin Weng Kit Chin

            many would disagree with you that Apple is a hardware company. I think it’s really a software company who also imposes their design philosophies in housing its software. but you’re right about Bezos. he gets it. not sure how Larry returning to google is making them better.

        2. ShanaC

          I think amazon should buy boxee. I don’t think apple has enough of a lockdown on video content to make it work. Amazon (or netflix) has a much better clue as to what and how people watch

          1. kidmercury

            boxee runs on linux, i think amazon would much rather work with an organization that can run off android or a forked verion of android.

          2. Yaniv Tal

            amazon’s on top of the world right now. they’ve got a serious power play and i think they have a good shot at taking over the living room. i agree that a strong TV connected offering is clutch. I buy a lot of stuff on my apple tv cus it’s just so damn easy. wireless streaming to the tv + cloud connectivity would put them in a really strong position.

      2. ErikSchwartz

        The way people actually watch TV is already really simple. They turn it on and they put their ass on the couch. People like vegging out.What is not simple is the way some stakeholders wished people would start watching TV. But it is very unclear that many people want that.

        1. kidmercury

          i think the TV experience can be vastly improved. the remotes are too hard to use. channel surfing in a world with 500+ channels isn’t as easy as it should be. i think there is room for real innovation, particularly design-type innovation that apple specializes in.

          1. ErikSchwartz

            Nobody watches 500+ channels.I agree remotes are too hard to use but that has nothing to do with the TV.

          2. kidmercury

            sure, nobody watches 500 channels, but that is what they are given and is a mess they need to sort through. i setup my remote to only flip through the channels i watch, but i can see how that will be too hard or not easy enough for most people. for true design perfection the designing entity needs to control the TV, remote, cable box. apple’s move to make deals with cable boxes is pretty big here. i dislike crapple but i think they can make a legitimate value add here in a big way.

          3. ErikSchwartz

            I think they could make a better experience. I don’t think they can make the kind of money they need to make (margin wise) to ever attempt it. Set top boxes are a negative margin business.It’s all unlikely to make people watch more TV.

          4. LE

            “the remotes are too hard to use.”On of the reasons remotes are hard to use is because cable companies don’t make anymore money by either a) making it easier for you to watch tv, or b) by how many hours you watch tv.So there is no incentive for them to develop, push for, or offer a better remote. (The remotes we use for example are supplied as part of the cable box by FIOS). They get their fixed amount per month from you and they only get more $$ if you buy additional channels. Perhaps you might remember how AOL used to charge by the hour and how many offering they had on their dial up service, all designed to get you to stay on longer since that is how they made their money.Getting back to some of my comments earlier, this is one of the reasons you want companies to make money and sometimes it’s good if they charge for things. If they can make money offering a product or service, all the sudden their brains start to work and they innovate and offer things that don’t make financial sense if there is no upside for them.There is a service that we offer here, related to domain names (which I won’t mention specifically) which we charge $10 for. The item has no cost to us other than labor and that’s nominal. None of our competitors charge for the same thing that I know of. Certainly not the large usual suspects. But unlike our competitors, the service that we offer for $10 gets you quick turnaround and helpful advice and handholding to completion of the requested service. We can do this because the $10 offsets the cost and is profitable. The money is an important part of the process.Some companies appear afraid in the internet world to charge a premium for something they do. They seem to feel that everyone has to be charged the same or things have to be free. I have a problem with a site on Amazon (it’s a store that is essentially ad revenue) and for some reason Amazon keeps shutting the store down and I don’t have the time or energy to look into why and wait like everyone else getting stupid help emails to solve the problem. So I wish Amazon offered some kind of paid channel where I could get some cluefull person on the phone (or email) who could quickly and easily escalate and get this problem fixed.

          5. kidmercury

            you are battling no one in your crusade for higher prices, as i don’t disagree with you. i do believe that for the most part real winners increase their profit margins by cutting their costs. moreover, i think if you pay a premium you should get premium service. you may think apple offers that, obviously i don’t as i don’t consider deception to be consistent with premium service.amazon is testing real world stores where they will replicate the genius bar concept.

          6. LE

            “testing real world stores where they will replicate the genius”Apple has a confined small product line. It’s like a small specialty restaurant. Limited amount for employees to know and the ones that are to the “genius” level have been steeped in the product since the hospital delivery room.If Amazon does this, I would think they have to cover a huge product base. Not only that but one of the things that Apple employees like is the type of people that frequent Apple stores. The same way Starbucks employees like their customers because they seem different then the people who generally frequent Dunkin or McDonalds. Amazon will not attract the same customers or employees as an Apple store. Think Best Buy grade for both. Apple customers, at least the large majority of them, are either upscale or hip. And the ones that aren’t just blend in (what I call “cut the cocaine”).I’m sure you’ve been in Best Buys, right? It’s depressing. You see losers hauling away plasma TV’s tied to their roof’s and poor people buying things they can’t afford and the employees tend to not know their shit. (Why? Well at least one reason is that there is no margin in that business. And then there are 100 other reasons that follow from that.)

          7. kidmercury

            lol YOU think they’re upscale and hip. i think they’re people who are easily deceived and misinterpret technology trends.fashion changes quickly. but in general, yes, amazon will trade specialization for distribution, and will use lower hardware quality (among other things) to compete aggressively on price. i don’t think they’ll convert the apple faithful with disposable income, but i think they’ll get the mass market. its PC wars all over again.

          8. LE

            “YOU think they’re upscale and hip. i think they’re people who are easily deceived and misinterpret technology trends. “I guess you’re the only one who knows the truth then. Perhaps you should sign your postings with that in addition to the 9/11 tag.

          9. kidmercury

            lol i never said i was the only one who knew the truth. in fact i don’t even know what the truth is. i simply stated my opinion.9/11 was an inside job,kid mercury

          10. Wavelengths

            I admire your consistency.

        2. Dave Pinsen

          True for a lot of TV watching, but not all. Twitter has made live TV in particular — political speeches, sports events, and award shows — more social and communal, as viewers share comments on what they’re watching.

        3. Techman

          Such a funny and true way to say how we watch tv. Well some people sit in an arm chair…but you are pretty much spot on.

    2. Matt A. Myers

      But the Apple following will be relieved once it does exist – talk about building up anticipation and speculation…

    3. Mark Essel

      Hah, that comment made my morning (batch processing a week of avc now)

      1. RichardF

        Good to hear from you Mark, missed you around these parts.

        1. Mark Essel

          Just caught up on a week’s worth of posts. Been busy enough that when I’m free, it’s outdoors time or good sci-fi books or netflix with Michelle.Less chatter, more pixels splatta (working on rendering backend for a video app).

          1. Techman

            Usually there is 1 post per day, so that is not that much. The only real problem is reading all of that text! I have a extension, Chrome Speak, that helps me with that, that way I can follow along.

          2. Mark Essel

            Sounds handy Michael, I can usually read faster than I can listen, but podcasts are great while walking/exercising.

  5. Jorge M. Torres

    Very cool — I’m going to get one for my girlfriend. I want one too. Will the name have to change? Ever-murse?

  6. LIAD

    Wireless charging, like 3D holograms/printing and airplay is one of those things that just seems magical. it’s exciting and there’s a definite wow-factor to it.Is Everpurse really wireless charging? Sure the battery pack gets charged wirelessly but the phone itself just seems to plug into a normal dock hidden in the bag.

    1. andyswan

      yep otherwise it wouldn’t say it’s only for iphone 4 and iphone 5…since those…ya know….don’t support wireless charging.

    2. raycote

      Also answering that phone is going to be somewhat of a Russian Doll operation ?

      1. David Clarke

        I gather phase 2 will be bluetooth earrings…

  7. Shripriya

    I saw this on Gotham Gal’s blog and signed up for the cloth purse. Right now, the options are a heavy block to re-charge my phone or a “case” kind of device.This is lighter and much more fashionable. Looking forward to trying it. If it works well, it will be incredible. Apple has a long history of pooh-poohing things and then coming out with something in that space, so I wouldn’t really attach that much weight to what Schiller said…

    1. jason wright

      Did he really say that “kids look happier” on the iphone 5?

    2. fredwilson

      True. But its not in the new phone and there’s a newfangled connector which is different than the traditional iPhone/iPad connector. Actions speak even louder than words

      1. Carl Rahn Griffith

        As them cheeky-chappie Arctic Monkeys lads sing, “Let the backlash begin!” πŸ™‚

      2. LE

        Why is this such a big deal? Just consider it as an additional cost of the product and clip it on to the male end of an existing charging cord.http://www.gottabemobile.co

  8. Jan Schultink

    Apparently already in 1770 we invented self-winding watches that use body energy to keep the device going http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…We need to port that concept to phones…

    1. fredwilson

      Great idea!

    2. Abdallah Al-Hakim

      agree – I remember reading a while back about work at MIT to use body energy to charge devices – I will check your link

    3. Cam MacRae

      This has been available for a couple of years http://www.npowerpeg.comWe need some electrical engineering types to work out how to shrink kinetic chargers because it ain’t gonna fit in your iDevice.

    4. JimHirshfield

      Stop. I think Apple has a patent on that.

    5. raycote

      Just for some impractical fun ;-)15 cellphone chargers that harness kinetic energy for a clean rechargehttp://bit.ly/UOUz3lhttp://www.greendiary.com/w…

  9. jason wright

    I don’t get it.So the phone goes inside the purse and recharges by being in close proximity to a charged up charging pad, or the phone has to be cabled to the pad to charge up? I don’t get it because the iphone shown in the video is not a wireless charging device.Isn’t this just buying a purse to carry around a spare battery?

    1. fredwilson

      I am not sure but I would hope its the former

      1. jason wright

        looks like it’s the latter.

    2. LIAD

      + 1.the base to hidden bag battery pack is wireless.the bag to phone charge is connected.

      1. jason wright

        “the bag to phone charge is connected”Oops.

        1. LIAD

          its cool but a bit meh too.the problem to be solved (which can’t be done without Apple/phone company playing ball) is wirelessly charing the device itself.i’m not sure many people complain about not being able to wirelessly sync their battery pack.this project would be just as cool had it foregone the wireless charging battery pack and just made purses with tight fitting dock connectors…but that wouldn’t have had any sizzle

          1. Wavelengths

            I see you don’t understand the art and fashion of the purse.You are probably not the person who would spend $600 on a shimmery, peacock-colored bag from Neiman Marcus that you would use for 6 months before you “needed” a new one. The bag that goes into the purse is a better solution.(Note: I did not buy the $600 purse, but I know the woman who did!)

          2. LIAD

            i have no issue with the purse of the price.all I’m saying is it isn’t wireless charging.

          3. ShanaC

            I wonder what this purse looked like….

          4. Wavelengths

            Well, I admit it was absolutely yummy. And you’re never going to find a designer of that kind of purse putting a little charger pocket into it. Two different universes.Now that I’m looking at Neiman Marcus handbags online, I’m realizing that my friend was bargain shopping. If you look carefully, you can find a gym tote for $950. Try the Stella McCartney Falabella totes for an idea.http://www.neimanmarcus.com

          5. ShanaC

            yeah, I hope to be a gal one day who can own something like that stella mccartney. The guys here won’t get it….

          6. Wavelengths

            You, of course, will be cool enough to have yours specialized with its own internal charger pocket for all your necessary electronics. πŸ™‚

          7. ShanaC

            I better figure out how to make enough money to do this πŸ˜€

          8. jason wright

            Does it matter? $600 is what counts, right? πŸ˜‰

  10. AlexBangash

    Fred, I am in awe of how great a platform AVC is to promote a product or an idea. It would be great to measure the impact of your blog on Everpurse’s Kickstarter –perhaps even in comparison to say NY Times or WSJ or other places online where it is mentioned.I can say from first hand experience, because I had shamelessly pitched my company to you (which I am not going to do again). And in a couple of days we got a measurable number of clicks–over 50–from just a link in the comments of AVC.AVC is yet another advantage your outstanding portfolio companies have.

    1. fredwilson

      when i wrote this post yesterday morning the project was at $40k against a $100k goal. this morning its at $64k against a $100k goal. who knows what else happened yesterday to drive that number. but i suspect we had an impact

  11. kumarbshah

    Fred – I love the concept, but given today’s battery technology, doesn’t constant stopping and starting the charging of your phone through the day reduce battery life much faster than normal? My phone’s battery degrades within 1.5 years after religiously following a once a week full charge-discharge cycle, I worry about what would happen if I was constantly (and sometimes inadvertently) charging my phone battery through the day through these wireless systems

    1. fredwilson

      I know that happens but since I can swap batteries easily I don’t care

      1. kumarbshah

        Fair point .. and that is definitely one of the big advantages of using non-iPhone handsets

  12. Tereza

    Love the Everpurse concept.Another one is Meredith Perry’s UBeam. She was a non-technical (but smart) student who figured out a prototype by googling stuff and talking to professors. She envisions an air-charger is installed in rooms, so you’re recharging while just sitting there. (Her TEDxNashville talk is here http://www.youtube.com/watc…Anyway this whole new-chargers-for-Apple-products does feel like a cheap shot and is annoying. I’m really not in the mood, it brings me no value. They should package it with a complimentary re-org/consolidation of my overflowing iPhoto account. Then I’d sign up.

    1. William Mougayar

      I agree. Charging should be like air, like wifi.

    2. LE

      “this whole new-chargers-for-Apple-products”There is an adapter they offer. So just pretend the cost of the device is a few dollars higher. You don’t have to throw out your old chargers.

      1. Tereza

        Hoping that’s for car chargers too.It only partly the money; it’s as much the something no-value on my (already long) todo list that suits them, not me. That’s all. πŸ™‚

        1. LE

          The adapter fits on the male end of any existing cord. So it would work anywhere.

  13. Tom Labus

    The new Lumia 920 has wireless charging.

  14. Bill DeMuro

    Great idea, but I think funding improved battery (energy source) tech to eliminate the need for charging our mobiles is the direction we should be going.

  15. maxniederhofer

    I knew at some point technology would get me to carry a purse. Damn you, startup hipsters.P.S. wireless electricity. filed under “jet packs et al.”

    1. Carl Rahn Griffith

      ‘We Were Promised Wireless Chargers’ doesn’t have quite the same resonance, does it? ;-)PS, the ‘man-purse’ has been a pretty acceptable accessory for metrosexual chaps in Europe for some time, now πŸ˜‰

      1. RichardF

        I understand the mankini is also popular in parts of Europe as well now

        1. Carl Rahn Griffith

          Thankfully, not in bloomin’ Yorkshire, Richard, lol.Chapel-hat pegs weather up here, lately! πŸ˜‰

          1. RichardF

            lol…still pelmet weather “darn sarf”

          2. Carl Rahn Griffith

            Not content with having a warmer economy down there, you’re also graced with infinitely more clement weather. Tsch.I’ll go take t’ whippet for a walk, in t’ wind and rain, around t’ disused coalfields and ‘ave a listen to the lament from the village brass band hut…PS: Apologies to non-Brit’ chums here for our lapsing into local dialect and (friendly) North vs South banter! πŸ™‚

      2. Abdallah Al-Hakim

        the first thing I thought when watching the video was ‘where can I get my man-purse?’ – this is not a joke – I am serious πŸ™‚

      3. kenberger

        good one! although I suspect that few Yanks here are gonna get the reference to that awesome Scottish band.

        1. Carl Rahn Griffith

          Lol, well spotted.If not already aware of them, would be interest to learn if @fredwilson:disqus likes their music?A great example…http://www.youtube.com/watc

          1. Donna Brewington White

            I like them a lot. Would have never heard of them if not for the Indie While You Work room on turntable.fm. We got on a brief Scottish band theme the other night (is 2:00 a.m. night or morning?) but it didn’t register that WWPJ was a Scottish band or I would have played them.

          2. Carl Rahn Griffith

            Cool. Jamming at 2am sounds fun, regardless, lol πŸ™‚

          3. Donna Brewington White

            It works better than caffeine at keeping me awake when I have a late night project which is often. Bad habit developed when combining a career with schooling in my 20s and then kept alive by starting a business and parenting infants.

          4. fredwilson

            yup. you have to be on your game when you are on stage. and there’s an adrenaline rush from it.

          5. fredwilson

            i think i got it Carl.

        2. fredwilson

          we were promised jet packs?

          1. Techman

            I wonder what everyone would do if they have a JetPack. So many people would be flying around on them that the government would really have to regulate the air, and being on the ground would be like not having a phone…on other words the ground would be “old”.

    2. anne weiler

      Didn’t Tesla have an idea for wireless electricity? And Edison said it was too dangerous? http://www.indiegogo.com/te

    3. Techman

      Wireless electricity could work. Do you know what electrons are? Do you know about atoms flying around in the air in the form of gases?

  16. Esayas Gebremedhin

    i think wireless charging is the future = was again thinking the same. since smart phone has turned us into electro-junkies, charging has to be mobile and adaptive. it’s a massive market.

  17. Abdallah Al-Hakim

    This might be obvious but batteries for me are major hurdle for future of mobile – I am sure we will get over it but it is becoming increasingly frustrating to have powerful devices in your hand that drain of battery so quickly. This offers one solution and I would love to see more.

  18. William Mougayar

    Charging small devices should happen over the air, like wifi. Someone will make a wifi charge router.Β I’m also waiting for the technology that will transfer my body heat into charging my iPhone as I use it or as it sits in my pocket.Β We can transfer heat from the earth to warm-up a home. Why can’t we transfer body heat into micro signals strong enough to charge small devices.Β 

    1. fredwilson

      Good thinking

    2. kenberger

      10 years ago, my group helped VC’s look at a bunch of startup ideas around power over wireless. None were deemed safe enough, if they were remotely feasible.Tesla actually had a working version in his NYC lab in 1893: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…It will come, but it’s a while away.

      1. Guest

        “Tesla …had a working version…” you could apply that to so many things. Looking forward to the opening of the museum.

      2. jason wright

        Tesla – a genius.Passed away in NYC, and from where all of his theoretical research papers…’disappeared’.

    3. andyswan

      I for one am not willing to be cold just so my phone works.

      1. JimHirshfield

        Then you’ll be interested in my latest invention in renewable energy. It’s the everDiaperTM pocket wireless waste-recycler device charger. It’s the shit. Do your business, so that you can keep doing your business.Just doo it.

        1. Wavelengths

          Does it work on dogs, too?

          1. JimHirshfield

            Yes, there’s a special adapter for that. $129.99

  19. Christien Louviere

    It’ll be out soon enough. Jobs once said no one wanted to watch video on their iPod. πŸ™‚

  20. JimHirshfield

    I’m gonna do a kickstarter to make backwards compatible iPhone & Mac power adapters. Cha-ching, who’s in?(seriously, there’s a mint to be made in the after-market)

    1. ShanaC

      well if you need a manufacturer in china, I know a guy

  21. Nick Grossman

    I don’t know enough about the tech behind wireless charging — but is longer range charging in our future?One thing I know for sure is that there are two things that make the nomadic techie lifestyle (that I practice) possible: connectivity and power. These days connectivity is relatively easy, but power is a constant gotcha. I always find myself running out of power, and have gotten screwed because of it a few times.I write this sitting at an airport gate, with all devices plugged in, to help ensure that I can make it through the rest of the day.

    1. ErikSchwartz

      1/r^2 is a big problem for longer range wireless charging.

    2. raycote

      TED TALK VIDEOEric Giler demos wireless electricityhttp://www.youtube.com/watc…

    3. Yaniv Tal

      yes absolutely. researchers at MIT and other universities are working on high power coils that can be placed inside of walls to charge a large number of devices within a room. with a large number of devices the efficiency actually gets pretty good (around 70%). the problem is that wireless power follows the inverse square law meaning to get a bit of extra distance you need a lot more power. lots of people are skeptical that it will be safe to have so much high power radio waves inside the house. i guess we’ll have to see!

      1. Nick Grossman

        i would have read these comments earlier except that my phone was dead all evening πŸ™‚

  22. AlexBangash

    It’s amazing how Kickstarter is disrupting (certain sections of) venture capital…right before our eyes. By the time, LP’s realize it, it will be too late.

  23. Tommy Chen

    the palm pre had wireless charging years ago. it’s cool technology, but at the end of the day it’s not any easier to use. you still need to have a wire plugged into a power source for the wireless charging base. it also takes longer to charge.

  24. $27180517

    I’m more concerned with the lack of improvement in battery life than charging…wait til the complaints about the new iPhone’s battery life now that its on LTE begin. End of the day, there’s a limit on battery charges and just encouraging people to charge their devices more frequently with on-the-go chargers or plug-in options doesn’t help battery life at all.

  25. Guest

    Good for them–looks like a great project.Yesterday I considered getting the 5. But it’s tough to support a company so hellbent on beating its competition with the blunt instrument of patent suits for borrowed ideas…the hypocrisy is a bit much. This from the company that thinks it invented the MP3 player.

  26. andyswan

    Would LOVE to be proven wrong but my guess is that this is just a battery in the purse that you have to CONNECT to your phone inside of the purse (notice how carefully and deliberately she pushes the phone into the same spot every time).The only thing wireless is how the PURSE battery charges….which quite frankly…who cares? It’s nighttime when you do that!Most of the kickstarter projects that I’ve participated in have been either very late with delivery, very below quality, or never delivered at all.I love KS and this seems like a neat niche product….but I wouldn’t be expecting a miracle product here. Those still tend to be funded by investors that are willing to accept the unknown risks of getting a high-quality, innovative product to market.TLDR if you think you’re just dropping the phone into a magical charging bag…you’re gonna have a bad time with this one.

    1. ErikSchwartz

      I too have been underwhelmed by the results of the technology projects I have backed on kickstarter.

    2. kidmercury

      isn’t a packaging innovation enough to make a real difference here?

      1. andyswan

        Perhaps but I think it’s wrong to put this purse in the category of “wireless charging” as Fred has done here…..image below is summary of iPhone5 event.

        1. Luke Chamberlin

          Your Malibu Stacy DOESN’T have a hat? Go sit at the other table.

      2. Wavelengths

        In this case, I think the packaging innovation makes it easier to remember to use and to remember to take it with you. Yeah, I agree.

      3. ShanaC

        No. I want to easily have my phone where ever as long as it isn’t at the most bottom corner of my bag (which I bought from Etsy!)I’m not sure packaging innovation will answer the problem at all…

      4. jason wright

        No. Why should I have to carry a purse?

        1. kidmercury

          the product isn’t designed for those not accustomed to carrying purses. rather it seems to target those who already do, usually women.

          1. jason wright

            if I carry a phone and it needs charging what’s a purse got to do with it?

          2. kidmercury

            sounds like you don’t carry a purse. which means the product is not designed for you. this does not mean the product is not of sufficient absolute value, though.

          3. jason wright

            Is the product a charging device or a bag?

          4. kidmercury

            both.

          5. jason wright

            but i’m not in the market for another bag. everyone already has bags. What they need is more power, not more bags.

          6. kidmercury

            as we have discussed numerous times already in this conversation, you are clearly not the target customer. you don’t want a bag — that’s okay. that simply means this product is not for you. there are many people who do want bags. perhaps this product is for them.to put it more simply, this product is clearly targeted towards woman. judging by your name, i’m assuming you are a male. this product, as well as many other products that might be found at stores like victoria’s secret, sephora, or chloe and isabel, are not meant for people like me and you (i.e. males). just because they do not target males does not mean there is no need for them. products do not need to target every single human being to be a legitimate market.

          7. jason wright

            I don’t think women need more bags either.

          8. kidmercury

            perhaps the global bag market will collapse as you are suggesting, though i remain skeptical, and believe that bags will continue to be purchased.

          9. ShanaC

            says you, not me πŸ™‚

          10. Ruth BT

            @jasonpwright:disqus I disagree – this woman is always looking for another purse or bag! This product is targeted at me. It’s what I call a mummy purse. The wallet that fits more than just money and credit cards but can’t be called a handbag (or in US terminology as purse). having said that, would I buy it? Probably but not from Kickstarter at this stage – I’ll wait til arrives on my shores to check it out.

          11. raycote

            I think he is pulling your leg?

    3. LE

      People don’t ask questions when they see a cute girl who starts her sentences with “so” pitches a product using good videography and canned music.You have to wonder what would happen (which is exactly what I wondered when I watched part of the video (youtube wouldn’t load the entire video so I missed some of it) if, say, Office Depot offered the same exact product.I’m going to go and watch more of it now so I can continue being cynical and raining on the parade!

  27. ErikSchwartz

    I don’t anticipate apple will ever be the one to solve the battery problem. Up until now their improvements have largely been based on shrinking everything else in the case and making the battery physically bigger. This works, but it a crude non scalable solution. The only way I see apple solving this problem is by buying another company that has already solved it.At the end of the day Apple is in its soul a design company that makes hardware and this is a chemistry/materials science problem.

    1. kidmercury

      #truth

    2. fltron

      You do realize that shrinking chips improves battery life, right? It’s not crude, it is a difficult undertaking. They design chips to be more efficient. Again, not crude. (Though in your defence, they did improve chip efficiency by buying another company)It seems like you realize these things, but I don’t understand why you feel they’re negative. iPhones have far better battery life then their Android counterparts compared to size (Giant DROIDZ notwithstanding since they’re huge).

      1. ErikSchwartz

        LTE android phones have worse battery life than 3G iphones. 3G android phones have comparable or better batter life than iphones. I carry both a both a 3g iphone and a 3g android phone (moto) and the iphone is consistently dead before the android.By far the simplest way to double batter life on a phone is to double battery volume.

        1. fltron

          Yes, that is the simplest way to double battery life.Apple isn’t winning because it does things the easy way. If you need really great battery life there are awesome Android choices for you that are larger and heavier, but they have the battery volume.For most, iPhone’s battery life is perfectly good.

          1. ErikSchwartz

            You may not have noticed, but Apple is no longer winning.

          2. fltron

            I don’t mean to get into a dumb argument, but uhm… Apple is selling as many phones and iPads as is humanly possible to produce. That’s winning in my mind.Stock… winning.Profits…winning.Revenue… winning. (Okay, a few oil companies make more venue than Apple)Cash in reserves…winning.Apple developers…winning.Do you really think I care that Android sells more quantity? It is fine that you do, but you really should specify your narrowed view of what winning means.I’m not an Apple fanatic, I don’t think Apple will be leading forever, but by most measurements they are winning now.By one relatively irrelevant measurement, Android is winning. It would be a relative measurement if Android developers were making more money, and if browsing statistics showed Android users used their phones.But.. you know.. they don’t. As much.

    3. Techman

      Yes, I don’t see Apple inventing Wireless Charging right now. I’m not even sure if they would even go buy a company to do it, as right now they are clearly stating that they are not interested into it.

    4. Elia Freedman

      Apple leads with design but if they need to invent to make better design, they usually do. Besides with the GDP of 2/3 of the world’s countries sitting in its bank account, Apple can become an expert in pretty much anything really quickly.

      1. ErikSchwartz

        Becoming an expert is a culture thing, not a money thing. They could buy an organization to do whatever they want, but that won’t change their culture.

  28. louisgw

    As has been said Palm had wireless charging two years ago. I loved it with my Pre and still use it on the touchpad, in fact the touchpad has become a second screen mostly sitting on the desk running twitter. Wireless charging is wonderful, and is the primary thing I miss now with my Nexus. Yes you still need a cord occasionally if you are not at home or at your desk, but 90% of the time I was covered. It can’t get here soon enough for me.

  29. Michael Horowitz

    Check out WiTricity for a really interesting wireless charging technology (here is the CEO’s TEDtalk: http://www.ted.com/talks/er…Most wireless charging technologies are based off of magnetic induction (PowerMat, your wireless toothbrush, etc) – WiTricity uses magnetic resonance which allows for the the electricity to be “transmitted” over much longer distances and without perfect alignment of the coils. (Disclosure: I have a very tiny investment in the company).

    1. ShanaC

      Now that sounds very cool and much better for a bag situation. Just stick one is all the bags and let your phone be where it needs to be

  30. Michael Elling

    just bought the S3. Love has new meaning! But battery drain is huge due to a range of different things and how I greedily use it (especially when you turn off current Wifi powersave mode to improve continuous Wifi performance http://bit.ly/PeDvS1). Bought a backup battery for $39 that I take with me most places. Small, light. Maybe even easier than Everpurse; especially for us guys.

    1. Donna Brewington White

      I read somewhere that calendar syncing with Outlook is an issue with the S3. On S2 I do a workaround sync through google sync which I have to periodically reinstall — a bit of a pain. Do you have any issue with this?

  31. Matt A. Myers

    I imagine the want for a plug is for the data connection, not merely for charging; You don’t always need to be exporting/importing/backing up data though..

  32. baba12

    Wireless charging is not really wireless, it may extend the cord but it is not like a device can wireless charge from the electricity in the wires running anywhere. All the solutions out there allow for a device to charge without being connected to an outlet but the device they are laying on has to be connected to an outlet. I don’t see the convenience factor other than that it may look nicer than having a extra battery pack attached to your device. Until we have a solution that connects into a building wiring system that makes it possible to charge without plugging in any other thing it is just one of many solutions out there today. May get better press/marketing because Mr.Wilson endorses it but otherwise it is just a nice looking extension.

  33. Travis_D

    Fantastic. We explored this exact same idea as a research project back in 2008. Our paper (“PowerPACK: A Wireless Power Distribution System for Wearable Devices”) was published at the ” International Symposium on Wearable Computers”: http://www.travisdeyle.com/…The entire design is “open” so you can see how to build one yourself!

  34. Wavelengths

    I like it. It’s sleek and simple.Yes, I can charge my phone at night, and I can carry a charger with me. But this is an appealing design available in bright colors that make it easier to see and remember — not like plugging the charger in the wall at night, and then remembering to take it with you to recharge during the day. (How many times have you left your charger behind in the hotel room?)This woman appears to have found a need in her own life that was reflected by others around her, and she’s filling it. Maybe it’s more a girl thing than a guy thing, but, ahem, more power to her! πŸ˜‰

    1. ShanaC

      I hate it. it is big I already have one insert in my bag (makeup bag). I might get a pencil case (I carry around pencils to draw with). But a third for my phone?Maybe because I am an android user – I just buy spare batteries and stick them in an old altoids box. Which is the extent of size of stuff that I want to carry around. Especially when I pull my phone in and out of my bag all the time….

      1. Donna Brewington White

        I too was concerned about the size. I recognize that there is an unintended pun lurking here.

  35. andyidsinga

    i think battery tech and electronics that consume less will beat wireless charging ..that said the less power these devices consume the more effective wireless harvesting will be

    1. andyidsinga

      ..so I just watched the video – pretty nifty – nicely designed.Important to have a distinction between charging like this – and wireless energy harvesting (in my previous comment).This system from a power perspective is not unlike add-on battery packs – it probably has a battery in the little orange bag – which is then re-charged on the wired charging pad at home.

  36. Shyam Subramanyan

    Too many moving parts for this to work effectively. Have to remember to to put the purse on the charging pad. The battery pack in the bag should not fail over time. The connector in the bag should not break with repeated use. And of course don’t even think about switching your phone out for a different model. This is not innovation, but a “sharper image” solution to a first world problem.

    1. raycote

      QuestionIf you don’t take the small clutch purse out of the full size purse and just place the full size purse on the wireless charger is there still enough proximity for the charger to work properly?

  37. LE

    ” Apple thinks that wireless charging is not easier. I would beg to differ.”This means one of two things:a) Phil believes this at this time but as the saying goes “when the facts change I change my opinion” meaning Apple could change their mind and have nothing planned or in development.b) Typical Apple misinformation to throw competitors off the scent. They are planning to have this exact feature in a future model and don’t want to tip the competition.I don’t know of a single case where Apple has ever acknowledged something as being good (and not knocked it) when they couldn’t sell it. Doesn’t that make perfect sense also? Why legitimize it? At the very least they would never give people a reason to wait and not buy a released product. The secrecy.Here is an example, Jobs on phones and pda’s and while this is from 2003 I know I’ve seen examples of the same behavior by Jobs in proximity to when devices were actually released in which they had to be in development:http://www.macobserver.com/…There are no plans to make a tablet. It turns out people want keyboards. When Apple first started out, “People couldnit type. We realized: Death would eventually take care of this.” “We look at the tablet and we think itis going to fail.” Tablets appeal to rich guys with plenty of other PCs and devices already.

    1. ShanaC

      Well, by saying that they just did just spill the beans

  38. phil swenson

    Seems to me Apple wasn’t willing to make the compromises necessary to do wireless charging.They would still have to have a wired way to do it (car/plane/hotel, for big data transfer, accesseries). So the hardware for wired has to be crammed into the phone. Then they’d have to have room for wireless. Guessing the thing is crammed full, and any extra room they might have they’d rather use for battery anyway. Also, an aluminum back probably doesn’t work well with wireless charging.My guess is it’ll happen – some day.

  39. Jake Lewis

    From the video it is not apparent that the depicted iPhone has any wireless charging receiver – ie an inductor that is wired up to the phones power jack. Does it not require a phone jacket / sleeve? The sleeve itself would also benefit from having a passthrough connector otherwise using the phone in an audio dock, car dock etc would require removing the sleeve. Sleeve might thus be a bit bulky. Good idea otherwise though.

  40. Abhishek

    You are looking at this the wrong way. Yes wireless charging has been around for couple years and companies like Palm and now Nokia have launched devices with it.The reason Apple hasn’t done it has nothing to do with their belief in the technology. I am sure they believe in that as much as others. They may have even looked at it much before others.The question is, can this be implemented in the “perfect” way that it becomes simple and magical for everyone who uses the iPhone. I dont believe the current wireless charging solutions are there yet. Not at least by Apple standards. You can make that case for lack of NFC as well.If you dont buy my argument, just recall what they did with Copy/Paste. They made everyone wait and came out with a solution, which was far better than what anyone else had done before.

  41. ShanaC

    As we become more device centric, the desire for better wireless charging tech will go up in order to keep the wieght of stuff down. I look at that bag, and I ask myself “Do I need yet another heavy thing in my purse?” The more gadgets,the more problems the more need for universal wireless charging that works with all gadgets

    1. Wavelengths

      Yep. And if the wireless charging handles all the gadgets at one time, now we’re cooking with gas! Uh, er, … feeling metaphorically challenged.

  42. matthughes

    I think this idea is slick.Since I’m not a big “clutch” carrier, I need a pair of jeans where the pocket charges my iPhone.

    1. ErikSchwartz

      Washing those jeans might be a challenge.

      1. matthughes

        Jeans that don’t need to be washed is only the first of many unintended consequences of the new ‘pocket phone charging’ vertical. πŸ˜‰

        1. Carl Rahn Griffith

          “Is that an iPhone in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?” – not quite the same. Sorry, Mae! πŸ˜‰

        2. Wavelengths

          I’m out in West Texas. A lot of people around weren’t aware that jeans needed to be washed. Is that true?I had heard that if jeans stood up in the corner after you took them off that was a good thing.JLM, can you help me here?

    2. Wavelengths

      Has anyone paid attention to the ski jackets with wiring included for the iPod?

      1. matthughes

        Spyder made one a few years ago. Not sure if they still do?When I worked for The North Face, we had a jacket called the Met 5 that was battery powered. It was essentially an electric blanket disguised as a jacket.It was pricey and did not sell very well.Conceptually it was very cool but probably a bit ahead of its time.

  43. jason wright

    I have an idea.Design wireless charging phones so that they are able to draw power from each other. Place my nearly dead phone back-to-back with your fully powered up phone and let me buy some of your power. One could start a c2c power trading network.

  44. Donna Brewington White

    I love the ingenuity. But when I heard wireless charger I thought it was wireless in the sense of not needing to be connected to anything. This is sort of like my bluetooth hands-free that charges in the little carrying case that also carries a charge.Unless I’m traveling by plane, my car phone charger serves the same purpose as the everpurse. Different story for those on public transportation.If I had an iPhone (which I do not) this would be great for travel because the size would fit well in my carryon. I hope they will come up with a variety of sizes because the size shown is too large to fit in a medium size bag and too small to be a solo bag (purse).Alas I am on the verge of becoming a Samsung fangirl so this won’t really benefit me personally but I would get one for my daughter for her school backpack.But anything that represents innovation and forward motion benefits us all, whether we can personally use it or not. Capitalism FTW.

    1. Yaniv Tal

      when cars started appearing on the scene there weren’t gas stations anywhere either. now we couldn’t live without them. the vision is to have wireless charging stations everywhere: on your car dash, on your night stand, in restaurant tables, in the conference room. just lay your phone out like you usually do and it automatically charges. no need to think about it.

      1. Donna Brewington White

        That would be great. Think we’re close?

        1. Yaniv Tal

          not at all. tha’ts a 5-10 yearer, but i’m all for driving towards it!

  45. Richard

    manpurse? I dont think so. How about putting it my jean pocket.

  46. Michal

    All Webos (Palm) phones have wireless charging for at least 2 years.

    1. raycote

      Does wireless charging take longer?

  47. fltron

    This is kind of silly. I don’t know why people are overreacting to the comments on wireless charging. It is clearly possible to do (re: Kickstarter project) just not a game Apple wants to be in right now. Why? Because they usually wait until the technology is better.They’ve never been early adopters on new tech (Look at 3G, look at LTE).But to me this post reads “Wireless charging is possible on the iPhone, here’s kickstarter project to show it can work! But boo for Apple for not saying it’s the best thing ever, and instead saying it’s not something they want to do right now.’

  48. Luke Chamberlin

    OH: “I was going to call you but I forgot to charge my purse.”

  49. Techman

    Fred, you are right. Wireless charging is much better then wired charging, as long as you can charge a phone in the same amount of time as a normal wired charger.I would be able to walk around the room charging my phone while using it. That would be totally cool, but that time is long away from today’s time.

  50. OurielOhayon

    The premise of wireless charging is broken because you still have to charge the charger….so your mind still has to worry about charging something…it is just displaced…not there yet. the real solution is in HYPER FAST charging and way longer batteries

  51. Dave Pinsen

    Coincidentally, there’s another wireless charging startup with a female founder: Ubeam.

  52. Kirill Zubovsky

    Definitely a cool product and I hope she succeeds, but with that, I am skeptical. Wires are simple – you have one at work and you have one at home, just plug your phone whenever you’re at each location and it’s always charged in between.In the case of this charger, you still have to do all the charging exercises, except of doing it with your phone, you do it with the special purse and your phone. All it’s doing is replacing the work cord with a flexible charger. Seems rather unnecessary.All said, I am approaching this from a guy’s point of view. I don’t talk on my phone for more than 200 minutes a month, I use it mostly for email, internet and social network, and my phone’s always plugged in whenever I am at my computer. I am sure there’s plenty of people who’d like the wireless charging. Thanks for sharing!

  53. panterosa,

    This looks nice and is useful and I’ve already recommended to several people who I know will like it.But it still pisses me off what energy whores we are. Why are we not seeing solar power cases to charge phone? Or the self winding thru motion mechanism like in watches which was mentioned. Why are we still having multiple plug discussions? Why can’t we solve that too?

  54. pounds to pockets

    Well that is the best thing happened and these iPhone gadgets are cool an awesome . they are at top because they update them frequently.

  55. alphaG77

    True wireless charging wouldn’t require a power mat.

  56. mstearne

    You’re really carrying around an extra battery. I think the issue with the power boost, extra power phone case, etc. is that the user forgets to charge it. The idea here is that the charging is easier because it is wireless, you just put the purse on the charger, set it and forget it. The problem I see is that if you truly use the purse (put important other things in it) you’ll forget to leave it on the charger anyway. It you don’t use it as a legitimate purse you are just forgetting to charge a bigger battery. Also you’re asking people to prefer this purse design over Louis Vuitton’s or Hermes, etc. I just don’t think this is the real solution to the battery life problem.

  57. Techman

    I have to say that the Everpurse is a totally worth it KickStarter. Hope someone throws some cash in, as it is a really great idea. Sort of like how the ChargeCard works. The ChargeCard is not wireless, but is a super thin charger. I wrote about it a while back.http://techmansworld.blogsp

  58. andyidsinga

    put aokp on it yet?