I don’t like wires. They’re coarse and rough and irritating. And they get everywhere. Not like wireless. Wireless is soft and smooth. And it’s also a new charging option for your Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers. Wireless-power company Powercast is launching the Wireless Charging Grip that can recharge the Switch gamepads without having to ever plug in.
The new grip is launching on Amazon this spring. It doesn’t have a price yet, but you can buy Powercast’s PowerSpot charging transmitter now for $99. The grip will require the PowerSpot to get the benefits of wireless charging.
“Powercast has had an exceptionally exciting year partnering with our OEM customers to bring real wireless power solutions to the consumer market,” Powercast chief operating officer Charles Greene, Ph.D. said. “And we’ve had a blast developing our own wirelessly rechargeable consumer product as well.”
Wireless charging is not a new technology, but it is starting to make its way into more devices that people actually use. It works by sending a radio frequency that causes a receiver to spin fast enough to produce direct-current electricity. That then gets stored in a battery for later use. But the strength of the signal degrades quickly, so you still need to put the controller within two feet of the transmitter to get a charge.
This technology can potentially work at much greater distances, but that it isn’t viable for energy-intensive devices.
Powercast originally debuted the Wireless Charging Grip for Nintendo Switch back in December of 2018. The company intended to launch it before the 2019 holidays. But after a delay, it is not aiming for some time closer to Q2.
Author: Jeff Grubb
Source: Venturebeat
