Powers Combine As Powermat Acquires Helsinki's Powerkiss

    Powers are combining across the world. U.S.-based Powermat has acquired Helsinki-based Powerkiss, the provider of the somewhat wireless device powering solution. Powerkiss offers a pretty neat “ring” that connects magnetically to a paired ring on a table, giving your device some juice. The company has has been on a roll lately, announcing it will be providing its table-top powering solution to select McDonalds Europe locations.

    Powermat claims to have over 1,500 charging locations in the U.S., which you might have seen in airports, coffee shops, malls, and arenas. Meanwhile Powerkiss has about 1,000 charging locations in about the same locations, but in Europe. It’s become somewhat common to see Powerkiss around their native Helsinki today, although I think there’s still plenty of room to educate consumers what the circular disks you see on cafe tables actually do.

    “Our two companies have a remarkably similar vision for wireless power, and have labored in parallel to make it a reality. Along the way we made different and incompatible technological choices, and this is exactly the right time to resolve these. From now on we will operate as one company, one powerhouse deploying a common technology and supporting one single standard. We can’t wait to show the world what we can do about PowerKiss,” says Ran Poliakine, CEO of Powermat.

    As much as I wish this new company well, I can’t wait for advancements in battery technology that will allow smartphone and tablet users to live a little more stress-free. There will always be some demand for convenient juice, but hopefully five years from now we can laugh at how franticly we ran around looking for charging locations during the day.