March 3, 2015
Will IKEA’s new furniture be a mobile game changer?
Always worried about the battery in your mobile phone or tablet dying out? That may soon be a concern of the past with the announcement that IKEA is launching a new line of tables, lamps and desks that will wirelessly charge your wireless devices.
The new "Home Smart" line, which will launch in Europe and North America in April, makes use of the Qi standard for wireless charging from the Wireless Power Consortium, a group of companies that includes IKEA, HTC, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and others. Apple is a noticeable holdout among mobile device manufacturers.
"Our belief is that mobile phones are vital parts to people’s lives at home and their desire to stay connected, and Qi addresses an unmet need to keep devices powered," said Bjorn Block, range manager for lighting and wireless charging, at IKEA, said in a statement.
Today there are 80 Qi-enabled smartphones on the market and wireless charging stations are available in 3,000 locations, including airports, hotels, restaurants and other locations around the world.
"This is [a] very early time in the furniture business to blend wireless technology," Jeff Kagan, a technology industry analyst, told AFP. "I expect every other furniture maker to jump on this same bandwagon."
Last year, Starbucks began adding Duracell Powermat technology to its stores to allow customers to charge their wireless devices. The equipment complies with open standards supported by AT&T, Blackberry, HTC, Huawei, LG, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, TI and ZTE.
- New IKEA Collection Blends Style with Qi Wireless Charging Functionality – IKEA/PRNewswire
- Ikea turns furniture into wireless phone chargers – AFP/Yahoo News
- Alliance for Wireless Power and Power Matters Alliance Agree to Merge – Powermat
- Starbucks customers get charged up over new service – RetailWire
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Will IKEA be successful with its Home Smart line of furniture? Will other furniture manufacturers for home and office rush to offer mobile charging technology, as well?
Poll
Yes. This adaptive furniture will definitely cater to the “new” consumer needs and attract a great deal of attention. Great innovation, and I believe others will follow IKEA’s charge.
Mobile charging is an excellent fit for IKEA’s customer and I predict that as long as it works reasonably well, the Home Smart line will be successful. Other manufacturers will certainly follow.
It’s always difficult to be the pioneer. But this seems like a pretty good bet given the number of phones that already use Qi charging.
IKEA’s brand is synonymous with modern and sleek, as well as affordable. Their furniture especially appeals to the younger demographic who would be rapidly upgrading their mobile devices to Qi.
At the end of the day, IKEA will be successful if they can demonstrate the value proposition of the Qi furniture to the consumer. People need to know why “X” marks the spot—and what it is for.
This is cool. I want this.
After IKEA, office furniture manufacturers will lead the way. How many of us would answer no to the question “Would you like to put your phone on your desk and pick it up fully charges?”
The lower-end home furniture manufacturers will follow IKEA. Those who focus on function rather than style. It is an inexpensive add-on that provides value way beyond its cost.
The integration of technology in both home and office beyond the computer is coming at lightning speed. One only has to explore the Samsung Village in Korea to see what will be.
Without Apple no mobile charging technology will be totally successful. I’m curious why Apple is holding out. Charging without the hassle of cords seems like a logical step in a consumer-friendly world.
Although wireless charging isn’t something new, the fact that mass manufacturers like IKEA are embracing this technology will definitely help it penetrate further.
I hope this is just the start. Intel recently released a plan to eliminate all wires from your desktop. It would be really nice to see these technologies be combined into furniture.
Smart move by IKEA, but soon this will be a standard for hip furniture. The placemat chargers will be the cheaper, use-anywhere version. The cheap knock-off placemats or furniture will end up starting fires or causing some old BrainTrust writer’s pacemaker to skip beats or fail, and then the lawsuits will start.
Also, if you have a party and own this furniture your tables will have no room for drinks—they will be piled with mobile units getting recharged.
The world gone mobile mad—fortunately, I am still stable.
IKEA will be successful with its Home Smart line of furniture. Built-in charging stations will be the norm for mid-range furniture. Other manufacturers will incorporate within the next few years. This will not be for every type of furniture as an electrical cord is required to get the electricity from the wall outlet to the charging station. The other big issue is Apple. iPads and iPhones do not work with the accepted industry standard.
My guess is that Apple has a product to compete with this in its own pipeline, which is why they aren’t involved. It’ll become common, undoubtedly, but we’ll still have to make sure there are no kinks tied to fire hazards or from scientific wannabes declaring this is going to give us all cancer and is the work of the devil.
Yes, this will happen because someone sees it as the next step to total laziness. What is the big deal here? How difficult is it to plug a device into a charger?
What a great idea.
Think about the market—older airports, colleges, restaurants, upscale retail. Many furniture manufacturers will get into the game because there are huge profits to be made. Kudos to IKEA for a first-mover advantage.
Yes, I think they will be successful and other manufacturers will start producing “smart furniture,” compatible with smart technology. Let’s get rid of cords.
On the surface it seems like a great idea. But below the surface questions arise—why is Apple holding out, how safe is the technology, how reliable will it be, how long for a full charge?
Fodder for the press for now.
Yes, I read about and tweeted this yesterday. Though Starbucks has stepped in by offering the charging surfaces, IKEA is smart to jump into the direct-to-customer business.
Will it be a game changer? If technology and especially batteries continue to evolve, will the tables and other furniture become obsolete too quickly? I’m thinking not and especially at the IKEA price points.
So, kudos and my 2 cents go to IKEA!
Forward thinking move by IKEA to join the WPC and make the commitment to design attractive furnishings that give consumers the ability to use Qi wireless charging in their homes. This creates a broader connection with the public places that Qi is already available in and I like the continuity of effortless wireless coverage created. Always on means always charged.
As we all grow more interdependent on technology, accessible charging is a huge concern and IKEA’s solution is terrific.
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Yes. This adaptive furniture will definitely cater to the “new” consumer needs and attract a great deal of attention. Great innovation, and I believe others will follow IKEA’s charge.
Mobile charging is an excellent fit for IKEA’s customer and I predict that as long as it works reasonably well, the Home Smart line will be successful. Other manufacturers will certainly follow.
It’s always difficult to be the pioneer. But this seems like a pretty good bet given the number of phones that already use Qi charging.
IKEA’s brand is synonymous with modern and sleek, as well as affordable. Their furniture especially appeals to the younger demographic who would be rapidly upgrading their mobile devices to Qi.
At the end of the day, IKEA will be successful if they can demonstrate the value proposition of the Qi furniture to the consumer. People need to know why “X” marks the spot—and what it is for.
This is cool. I want this.
After IKEA, office furniture manufacturers will lead the way. How many of us would answer no to the question “Would you like to put your phone on your desk and pick it up fully charges?”
The lower-end home furniture manufacturers will follow IKEA. Those who focus on function rather than style. It is an inexpensive add-on that provides value way beyond its cost.
The integration of technology in both home and office beyond the computer is coming at lightning speed. One only has to explore the Samsung Village in Korea to see what will be.
Without Apple no mobile charging technology will be totally successful. I’m curious why Apple is holding out. Charging without the hassle of cords seems like a logical step in a consumer-friendly world.
Although wireless charging isn’t something new, the fact that mass manufacturers like IKEA are embracing this technology will definitely help it penetrate further.
I hope this is just the start. Intel recently released a plan to eliminate all wires from your desktop. It would be really nice to see these technologies be combined into furniture.
Smart move by IKEA, but soon this will be a standard for hip furniture. The placemat chargers will be the cheaper, use-anywhere version. The cheap knock-off placemats or furniture will end up starting fires or causing some old BrainTrust writer’s pacemaker to skip beats or fail, and then the lawsuits will start.
Also, if you have a party and own this furniture your tables will have no room for drinks—they will be piled with mobile units getting recharged.
The world gone mobile mad—fortunately, I am still stable.
IKEA will be successful with its Home Smart line of furniture. Built-in charging stations will be the norm for mid-range furniture. Other manufacturers will incorporate within the next few years. This will not be for every type of furniture as an electrical cord is required to get the electricity from the wall outlet to the charging station. The other big issue is Apple. iPads and iPhones do not work with the accepted industry standard.
My guess is that Apple has a product to compete with this in its own pipeline, which is why they aren’t involved. It’ll become common, undoubtedly, but we’ll still have to make sure there are no kinks tied to fire hazards or from scientific wannabes declaring this is going to give us all cancer and is the work of the devil.
Yes, this will happen because someone sees it as the next step to total laziness. What is the big deal here? How difficult is it to plug a device into a charger?
What a great idea.
Think about the market—older airports, colleges, restaurants, upscale retail. Many furniture manufacturers will get into the game because there are huge profits to be made. Kudos to IKEA for a first-mover advantage.
Yes, I think they will be successful and other manufacturers will start producing “smart furniture,” compatible with smart technology. Let’s get rid of cords.
On the surface it seems like a great idea. But below the surface questions arise—why is Apple holding out, how safe is the technology, how reliable will it be, how long for a full charge?
Fodder for the press for now.
Yes, I read about and tweeted this yesterday. Though Starbucks has stepped in by offering the charging surfaces, IKEA is smart to jump into the direct-to-customer business.
Will it be a game changer? If technology and especially batteries continue to evolve, will the tables and other furniture become obsolete too quickly? I’m thinking not and especially at the IKEA price points.
So, kudos and my 2 cents go to IKEA!
Forward thinking move by IKEA to join the WPC and make the commitment to design attractive furnishings that give consumers the ability to use Qi wireless charging in their homes. This creates a broader connection with the public places that Qi is already available in and I like the continuity of effortless wireless coverage created. Always on means always charged.
As we all grow more interdependent on technology, accessible charging is a huge concern and IKEA’s solution is terrific.