RCA Airnergy = Wireless Electricity to Charge Gadgets

As a business owner, Kathryn and I are constantly on the road going from meetings, to job site and to manufacturers. A big part of our day involves us spending time on our smart phones (iPhone for Katy, BlackBerry for Bill). The biggest problem we run into is when our phone batteries die during the middle of the day. There are currently some portable charging devices which will recharge our phones however we have to remember to change the batteries after every use which is kind of a pain. Not to mention, the idea of a AA battery sitting in the landfill every time we need a quick charge bothers me quite a bit.

Soon, our problems will be over once this new wireless charging device is released from RCA. Known as the RCA Airnergy, this ~$40 device will use the energy in Wifi signals that are bouncing all over the city and your home to charge the internal battery in this device. Once the internal battery is charged, you can plug the end of the cable into your phone or other portable device to charge it. They are also working on a built-in OEM battery that can be placed directly in your phone that will recharge while the phone sits idle in a Wifi zone (e.g. your house or the coffee shop).

Though it frightens me a bit to think that there is enough energy in a Wifi signal to charge a battery, this is a pretty cool technology that we should keep an eye on.

Here is a great video from OhGizmo! that explains how it works: