New Intel Ultrabooks to spray HOT JUICE into mobes

Svelte laptops to sling charge - fresh rumour

Intel will build wireless charging into its svelte laptops, aka Ultrabooks, and smartphones by the middle of 2013, according to whisperings on Chinese rumour mill Digitimes

Using the chip giant's own in-house technology, the mobes' batteries are topped up over the air by the Ultrabooks. Apparently the phones can be held anywhere near the PC to benefit from the wireless charging.

The feature will only be available in a few devices, sources said. And given that users would have to buy both an enabled Ultrabook and a compatible smartphone, it may take a while to catch on.

The charging-through-the-air tech will be Intel-developed, but other manufacturers are tinkering around with wireless charging too and there are competing standards for the technology. Qualcomm and Samsung back the standards from the Alliance for Wireless Power, while many other companies including Nokia, Sony, HTC and Huawei back the Wireless Power Consortium. Intel is not listed as member by either.

Samsung included wireless charging in the latest spin of its flagship phone, the Galaxy S III, but several months after launch the replacement backplate required to allow charging hasn't been made availabe. ®