Wi-Fi, WiDi, WiGig, and best of all, wireless charging

Wi-Fi will no longer be the only way we think of what's wireless in future.

Intel is doing work on WiDi - wireless displays, and WiGig - high-speed wireless communications with docking stations. With WiDi, a device can work wirelessly with a compatible screen, and communications are two-way. WiDi enabled PCs have a CAGR of 65% from 2010 to 2014, and there will be more than 100 million units of WiDi ready PCs by end-year, said Intel.

Source: Intel.

WiGig, or wireless Gigabit, will allow high-speed connections for docking up to two monitors, and will debut in 1H'15, added Leighton Philips, Director, Product Marketing and Pricing, Asia Pacific and Japan, Intel at a Computex Taipei update in Singapore recently.

Even more exciting is wireless charging - wireless charger mats could be fixed to furniture so that placing a compatible device on top of a table surface, for example, would charge the device. Ideally, wireless charging technology will allow devices to charge at the same speed as wired charging while charging multiple devices simultaneously, said Phillips.

Intel is supporting the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) standard, which leverages Rezence technology to turn almost any surface into a wireless charging surface capable of powering any Rezence-enabled mobile device. This includes retail environments, airports, automobiles, and home and office furniture, notes the A4WP website. A4WP has over 100 members, and announced a specification on June 4 for multi-device wireless charging of up to 50 watts, allowing laptops, tablets, and other consumer electronics to be charged.  A certification programme is expected by the end of 2014.

"By the end of the year, a phone will have a wireless charging coil built into the phone cover," said Phillips, predicting that the device chassis itself will contain the charging coil after that. "The wireless charging mat doesn't even have to be physically touching (the device)."

The implications for supporting wireless charging are enormous, Phillips pointed out. Just as users seek out businesses which offer Wi-Fi services, they could make it a priority to go to a place that offers wireless charging services in future.  From Q3 this year, Intel is starting the discussion about offering the service with airports, cafes and other businesses in the Asia Pacific region, he said. The conversation has already begun for the US and the UK.