charge

Wireless networks and Bluetooth keyboards can free people from some cable clutter, but Fujitsu believes new research could help whisk away some power cords, too.

Fujitsu said Monday that it's overcome design hurdles for a mechanism for wireless charging of electronic devices and that it plans to use the technology in products to be sold in 2012.

The general idea, which Intel, MIT, and other organizations have been researching for years, offers the prospect of a laptop or phone that charges when you set it on a desk or table, potentially getting rid of some cables and making travel easier. Fujitsu has bigger ideas in mind, too: transmitting power within a computer chassis and charging electric cars, for example. … Read more

Electric vehicle charging stations will connect three cities in Tennessee, in a project that backers says bridges the 100-mile limit of electric cars.

The Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday is hosting a one-day conference to unveil a "blueprint" for the charging infrastructure needed to support electric transportation for consumers.

Tennessee is one of seven regions in the U.S. participating in the EV project, which is managed by electric vehicle charge company Ecotality. The $230 million project, partially funded with $114.8 million in Department of Energy grants, intends to bring 15,000 Internet-connected charging stations to 16 … Read more

Coulomb Technologies unveiled its latest electric-vehicle charging station on Thursday morning in Detroit.

The Motor City is the first locale in Michigan to get a charging station for public use as part of ChargePoint America, a $37 million program to install public and residential stations throughout the U.S. to encourage adoption of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.

ChargePoint is funded in part by U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Automakers Ford Motor, General Motors, and Smart USA are also partners on the project. The automakers have a vested interest in making … Read more

This summer's concert season has been brutal for the music industry, with cancellations and discounting galore. Blame the economy, blame the lack of marketable big-name artists on tour, but whatever the reason, concert ticketing giant Ticketmaster (which is owned by concert promoter and venue owner Live Nation) is responding.

In the inaugural post of Ticketology, the new Ticketmaster blog, the company has announced the end of a longstanding annoyance: service charges that get tacked on to the ticket price late in the buying process. Now, when you select a ticket on Ticketmaster's Web site, service fees are included … Read more

We've seen some good portable iPod/iPhone audio systems in our time, but Eton's Soulra is one of the more intriguing products we've come across in this category.

The unit has a rubberized aluminum body that the company says is splash-proof, and the speakers are sealed on the inside to provide "protection from sand, water, and other outdoor elements" (according to the company's press materials). On top of that, the $199 Soulra incorporates not only a rechargeable lithium ion battery but a "high-efficiency" solar panel that allows you to trickle-charge the unit … Read more

The San Francisco Bay Area is set to receive $5 million to install charging stations for electric vehicles throughout the area, the Department of Energy announced Wednesday.

The $5 million will cover the installation of 50 fast-charging EV stations along highways, 2,000 public stations for public parking lots and participating company-owned parking lots, and 3,000 residential charging stations.

Approval for the funds came through last week from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, a panel that oversees air quality concerns for the nine counties that make up the Bay Area. The funds will be … Read more

A "hands free" electric-vehicle charging station from Evatran powers nearby vehicles wirelessly, eliminating the need to remember to recharge at the end of the day--or dirty your hands.

The Plugless Power charging station, introduced this week at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, Calif., uses electromagnetic induction to deliver power to an electric vehicle's battery within its proximity. The station consists of a model-specific vehicle adapter that's mounted onto the car and a charging station with a floor-mounted magnetic charging block close to where the driver parks.

The wireless charging station is about 10 percent … Read more

Ecotality unveiled Tuesday what will be one of the first commercially available charging stations specifically designed for electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles.

The Ecotality Blink line of charging stations, which will initially be implemented as part of the national EV Project, consists of a free-standing commercial model and a wall-mountable home model both made to work via a 240-volt AC input.

The Blink Level 2 wall mount charger for the home can be installed in a garage or outdoors in a carport. Ecotality estimates its station will take between two to six hours to fully recharge a vehicle battery.

Ecotality has released information in an attempt to answer the inevitable questions sure to be posed by the average consumer as EV charging station technology is introduced to the general public:

The Blink station is compliant with the national electric code requirements, and the plug part that goes into your car, which is the J1772 standard electric car plug agreed upon by the Society of Automotive Engineers, is "safe in wet or dry use."

The plug and cable can also "withstand being driven over by a vehicle."

The length of the electric cable is about 18 feet long, and the charging station includes a holder for that long cable.

The EV charging station integrates with an EV's drive system, so drivers can't accidentally put the car in drive and attempt to drive away while their car is still plugged in.

The Blink comes with a touch-screen display for operating it.

The machine has a built-in smart metering system to monitor usage.

In addition to introducing America to the basics of a an EV charging station, Ecotality announced Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Qualcomm to implement its technology into Blink stations so that the stations can communicate over cellular networks. The Qualcomm tech will allow the charging stations to use cell networks to transfer usage data, as well as perform firmware updates. But the Blink stations, according to Ecotality specs, will also have the capability to use LAN, wireless IEEE 802.11g, or ZigBee to communicate.

The Blink home station will be able to communicate directly with utilities, and take direction from the user via a Web application or smartphone that will also allow the user to regulate when the charger kicks on. The station itself can also be timed for personal convenience, or to automatically work in sync with off-peak electricity times and rates.… Read more

Coulomb Technologies installed its first public electric charging station in New York on Wednesday. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended the unveiling of the ChargePoint charging station, which is located in a public parking lot near Port Authority.

It's the first installation of Coulomb Technologies' $37 million project, funded in part by a $15 million grant administered by the Department of Energy, the Associated Press reported. The company will install thousands of public charging stations in nine U.S. regions: Austin, Texas; Detroit; Los Angeles; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Sacramento, Calif.; the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area; Redmond, … Read more