Wireless Charging Might Be One Of The Features Of The Galaxy S4 [Report]

Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S IV smartphone may feature wireless charging this generation, according to reports.

Christmas is barely a recent memory, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill kicking into overdrive this January, and the unannounced Samsung Galaxy S IV is high on the list of devices that we are all talking about.

With the Galaxy S III possibly the most popular Android phone ever, it is understandable that the Android community is eagerly awaiting whatever Samsung has up its sleeve this year. After all, how do you best a device that caused many an iPhone user to switch to Google’s ecosystem? Well, one improvement may well be wireless charging.

According to at least one Korean blog, Samsung is set to bring wireless charging to its Galaxy S lineup for the first time. Rather than build the technology required right into the phone itself as Nokia has, Samsung is likely to take a similar approach to that of Palm, back in the days of the Pre. For those with short memories, that means we can expected to see a charging mat of some sort being sold separately to the phone itself, with a replacement rear Galaxy S IV panel bundled alongside it.

Interestingly, Samsung was apparently considering taking an altogether different route by plumping for the more advanced resonant magnetic coupling method of wireless charging. This is what Apple has been looking at already, and has been claiming patents on. According to SamMobile however, the costs involved were prohibitive for Samsung this time around. That’s a real shame, as resonant magnetic coupling does not require the phone to be in contact with the charging station in order for power to be transferred. If Samsung wants to rid itself of the ‘plastic toy’ stigma it harshly possesses, such a technology would certainly go a long way.

There has been no official word from Samsung regarding the next generation Galaxy S handset, but it’s a fairly safe bet that one is already in the works, with a release later this year almost guaranteed. We’ll just have to wait and see whether wireless charging is something that the handset can boast come announcement day. [RedmondPie]

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Charge Your iPhone with Fire [video]

Is there a camp stove more amazing than this? The BioLite CampStove and USB Charger can cook your meals and charge your gadgets with the renewable resource of sticks gathered from the forest floor. The BioLite uses rocket stove-ish technology to produce efficient heat with a combustion chamber and focused, insulated chimney. By burning just a handful of sticks, the BioLite CampStove can boil water and charge mobile devices without the need for conventional fuel or a connection to the grid. By using a transduction process, BioLite generates electricity from the heat as the fire burns. This is great for camping, but a wonderful tool for emergencies. If you lose power or access to cooking fuel, a handful of sticks can cook you a meal while charging your mobile phone.

Having tinkered with the rocket stove concept in our workshop, we admire what BioLite has accomplished here. Buying a BioLite CampStove helps fund BioLite’s other product, the HomeStove, which is a charitable system that allows people to cook meals safely and sustainably in the third world. Over half of the world cooks over open flames, and the resulting smoke causes an estimated 2,000,000 deaths per year. Both of these products, the HomeStove and the CampStove, could certainly do a lot of good for the world. We want one of each! CampStove is now in production and is available for pre-order @

http://biolitestove.com/

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circles on Google+ or Subscribe to me on facebook or YouTube. You can also check my website and blog to keep yourself updated with what is happening in the ever changing world of technology