The Perfect Charger (Almost)

(As a bonus, the BlackBerry skin leaves the phone’s traditional charging jack — the little USB jack on the side — unobstructed. The BlackBerry happens to have a second set of charging contacts, intended for charging docks, on the back panel. They connect to the WildCharge skin.)

For the Motorola Razr phone, the retrofit is much sleeker: you get a replacement back panel (battery cover) for the phone. This approach adds no bulk to the phone in your pocket, although there’s a two-inch rubber arm that snakes down to the phone’s charging jack. You have to yank it out when you want to plug anything else in there. (Be sure you order the correct panel for your phone. There are more than a dozen Razr models, but WildCharge panels are available only for the V3, V3c, V3e and V3m.)

And that, at the moment, is it. Those are the only three WildCharge-compatible gadgets: BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Curve and Motorola Razr.

The company says that it will offer iPod and iPhone adapters later this year; photos and descriptions indicate that these, too, will take the form of silicone skins. Their bottom edges plug into the recharging jack at the bottom of the iPod or iPhone. WildCharge is also working on a universal cellphone adapter, where you’ll simply attach the correct charging-jack tip for your phone model.

WildCharge hopes to license and spread its technology. For example, Griffin International is working on WildCharge-compatible replacement back panels for Wii and Xbox remotes. Just store your remotes on the mat when you’re not playing, and they’ll always be charged and ready.

Unfortunately, neither adapter solution is ideal. The silicone skin approach does provide protection, but it also adds bulk. It also hides your gizmo’s good looks — the iPhone’s shiny curves, for example — inside what amounts to an ugly rubber wetsuit.

There’s a downside to the back-panel approach, too. It sacrifices some sleekness for the glory of wireless charging. The back panel now bulges slightly to accommodate the electronics, and its smooth, comfortable surface is now interrupted by the stubble of those contacts.

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You should note, too, that the mat takes longer to recharge your gadget than the original power cord. The company won’t say exactly how much slower, noting only that it’s equivalent to trickle-charging from a computer’s USB jack rather than a power cord. In theory, you won’t care, since you’ll get into the habit of topping off the charge every time you sit down — and if you typically recharge overnight, you won’t notice any difference.

So yes, the WildCharge is magical technology. But if you had any additional wishes, you might wish for one that didn’t require so much modification of your electronics. You might wish for compatibility with more gadgets — like laptops, which WildCharge says it’s working on. You might wish, as the company’s executives do, for a day when WildCharge mats are built into desks, countertops, coffee shop tables and hotel room bureaus. (There’s no size limitation to the mat size. The company says that it could be as small as a deck of cards, or it could cover an entire tabletop.)

Maybe the WildCharge mat will indeed catch on like wildfire. Today, though, it’s exclusively for BlackBerry and Razr owners. It brings supreme recharging convenience — at a price.

David Pogue is a columnist for the New York Times and contributor to CNBC. He can be emailed at: .

Copyright © 2009 The New York Times

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