WiTricity Announces New Wireless Charging System Design for iPhone 5/5s
Jan 7, 2014 7:40 am PST by Eric Slivka
Wireless power firm WiTricity today announced the release of a reference design for its new wireless charging system aimed at the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s. Moving beyond existing induction power transfer technologies such as Powermat that require direct contact with a charging pad, WiTricity's system supports power transfer over short distances using magnetic resonance, allowing charging pads to be kept out of sight such as mounted on the bottom surface of a desk.


The WiTricity charging system for the iPhone 5/5s includes a wireless charging hub and a charging sleeve that fits an iPhone 5 or 5s. Similar to other protective covers, the WiTricity sleeve quickly slides onto an iPhone 5/5s and is powered when in proximity to the WiTricity charging hub. Capable of charging two phones concurrently, the charging hub can be placed on top of a table as an upright or flat charging pad, or mounted underneath a table or desk for charging through the surface. By mounting the charging pad under a surface, smartphone users are freed from the tangle of charging cords and cluttered desktops.


We first explored Apple's connection to WiTricity in July 2011 after it was reported that Apple was working on a "new way of charging" the iPhone, and while that way turned out to simply be the Lightning connector introduced in the iPhone 5, Apple does clearly have an interest in wireless charging and WiTricity's technology in particular.

Patent applications from Apple have outlined how the company could use something in line with WiTricity's technology to allow a computer such as an iMac to serve as a wireless charging hub, with accessories and other devices such as keyboard, mice, and iOS devices able to be charged simply by being in close proximity to the iMac. Shortly after the publication of a key Apple patent application on the concept, WiTricity even demoed how such a system would work.

WiTricity's system announced today is a reference design not meant for direct sale to consumers, but it will allow the company to partner with a variety of other firms such as device manufacturers, accessory companies, and furniture makers to explore implementation of the technology.

Here's some exciting news for Synology NAS server owners. The storage vendor announced at CES 2014 the latest version of its best-in-class Linux-based operating system for its NAS server, the beta of DiskStation Manager (DM) 5.0.

Since its inception, DiskStation Manager has been by far the most advanced operating system for NAS server and helped Synology NAS sever to win many of CNET's Editors' Choice awards, such as the Synology DiskStation DS1513+. The current version is 4.3.

Synology says DSM 5.0 brings a new, streamlined interface and some new and enhanced features. One area of improvement is ease-of-use, making the server more user-friendly for novice users.

For example the QuickConnect feature, which basically automatically configures the home router for the server's personal cloud features to work, is now part of the installation process, and as soon as a volume is created, it can be immediately accessed remotely via browser or via iOS, Android, and Windows Phone apps, from anywhere there's a connection to the Internet. There's no complicated router configuration involved.

Another example is the Package Center, which works somewhat like an App Store where a user can install new applications to add more features to the server, and now comes with optional automated updates. Application icons can also render application badges which augment icons with informative push notifications when activities have been completed, or when apps need special attention.
QuickConnect feature, CloudStation

Thanks to the improved QuickConnect feature, setting the DropBox-like CloudStation service is much easier for home users.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)

Other additional features for home users of DSM 5.0 include:

Hybrid Cloud Syncing, with Google Drive and Dropbox
Facebook and Google+ sharing of files and folders
YouTube uploading straight from PhotoStation
Customizable status widgets
4K capable interface with touch input, for next generation in-display technology

And for business users:

Scale out Storage Cluster enabling businesses to expand from terabytes to petabytes.
Central Management System with unified monitoring, remote administration, and policy-based configuration.
Robust data protection including snapshot manager.

Synology says the new DSM 5.0 will work with all NAS servers that currently runs version 4.3 and will be provided for free. The DSM 5.0 public beta will be rolling out over the next few weeks.