What is the similarity between the Toyota Avalon, Jeep Cherokee, Toyota Prius, and the Ssangyong Chairman?
The Jeep Cherokee will offer a factory installed Qi wireless charging pad later this year. The optional feature -- located in the center console -- featuring technology developed by Leggett & Platt, is part of the optional Uconnect 8.4 package. To charge a Qi-compatible device, such as the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC Droid DNA, or Nokia Lumia 920, customers simply place it in the middle console to power up.
The Toyota Prius is available with a dealer-installed console tray that lets consumers charge any smartphone supporting the Qi standard by simply placing the phone on the charger. The dealer-installed charger uses jointly developed technology from PLDS and ConvenientPower that lets consumers charge any smartphone supporting the Qi standard by simply placing the phone on the charger.
The 2013 Toyota Avalon has an optional factory installed Qi wireless charging pad.
The Korean automaker Ssangyong announced that the WPC’s Qi technology will be in the interior console of its Chairman model and a key feature in all Ssangyong’s future vehicles.
"The Qi ecosystem now includes over 180 products and Qi is the only wireless power solution directly integrated into flagship smartphones and automobiles," said Stefan Graf , Director of Marketing & New Technologies of PLDS, a WPC member company. "As the number of Qi-enabled devices continues to grow, consumers want to be able to charge their phones wirelessly everywhere they go, especially in their automobile. Within the next year, we are going to see many more automobiles throughout the US, Asia Pacific, and Europe with really exciting Qi wireless charging capabilities."
Qi is backed by more than 130 leading companies of the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) like Blackberry, ConvenientPower, Energizer, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips Electronics, Samsung, Sony, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, and Verizon Wireless.
"Automobile integration is a critical aspect of a wireless charging ecosystem," said Michael Morgan of ABI Research. "Now that Qi is being offered as an out of the box feature on some of the newest smartphones, automobile companies see an expanding installed base of users and are very interested in leveraging that with increased Qi integration into their new car models. Qi has made some impressive gains in the automotive space this year."