First Hands-On: Powermat Portable 2X Induction Charger

Powermat already makes a portable, tri-fold version of their induction charger. But it’s only a bit portable, as you have to plug the thing in. Their latest Powermat is loaded with a lithium-ion battery so you can charge anywhere.

Announced back at CES, it’s admittedly silly.

Because while I understand the basic Powermat premise – recharge many devices without needing to fiddle with plugs and cords – I don’t know when I’d be in a situation where, not only would I bring my Powermat, but I’d be unable to also plug it in… maybe camping or something.

Still, the device, while as bulky as a stack of smartphones, manages to be quite light (adding what I’m sure would be unnoticed weight to your bag). It unfolds to recharge two devices, though I don’t believe it can recharge, say, and iPhone more than once with some change. LEDs monitor battery levels on the Powermat’s edge.

I guess my point is this: unless you are really in love with mat-based charging, portable batteries by companies like Duracell seem a lot more versatile and hardly as expensive. And if I were to invest into the Powermat platform, their updated versions coming later in 2010 are super thin and no more cumbersome than a coaster.

If my memory serves me, the Powermat Portable 2X will run $US90 in Q4 of this year. But to be frank, we talked about a lot of different Powermats over the course of about five minutes and that info could apply to their upcoming Powermat 3X (non-portable) model.