LG unveils wireless charging mat for green energy

LG has launched a wireless charging solution, aimed at cutting down energy used to charge a phone.

The LG Wireless Charging Pad is similar to Powermat's wireless charging device, but is only compatible with LG phones.

However, you won't have to add an ugly case to your LG device because LG will be fitting its devices with inductive coils into the battery doors of selected devices.

However, instead of using energy consumption as a reason to introduce this accessory to the market, LG says it "allows for a cord-free power source – alleviating the need for external connections that limit the phones usability."

Presumably it means you can use ports including the USB port while charging.

When you put your phone onto the charging pad, a noise will sound along with a vibration to tell you it's charging.

A blue light tells you the device is plugged into the mains, an orange light tells you it's ready charge, while a flashing green light means the phone is charging. When the green light becomes solid, your phone is fully charged.

Inductive charging uses an electromagnetic field to pass energy between two objects, in this case, the LG phone and the mat. The mat sends energy using inductive coupling to the phone which makes the phone store energy in its batteries.

A coil in the phone and in the mat work together to form an electrical transformer.

Although induction charging means you can charge your device without plugging it into the mains, it does have some disadvantages. For example, the charging process will take much longer compared to charging a device plugged into the mains.

Although only US availability has been announced at the moment, we expect it to come to the UK later on in the year, priced around £50.