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I\u2019m a simple man. I understand certain things. How ambient Wi-Fi signals could be converted into enough energy to charge a BlackBerry is something I do NOT understand. However, RCA not only showed off the technology at CES but the device will apparently be available by the summer and it\u2019ll only cost $40.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n OhGizmo! tells us the following<\/a>:<\/p>\n The Airnergy Charger is amazing.<\/p>\n This little box has, inside it, some kind of circuitry that harvests WiFi energy out of the air and converts it into electricity. This has been done before, but the Airnergy is able to harvest electricity with a high enough efficiency to make it practically useful: on the CES floor, they were able to charge a BlackBerry from 30% to full in about 90 minutes, using nothing but ambient WiFi signals as a power source.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n So here\u2019s where things get convoluted. Instead of just writing it off as crazy vaporware, you can\u2019t help but consider the following:<\/p>\n 1. It\u2019s got a brand name that people have heard of and they\u2019ve put a date and a price on it already. Granted, RCA isn\u2019t so much of a company nowadays. It\u2019s more of a purchasable brand<\/a>, but you\u2019d hope they wouldn\u2019t license the name out to just anyone.<\/p>\n 2. The technology apparently exists (according to the nerds over on Slashdot<\/a>), yet it hasn\u2019t been powerful enough to generate the juice to charge anything worthwhile. In this instance, it charged a BlackBerry \u201cfrom 30% to full in about 90 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n If it does indeed work, imagine future applications of this technology. Your cell phone battery would eventually have it all built in and it\u2019d recharge itself all day \u2013 even at just a trickle \u2013 whenever you were within range of Wi-Fi signals. For many of us, that\u2019s most of the day.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t honestly say if it\u2019s bogus or not. Most of the sentiment from the commenters on the various blogs who have written about this thing has been more on the negative side. I contacted Mr. Wizard<\/a> for his take but, alas, he passed away in 2007.<\/p>\n Any geniuses out there care to weigh in?<\/p>\n RCA Airnergy Charger Harvests Electricity From WiFi Signals<\/a> [OhGizmo!]<\/p>\n\n