What the New Line of IKEA Furniture Has to Do With Your Cell Phone
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| It’s no secret that people these days have a penchant for their devices, so much so that pretty much everyone has experienced the frustration and anxiety of needing to charge one without having a charger handy. A new line of furniture from IKEA should help put an end to this problem.
IKEA has just launched a line of furniture that can actually charge devices like cell phones wirelessly. According to Architectural Digest, the line includes couches, tables, and lamps, which are equipped with wireless charging technology called Qi. The new line falls in with a trend that industry experts expect will take off this year. “This is probably the year of the wireless charger,” said Kevin Curran, a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in an interview with Science Times. “A lot of the top-end phones now by default are coming with a wireless charger. You just have to put the phone onto a mat or onto a stand.” Generally, personal taste and comfort are the two biggest factors that play a role in peoples’ decorating and furnishing decisions, but a couch that will charge a cell phone is definitely a game changer. “We find that customers are more interested in quality and finished then the ability to possible charge a phone,” said Mike McCort, owner of Amish Mike, an outdoor furniture retailer. “Most of the furniture made at the big box store brands are made of a particle board material with a smooth finish making the furniture appear to be solid. While most of this furniture is display nicely on the floor, once you open the box you can clearly see its not solid wood. All our furniture is made of a solid wood like pine,maple, oak or cherry. You might need that phone charged to call us to replace that piece of furniture that offers a phone charge but no quality!” Between the years 2009 and 2014, the wooden furniture industry grew by about 10%, which speaks to the fact that Americans do also have a preference for handcrafted wooden furniture; however, there’s no denying that any piece of furniture that can charge a phone is going to have an edge. The average person spends about 90% of their time indoors, but that doesn’t mean that people like being tethered to an electrical outlet. For people who don’t want to replace their furniture, IKEA is also offering wireless charging pads, which are a little more convenient — and with the right placement can convert any piece of furniture into a charger. |
