Wireless charging seems to have become a fashion trend in the world of smartphones. Important companies such as HTC, Microsoft, Nokia and Google have all jumped aboard of this bandwagon. Strangely enough, Apple chose to stay away from it, balking at the opportunity to add the technology or for that matter even NFC to its recently released iPhone 5. However, new information discovered by AppleInsider now seems to suggest Apple does not intent to be left behind. More than that, it is apparently researching a more elegant technique to adopt for wireless charging, one that does not include a charging station.

Apple’s solution involves the use of a “near-field magnetic resonance”. The patent describes a “virtual charging area” that’s about a meter wide. The technology can suck off the power out of any electricity source within a certain radius. The inventor describes the idea as being “realistic and practical approach to wireless transferring.”

The recharger system of the device will seemingly work using the same technology as that used when a third party device communicates with a mouse or a keyboard. So far, we don’t have any clear information of whether the technology is destined for the iPhone or the iPad or maybe for both, but details will soon surface.

Cupertino filled the patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office back in November of 2010. The date could make it possible for the technology to be developed and be ready to go in time for the release of the next generation iPhone. The patent is called” Wireless Power Utilization in Local Computing Environment”.

Source: AppleInsider

I always wondered when this would start to become more the norm. The next great thing of course will be to eliminate power cords altogether. Imagine how cool that would be! The only issue I see is hat happens when the charger is in range and then suddenly gets out of range or whatever? Will that drive the battery crazy? Charging....no wait.....charging again....oops, not quite.....charging, etc, etc.