According to a report from Digitimes, Apple is looking into bringing wireless charging to the iPhone 5S as early as this year. Samsung and Apple are both reportedly exploring the option as a standard in their devices, following other companies such as LG, HTC, and Nokia which are all part of the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). The sources note that Samsung, which is expected to introduce their Galaxy S IV, will include the Qi wireless charging technology, operated by Wireless Power Consortium (WPC).

The Qi wireless technology works via electromagnetic induction, with WPC hoping that they can make this a standard across the market with all types of devices. Despite the technology making charging easier for users, the Samsung Galaxy S IV and perhaps even the iPhone may not build in the technology, forcing users to buy compatible back covers which will induct the charge. It still remains unclear as to whether Apple will even include the feature.

Samsung’s adoption of the Qi standards may drive the technology to become mainstream for smartphones, outperforming those promoted by the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and Power Matters Alliance (PMA).

It is quite possible that with advancements in technology progressing further each year, Apple would be able to build-in wireless charging into all of its devices in the next few years. Including the iPhone, iPad, iPod, and even the rumored iWatch. When looking at the progression of mobile devices as a whole, the smartphone industry was practically nonexistent 5-6 years ago. There is no reason why Apple or even Samsung shouldn’t be able to create the next big tech revolution.

The mobile research firm revealed that 320,000 smartphone and tablet users in six countries participated in the poll. In the U.S Motorola Atrix HD came in at first followed by Motorola Droid Razr, HTC Rezound 4G, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and then iPhone 5.

Sarah Quinn, marketing manager for OnDevice Research commented on the report and said, “although Apple created one of the most revolutionary devices of the past decade, other manufactures have caught up, with some Android powered devices now commanding higher levels of user satisfaction,”.

In the UK Apple comparatively did better where HTC One X came first, iPhone 5 second followed by Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini and Samsung Galaxy S3.

Perhaps the most interesting result of the poll was that among the rankings for overall mobile device satisfaction Apple came in first followed by Google, Motorola, HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and then Samsung. The survey reached out to mobile users in the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Japan, and Indonesia and was conducted via the mobile Web.

The report does give an interesting perspective of users satisfaction however, it’s unclear how a device can rank low while the company selling the device rank higher in overall satisfaction.

{via CNET}

Speculation as to whether Google would launch a follow up to its semi-popular Nexus One Handset has been rife for quite some time, but we can finally put it all to bed. A combination of some snooping by the team over at Engadget and Google CEO showing off a mystery handset at the Web 2.0 Summit last week seems to prove the existence of the next Nexus handset, expected to be called the Nexus S.

So what do we know about it? Not all that much other than a few photos. We know it’s made by Samsung and is part of the Galaxy line, hence the ‘S’ designation and will sport Android 2.3 Gingerbread. We also know it will incorporate NFC, or Near Field Communication Technology. Imagine BlueTooth but with a shorter radius. The hope is that, in due course, NFC will usher in a new way of paying for goods, replacing the traditional card system we all use today. The thought of waving your phone at a terminal to pay for your shopping is an intriguing one, and if Google has its way it may not be as far away as first thought.

More info is popping up all the time, but the Nexus S is shaping up to be a very interesting piece of kit!

Google Nexus S

Google's CEO shows off Nexus S