The Connected – And Powered – Car
Judy Antell
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Staying connected in your car, wirelessly.
Cadillac and Starbucks may not seem to have much in common, but both are introducing wireless charging stations.
Starbucks already powers up its customers; the new embedded charging stations let you juice up your phone without carrying around a cord.
Less Distracted Driving
But the Cadillac charging is truly ingenious; you place your phone on a charging mat (a special phone case is required) behind the CUE (Cadillac User Experience) touchscreen, which also the prevents you from using your phone while driving and keeps your eyes on the road.
With CUE, you can easily connect your phone and use voice commands to answer calls or use apps. The wireless charging will be in all Cadillac ATS, CTS, Escalade, Silverado and Sierra models by the end of 2015, according to an article in the NY Times.
Chrysler and Toyota already offer wireless charging mats in some models, and more car companies are developing wireless charging mats in their cars.
Many of the charge systems for phones require special cases to use the wireless charging, while others will have wireless charging backs; as this technology grows, expect more phones to offer the built in wireless charge capability.
Of course, you can also expect a lot of misplaced phones as people leave them behind at Starbucks; at least if you forget your phone in your car, it will likely still be there later.