eCoupled's wireless power solution is actually not so much "wireless" as it is "cord eliminating." The technology involves a single powered electrical pad—that does indeed need a cord—that can power other battery-powered devices that are placed on the pad, such as cell phones, digital music players, digital cameras, and even laptops. The mousepad-sized technology makes use of short-range induction, like that used in most electrical toothbrushes: you don't plug something in, you just place the toothbrush loosely into its holder and moving electrical fields (induction) take care of the rest.

The second wireless power technology demoed at CES is in fact "wireless" in most senses of the word. Powercast actually won CES's "Best of Show for Emerging Technology" award last week for its system for wirelessly operating low-power devices within a certain space (such as a home office). Use of the Powercast system involves a transmitter and a receiver chip embedded into the user's devices. The company emphasizes that the system is for smaller, less juice-sucking devices such as cell phones, PDAs, game controllers, and hearing aids, indicating that it might be something like a lower-powered, shorter-range version of MIT's wireless power model announced last November. The Powercast's transmitter broadcasts a certain radio frequency over a short distance (the company says about 3 feet, compared to MIT's 3 to 5 meters) and the receivers are programmed to sync up to that frequency and draw power from it.

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