HTC, LG and Samsung Join Power Matters Alliance

AUSTIN, Texas and DALLAS, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Five months after AT&T, Google and Starbucks announced their support for the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), the momentum behind the PMA continues in full force.  HTC, LG and Samsung, global leaders in consumer electronics, have joined the PMA, marking a tenfold increase in membership in the past five months. These latest additions to the PMA roll call are indicative of the quality as well as the quantity of The PMA membership surge.

PMA is today the standard of choice for wireless charging in public places in The US.  Over 1,500 charging spots have been deployed across a growing number of Starbucks coffee shops, airports and at iconic places like Madison Square Garden and The Garden State Plaza Mall.  It was recently announced that Powerkiss, a European leader in wireless charging, is dropping the Qi standard in favor of PMA installations at their over 1,000 locations across European airports and train stations – soon to include McDonald's restaurants in Europe too.  

In recent months PMA has also enjoyed broad support on the device-side, with Blackberry, NEC, Texas Instruments, IDT, NXP, ZTE, Kyocera and accessory makers Incipio, Sketch and Otterbox all joining its ranks.  This trend is expected to continue and intensify, following AT&T's announcement that they plan to have PMA-wireless charging integrated into their smartphone portfolio by 2014:

"We want to welcome HTC, LG and Samsung to the PMA," said Jeff Howard, Vice President, Mobile Devices and Accessories at AT&T, and a PMA Board member.  "AT&T fully supports the concept of an industry standard for wireless power.  In an effort to move toward making this a reality for consumers worldwide and in direct support for the public ecosystem roll out led by Powermat, we have asked our device suppliers to integrate PMA-certified wireless charging solutions by 2014. In the meantime, we are working with them to deploy PMA-certified handsets and accessories as quickly as possible."

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T |DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

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About the Power Matters Alliance

The Power Matters Alliance (PMA) associated with a program of the IEEE Standards Association called Industry Connections is dedicated to creating an ecosystem and open standard for smart wireless power.

PMA was founded by Powermat Technologies and Procter & Gamble in 2012. Google's Vint Cerf – one of the fathers of the Internet – is its Honorary Chairman, and its board includes AT&T, Duracell, Starbucks and the US Government's Energy Star and Federal Communications Commission.  A wide array of PMA-compliant products are available at leading retailers, and compatible 'wireless charging spots' have been installed at leading airports, stadiums, restaurants, gyms and hair salons. 

Membership of the PMA is open to all, and its technical specifications are available to all members.  For more information and to join the PMA visit www.powermatters.org.

SOURCE Power Matters Alliance