Thorsten Heins relinquished control of BlackBerry to John Chen just over a year ago. We haven't heard much from Heins since - that is, until now. The former BlackBerry boss was recently named CEO and Chairman of the board of Powermat Technologies.
In a statement on the matter, Heins said Powermat's technology is on the cusp of mainstream adoption. He added that it is built directly into devices as well as cars and the list of public venues that have adopted Powermat is growing steadily.
In the same way that wireless communications untethered people and allowed them to do more on their own terms, Heins said, wireless power has the potential to free people from the power cords that limit the freedom of mobile technology.
For those not up to speed, the Israeli-based company was founded in 2006 and specializes in - you guessed it - wireless charging technology. Specifically, they sell wireless charging mats for specially-equipped smartphones that, as Heins correctly noted, are already finding their way into a number of restaurants and cafes including Starbucks as well as vehicles from GM.
It's still early days for wireless charging technology as no real leader has emerged in the market. Powermat's largest competitor in the field is Qi, a standard created by the Wireless Power Consortium and backed by more than 200 companies including Asus, Huawei, LG, Microsoft, Nokia and Samsung, just to name a few.