Starbucks to Install Wireless Smartphone Charging Mats Nationwide
As if people weren’t addicted enough to Starbucks already, the caffeine-shilling giant is now installing wireless smartphone charging stations to guarantee you never have to get real sleep ever again.
Provided by Duracell Powermat, the stations are set to roll out in Starbucks and Teavana locations on the west coast through 2014, then the major cities nationwide through 2015. According to The Verge, each store should receive about 10 mats which will be seamlessly installed into tables and countertops —in essence, forcing guests to put down their devices for the minute it takes for their names to be called. The horror.
It’s not all whipped cream and syrup though. Like similar charging mat technology, the Powermats will require additional hardware to make phones compatible with the stations, such as special cases or firewire charging rings. It’s unknown whether Starbucks plans to sell these rings in-store.
PicThx Starbucks
