Charging your devices without wires is the new gadget hotness. The idea of coming home after a tiring day of tweeting and dropped AT&T phone calls, and just tossing the phone on a charging pad seems like a dream come true. And Felix Unger types can easily see the appeal of less cable clutter. In theory wireless charging works great--if you’re willing to give up a few things.

The charging might be "wireless," but you'll still need to plug in the pad itself.

In order to use the WildCharger Pad, your iPhone or iPod touch needs a special case that connects to the docking port at the bottom of the device. On the back of the case are four metal nubs that receive current flowing from the pad (which needs to be plugged in to the wall). The WildCharger works exactly as it should--most of the time. During testing, our devices charged without problems, but moving the device on the pad forces it to reconnect, which made us paranoid that it hadn’t been charging before.

The real Achilles heel of the WildCharger Pad, however, is the requisite case. It’s an ugly black matte affair (pink is also available) with a large bulge at the bottom for the Dock connector. Because the port is covered (and in use), if you use any peripherals that utilize the connector, you’ll have to remove the case first. Also, the iPhone case isn’t a good fit for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The ports don’t line up properly on the newer phones, and the hard buttons for volume and sleep/wake are hard to use with the WildCharger cases. We do appreciate that the WildCharger Pad is compatible with a variety of charging adapters for other devices (though other iPod models are noticeably absent), but the price for those adapters is higher than what we’re willing to pay for wireless charging.

The WildCharger Pad does deliver power to your iPod touch and iPhones. Too bad it costs too much and the case is hideous.

WildCharger Pad
COMPANY: Pure Energy Solutions
CONTACT: www.wildcharge.com
PRICE: $79.99 for pad and iPhone case bundle.
REQUIREMENTS: iPhone, iPod touch, or other device with compatible charging adapter.
Wow factor of not using a cable to charge device.
Bulky ugly case, doesn't fit iPhone 3G and 3GS as well as iPhone. No adapters for other iPods. Pricey.