I’m not easily excited by gadgets-of-the-future, but this is potentially pretty cool – Intel is working on wireless recharging for mobile devices.

Imagine not having that ‘wall wart’ AC adapter/recharger for each of our laptops, cell phones, and PDAs – and imagine if a cross-platform standard was developed, such that you could buy a ‘recharging-enabled’ coffee table or desk pad that would recharge the battery of any compatible mobile device within range: in other words, just set your smart phone down on your desk (or work on your laptop) and they’re recharged! (of course the mobile device would have to announce its particular electrical requirements in terms of good old volts and amps, but that seems workable…)

Until the current smartphone boom we find ourselves in started up, the telcos and cell phone manufacturers had been struggling to find compelling reasons for you to re-up on a new phone – while better cameras, infrared data sharing, and music download partnerships all fell short, maybe 4-5 years out, *this* could the next big reason to upgrade… (that is, once we’re all bored with email, web browsing, and GPS)!