Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) has made some new alliances that promise to offer a great new innovation in mobile charging for smartphones. The company has announced two major partnership deals which will allow it to offer customers the ability to charge wirelessly, while in public places.
The first deal of note was struck between Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which is the oldest and largest privately held coffee and tea distributor in the U.S. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf touts 850 stores in 24 countries, including 40 very prominent locations, such as Los Angeles International Airport, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, and Changi Airport in Singapore.
The announcement of this deal follows immediately on the heels of Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK)’s debut of two brand new smartphones, which tout Windows Phone 8 software, and wireless charging capabilities. The Nokia Lumia 920 PureView features built in wireless charging capabilities, while it smaller partner, the Lumia 820, feature wireless charging through a removable shell accessory.
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has agreed to install wireless charging points throughout its worldwide chain of store, in order to support the agreement with Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK). Jo Harlow, the executive vice president of Smart Devices for Nokia, says that “With Nokia wireless charging access points located in its chain of coffee houses, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf can provide technology that will offer total convenience and simplicity to its customers.” This shift in public charging seems to show Nokia’s emphasis on making it as readily available as Wi-Fi is at the present time.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) also announced a second agreement to offer more wireless charging capabilities to its customers, and this one is a big deal as well. Virgin Atlantic Airlines is the second company to jump onboard with Nokia’s plans, and they are excited about it.
Virgin will offer demonstrations at its clubhouse in London’s Heathrow Airport later this year. They also have plans to offer it in New York City’s JFK clubhouse as well. This is a great feature for an airline to add to its services, as it relieves customers who may have a hard time finding a place to charge their phone during a long layover, or while waiting on a flight.
Nokia has announced that they will have staff on hand at the demonstrations, in order to not only show customers how to use the wireless charging access points, but also to showcase Nokia’s new line of phones which offer wireless charging.
Nokia’s goal seems to be that one day, wireless charging will be available almost anywhere you may go in the world. They are certainly stepping up to the plate in being the first company to go all out after such a goal. If it pays off, we could see public wireless charging made available by other phone makers as well in the near future.
