Smartphone batteries always die the most dramatic deaths. One minute you've got 20 percent left, then next thing you know, you are fast approaching zero. Recharging your smartphone from zero to 100 percent can take a really long time.
StoreDot knows that you just don't have time to waste, waiting around on your smartphone when it's charging. That's why the company has been hard at work on the StoreDot charger. Currently, StoreDot has a working prototype of its charger, but it only works with the Samsung Galaxy S4. Nonetheless, StoreDot's charger is impressive.
A recently posted YouTube video shows the StoreDot charger juicing up a Samsung Galaxy S4 from almost zero percent battery to 100 percent in exactly 30 seconds. The charger is a bit bulky right now and looks a lot like the average laptop charger. StoreDot aims to make the charger significantly smaller over the course of the next few years. The company also plans to add compatibility for several more smartphones, including the most popular flagship devices.
"We are about one year from a functional prototype that will be inside the device," said Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot's CEO and founder. "Right now we show a battery that extends beyond the form factor of the smartphone. So in one year we'll have reached the size, and in two years we'll reach the required energy density for the entire day. So we are talking about three years for a commercial ready device. So I assume it will be three years before you can actually purchase it on the market."
In addition to the obvious delays caused by making the charger more appealing to customers, there's also the difficulty of making the technology reliable enough for consumers. StoreDot uses cutting-edge technology to speed up the charging process. The company's past work with peptides, which are amino acids that pair up to form proteins, inspired StoreDot to make a charger using the same process.
"When the self-assembly process of these molecules can be managed, we can create nano-crystals," explained Myersdorf. "We were able to take the same peptides that participate in biological processes in our body and to create nano-crystals -- these are stable, robust spheres. The diameter of these sphere is 2.1 nanometer. Very, very tiny. And these can be used, because they have special properties and they are robust, in a semi-conductor device or in a battery or in a display. We are talking about new type of materials that can be introduced into different types of devices."
Even though the StoreDot charger is years away from hitting store shelves, the prototype is pretty impressive, too.
