Nokia Lumia 920 wireless charging in airports, coffee shops

The Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 charge without the aid of wires, making it possibly the most significant gadget yet to use wireless charging.

To charge your Lumia 920 or Lumia 820, simply place it on the charging pad -- or accessory such as the Fatboy recharge pillow -- and the battery fills up with extra 'leccy through the magic of electromagnetic induction, without the aid of a cable. Pictured above are the JBL speakers, which both charge the phone and play music wirelessly, zapping music from phone to dock via NFC.

Nokia has adopted the Qi standard for wireless charging -- which places it in opposition to other manufacturers including Samsung and Qualcomm, who have committed to the rival A4WP standard.

Wireless charging has been around for a while, but hasn't taken off. LG puts wireless charging technology into some phones, and Apple is also pondering a cable-free battery-boosting system. And you can already charge an electric car wirelessly just by parking on top of a charging pad.

But if you want to charge your phone without the aid of wires using systems like Powermat, you need to put the phone in a case with battery charging tech in, adding bulk to your phone.

But more importantly, even if not plugged in you're still required to place your phone on a charging pad. So it doesn't really free you, because you still need to have a bit of kit with you, whether it's cable or pad. The answer to that problem is for wireless charging pads to be located everywhere, so you can wander round carefree without a cable knowing that a battery boost is waiting in every office, coffee shop, pub or bordello.

Until that day, wireless charging will struggle. Nokia has taken its first steps towards wireless charging ubiquity by placing charging pads in Virgin Atlantic lounges and the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf chain in the US.

British deals are yet to be announced, but fingers crossed for Wetherspoons, right?

Could you see yourself plonking your phone on a pillow in the pub to power up? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.