Nokia and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf form partnership to introduce wireless charging to cafes acros

Coffee house introduces new smartphone technology to help consumers recharge over a coffee

Espoo, Finland and New York, NY - Nokia today announced a deal with major US cafe chain The Coffee Bean & Tea LeafR to offer wireless charging facilities in its cafes for customers who want to recharge their phones whilst on the go.

Bringing charging solutions from the home and office to the high street, Nokia will introduce integrated wireless charging plates into The Coffee Bean & Tea LeafR cafes in select major metropolitan cities across the United States.

The Coffee Bean & Tea LeafR is the oldest and largest privately-held specialty coffee and tea retailer in the United States with more than 850 stores in 24 countries. It is also present in 40 prominent airport locations, such as Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Changi Airport in Singapore, and New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport.

This follows the launch of two new Nokia Windows Phone 8 devices which both offer wireless charging. The Nokia Lumia 920 features in-built wireless charging, while the new Nokia Lumia 820 benefits from wireless charging via a removable and exchangeable shell.

"With Nokia wireless charging access points located in its chain of coffee houses, The Coffee Bean & Tea LeafR can provide technology that will offer total convenience and simplicity to its consumers," said Jo Harlow, executive vice president, Smart Devices, Nokia. "The partnership highlights Nokia's commitment to making wireless charging as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi is today."

In addition, The Coffee Bean & Tea LeafR , the world's largest privately held specialty coffee and tea retailer, will launch a new mobile app for Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone smartphones. The Coffee Bean & Tea LeafR app will include features such as social media feeds, store locator, store amenities and contact information. Additional features include seasonal beverage selections, gifts, charitable initiatives and much more.

"With the large number of customers that pass through each The Coffee Bean & Tea LeafR cafe daily, many use it as a place to work, rest and play. Wireless charging provides a convenient way for consumers to recharge their phone while relaxing with a coffee, so that they can leave their house and use their phone freely without worrying about running low on battery," says Bob Kaufman, Vice President of Business Development at The Coffee Bean & Tea LeafR .

Nokia is part of the Wireless Power Consortium, an organization that supports the Qi wireless charging standard. This group is comprised of a number of operators, service providers, component suppliers and consumer electronics companies that have pledged their support to Qi and are working together to build an infrastructure ecosystem that will make it possible to charge wirelessly throughout the day. The Nokia wireless charging plates are able to charge any smartphone with wireless charging capabilities based on the Qi standard.

From: reuters.com