LG had already announced that the carrier variants of the G3 in the United States will not feature wireless charging, and instead users were required to purchase the Quick Circle case to gain this functionality.
AT&T, however, has included wireless charging support on its variant of the G3. The problem? Its a standard that no one has ever heard of.
AT&T is a member of the Powers Matters Alliance and has included PMA wireless charging capability on its variant of the G3. This severly limits third-party wireless chargers and accessory options for AT&T G3 owners since nearly all accessory makers support the more popular Qi wireless charging standard.
If you want to buy a wireless charging mat for your device, your options are only limited to Duracell’s PowerMat, which is the only other company that is a part of the Powers Matters Alliance. On the plus side, Duracell and Starbucks are bringing PMA wireless charging to the latter’s retail outlets by 2015, so at least you will be able to wirelessly charge your device somewhere down the line.
Since the PMA chip is embedded right inside the phone, changing the back cover of the handset with a Qi enabled one will not work as well.
AT&T G3 owners, what do you think about this greedy move from your operator?
[Via Droid-Life]