Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced Thursday that fans interested in the PC chipmaker's upcoming wireless charging bowl will have to wait until the end of the year to get it.
The bowl made its debut at this year's Consumer Electronics Show as an alternative to outlets for wirelessly charging phones and other devices, according to Ubergizmo. All users have to do to charge their devices is drop them in the bowl.
The decision to make the bowl commercially available was based on a great deal of positive reception that Intel received about the device. Krzanich said at Thursday's MakerCon conference in New York City that the bowl should be in stores by the upcoming holiday season.
However, the exact amount that customers will have to fork over for the charging bowl was not revealed at the conference, CNET reported. Thursday's announcement follows three months after it was reported that a real version of the device will be made this year by one of Intel's chip customers.
The bowl was only one of the new products Krzanich introduced at CES, which include the BioSport In-Ear Headphones that Intel worked on with rapper 50 Cent's SMS Audio, as well as the MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) luxury smart bracelet the company developed with fashion house Opening Ceremony.
Krzanich said the idea for the charging bowl was born when a group of Intel workers started talking about charging devices by throwing them on something instead of created a plug on them, with one member saying she throws her jewelry in a bowl each day, CNET reported. The group then decided together to make the bowl charger after they bought a chips bowl at a nearby Walmart.
"To our surprise, it actually worked," Krzanich said.
