The concept of wireless power is not a new one, but it is just now beginning to break out into the consumer world with real products that are (or almost are) actually in production. At last week's CES in Las Vegas, two companies—eCoupled and Powercast—introduced their "wireless" power systems to the awe of many spectators, in hopes of making our experiences with the fabled Cord Gnome a thing of the past.

eCoupled's wireless power solution is actually not so much "wireless" as it is "cord eliminating." The technology involves a single powered electrical pad—that does indeed need a cord—that can power other battery-powered devices that are placed on the pad, such as cell phones, digital music players, digital cameras, and even laptops. The mousepad-sized technology makes use of short-range induction, like that used in most electrical toothbrushes: you don't plug something in, you just place the toothbrush loosely into its holder and moving electrical fields (induction) take care of the rest.

The second wireless power technology demoed at CES is in fact "wireless" in most senses of the word. Powercast actually won CES's "Best of Show for Emerging Technology" award last week for its system for wirelessly operating low-power devices within a certain space (such as a home office). Use of the Powercast system involves a transmitter and a receiver chip embedded into the user's devices. The company emphasizes that the system is for smaller, less juice-sucking devices such as cell phones, PDAs, game controllers, and hearing aids, indicating that it might be something like a lower-powered, shorter-range version of MIT's wireless power model announced last November. The Powercast's transmitter broadcasts a certain radio frequency over a short distance (the company says about 3 feet, compared to MIT's 3 to 5 meters) and the receivers are programmed to sync up to that frequency and draw power from it.

The difference between the two will likely end up being cost, and the eCoupled seems like it will be the more wallet-friendly of the two. Both of them, however, will need to convince third parties to start embedding the receivers into their products in order for either of the "wireless" power options to work—Powercast says that it expects "multiple manufacturers" to ship Powercast-enabled technology this year, and eCoupled says that the company is working with Fulton Innovation, Visteon, Motorola, Herman Miller, and Mobility Electronics to commercialize its own system. Neither company has a product out yet, so many of our wireless power fantasies are still tethered to the ground.