ESPOO, FINLAND--(Marketwire - Sep 5, 2012) -
Airline leads the way with new smartphone technology to help passengers
recharge
before a flight
Espoo, Finland and New York, NY - Nokia today announced a deal with Virgin
Atlantic to offer wireless charging facilities at its London Heathrow
Clubhouse
for passengers who want to recharge their phones before a flight.
Stylish and colourful Nokia wireless charging plates will initially be
introduced in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at London Heathrow later this
year.
Nokia and Virgin Atlantic also plan to expand wireless charging to the JFK
Clubhouse at a later date.
Nokia today announced in New York that its Windows Phone 8 flagship
smartphone,
the Nokia Lumia 920, would be its first smartphone with in-built wireless
charging, while the new Nokia Lumia 820 benefits from wireless charging via
a
removable and exchangeable shell.
"Virgin Atlantic is putting passengers first by removing a major anxiety,
particularly for business travellers - how to keep their phone charged
throughout a long day," said Jo Harlow, Executive Vice President, Smart
Devices,
Nokia. "The Virgin deal is a first step in our plan to make wireless
charging as
ubiquitous as Wi-Fi is today."
Chris Rossi, Senior Vice President, Virgin Atlantic North America said:
"Our
Upper Class passengers choose Virgin Atlantic because they understand that
we
aim to deliver a memorable experience every time that they fly with us. We
constantly look for ways to enhance their overall experience through
partnering
with companies such as Nokia to let them experience new technologies in our
clubhouses. Our passengers will be able to wirelessly charge their phone
while
catching up on email, sipping a cocktail or enjoying a massage in our
clubhouse
spa!"
Wireless charging provides a convenient way to top-up a phone while
relaxing in
the lounge so that phones can be used for listening to music, playing games
or
watching movies during the flight.
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.
Nokia will be staging wireless charging customer experience demonstrations
at
London Heathrow Clubhouses from November 1, 2012 to January 31, 2013. Nokia
staff will be on hand to showcase the new Nokia Windows Phone range and
accessories to the VIP lounge visitors.
About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in mobile communications whose products have
become an
integral part of the lives of people around the world. Every day, more than
1.3
billion people use their Nokia to capture and share experiences, access
information, find their way or simply to speak to one another. Nokia's
technological and design innovations have made its brand one of the most
recognized in the world. For more information, visit
http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia.
About Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the world's leading long-haul airlines, was
founded in 1984. Virgin Atlantic offers service from ten US cities as well
as
Vancouver to London, and onto a range of long-haul destinations worldwide.
From
its main base at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, Virgin Atlantic
services destinations as far apart as Las Vegas, Tokyo, Delhi, Boston and
Shanghai. Even with Virgin Atlantic's continued growth, the service still
remains customer driven with an emphasis on value for money, quality, fun
and
innovation ensuring flying Virgin Atlantic is always an event. Pioneering
many
air travel innovations, Virgin Atlantic received a number of 2011 travel
trade
awards including for the fourth consecutive year, Travel Weekly's "Best
International Airline," Global Traveler's "Best Airline for Premium Economy
Class," Business Traveler's "Best Premium Economy Class in the World" and
for
the first time, "Best Airport Clubs/Lounges."
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
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(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
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(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: NOKIA via Thomson Reuters ONE
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