The iPhone adapter for the WildCharger is a rubber-like case with a plug for the docking port. An embedded cable runs from the plug, behind the phone, to a black square with four metal contacts. Put the phone into the case, place it on the magnetized pad and your phone will charge. It's really that simple.

The case doesn't add much bulk to the phone, which is important if you want plan on getting iPhone owners to actually use something like this. Hopefully WildCharge plans to sell color variations on the case, though, because I'm really not digging the sparkle-infused, translucent-black plastic of the adapter they sent to us. But color preferences aside, it's a functional case; holes are cut for all the buttons and ports, and the rubbery shell should provide some minor protection for your phone.

I placed a friend's iPhone in the case and on the WildCharger pad, and it juiced up from below 20 percent to full in just over 2 hours. Neither the pad nor the phone felt warm after the process.

The charging pad itself is slim and shiny, with a half-cigar-shaped raised section on one side that holds the electronics and accepts the power plug. The rest of the pad is a wafer-thin flat surface covered with 12 flat metal contacts that transmit power to any device sporting one of the company's adapters.

And there is the product's Achilles heel. Yes, you'll need a $35 adapter for each of your devices, at least until the magical day when manufacturers start building the tech directly into gadgets. Worse, the company still isn't selling adapters for anything other than the Motorola RAZR V3 phone. The Web site lists other adapters, for somewhat dated products like the Blackberry Pearl and 8800, as "coming soon." Even the iPhone charger they sent us isn't available for sale yet.

With Apple about to release the 3G iPhone and Research In Motion having moved on to the Curve and the Bold, WildCharge's "coming soon" section should have come more than a year ago. And there's no mention of adapters for any Windows Mobile device, Microsoft's Zune, or anything from Sony Ericson.

The WildCharge Web site asks customers to stay tuned for the "next generation of new and exciting products over the course of the coming weeks," but hasn't as of yet explained what exactly those exciting products might be. Hopefully the company is about to make up for lost time and release some products relevant to the early adopters that are most likely to buy something like this.

Until WildCharge begins releasing dozens of adapters for current-generation phones, MP3 players, and digital cameras, the WildCharger is essentially just a proof-of-concept device. It's an impressive concept, but not very useful. I'd gladly pay the $59.99 asking price for the pad, and $35 each for an adapter for my AT&T Tilt, Zune, and Nintendo DS. But at the moment, unless you're a gadget lover who's walking around with 2005's trendy cell phone, there's really no reason to pick up the WildCharger. And unless the company can play catch-up with current-generation gadgets, or somehow get manufacturers to build the charging technology into new devices, there won't ever be a compelling reason for most people to buy the charger.

The WindCharger is available now for $89.99 with a Moto RAZR adapter, or $59.99 for the shiny silver pad by itself.