Starting at stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, consumers will be able to set their cellphones down on designated spots on their tabletop, and their batteries will charge as they eat, drink, read or chat.

Over the next three years, more than 100,000 table chargers--built-in Powermat charge pads will be installed in Starbucks' 7500 company-owned stores in the U.S.  That's about a dozen per store.

Starbucks believes this is another step in staying ahead of the curve when it comes to in-store technology.

To use the system, you've got to either have a wireless charging capable cellphone or a phone accessory with the capability.

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