1) So exactly how much space does it take up and weight does it add? My guess is not enough to make a huge diffence at this point. I would much rather have the ability than not.
2) My point was it is not more complicated. I travel a lot and have a dedicated charger in both of my offices and my bedroom. I also carry a normal cable in my laptop bag. The point being I'd prefer to just drop my phone on a charging pad. Schiller is the one make the comment one is harder than the other.
Take a look here.Inductive charging includes adding a small coil just inside the back of the phone's case. It's not extremely thick but it's likely to add a good 10-15% to the thickness of the i5 or S3. In addition I'm unaware of it's compatibility with the aluminum backplates used in iPhones.
Inductive charging is
still in it's infancy and is not without issues. Heat due to inefficiency is one starting point. You think people whined about their iPad's getting hot...wait till their phones get that temp. Also it's wasteful (80-85% efficient at best right now)... not something a "Green" company like Apple wants to align themselves with just yet.
And finally... I can all but guarantee you that Apple won't get involved until the phone can "pair" with the charging mat to sync wirelessly as well. No sense in just charging your phone if you're not syncing your data as well.
Regards to the mat... it's up to you... I guess you can carry a small charger the size of a small pair of in-ear headphones.... or carry that same item but connected to a mousepad-esque type sheet for you to set your phone on. Me.. I'd rather just take the extra 0.5 seconds to slip a plug into the phone ... particularly given the other issues with the tech right now.
In a year or two I'm SURE they will have efficiency up.... the charging stations will be smaller, and will also sync the phones... and I'm sure costs will come down and the in-phone electronics will be smaller as well. THEN you'll see Apple getting in bed with the tech. No sense in doing so beforehand though if it's not really 100% ready.
IMO nitpicking over an immature tech that pretty much no phone has right now is a bit silly. But that's just my take.