charging kiosks
Getting a Charge
out of Kiosks
Phone charging kiosks are helping venues to head
off a growing health hazard – low battery anxiety
By Richard Slawsky, Contributor
We’ve all felt it. It’s that feeling of panic
deep in our gut when we realise our
mobile phone battery is on the verge of
running out of power.
A study by mobile phone maker LG
Electronics dubs that feeling 'low battery
anxiety,' and nine out of 10 people in the
United States feel it when the charge on
their phone battery drops to 20 percent
or lower. Symptoms of the affliction
include asking a total stranger to borrow
their phone charger, ordering something
at a bar or restaurant just to use their
power outlet or arguing with a significant
other or romantic interest because of
unanswered calls or texts.
Fortunately, innovative kiosk
manufacturers and deployers have
introduced a cure, rolling out units in
airports, retail locations, sports arenas
and other venues allowing consumers to
charge their mobile phones and obtain
quick relief from the dreaded condition.
Reducing a health hazard
There is little doubt that mobile phones
have penetrated nearly every aspect of
our lives, and increasingly those phones
are of the smart variety. A February
report by research firm comScore
indicates that nearly 199 million people
in the United States own a smartphone,
or more than 79% of the overall mobile
phone market. People are choosing
smartphones not just for personal use,
but to help them run their businesses.
And the use of tablet computers is
growing as well, with research firm
eMarketer predicting the number of
tablet users around the world will grow
to 1.43 billion in 2018, up from 1 billion
last year.
With such incredible growth, it’s
no surprise that low battery anxiety is
becoming a significant health problem,
and that kiosk companies are rising up to
meet the challenge.
A growing market
Since the market is relatively new, it’s
difficult to pinpoint specific numbers,
but a Google search of the term 'phone
charging kiosk' indicates dozens of
players, with units deployed in thousands
of locations around the world. The field
is served by established manufacturers
including Olea Kiosks, CTS, KioWare,
KIOSK and Frank Mayer & Associates Inc,
along with younger deploying companies
including ChargeItSpot, goCharge,
Brightbox, Veloxity and ChargeTech.
The Baltimore-based company NV3
Technologies was one of the earliest
entrants into the market, and the
company is now the largest player in the
industry with thousands of kiosks across
the United States and in three other
countries.
“We saw early on that the need to
charge your phone was going to become
a big problem, and we were right,” said
NV3 co-founder Ryan Doak.
Phone charging kiosks operate in a
number of different ways. Many feature
an assortment of charging cords that fit
most popular phone models, while some
feature Qi, or wireless charging. That
method delivers a charge inductively,
with the user simply placing their phone
on a pad to receive a charge. Others rent
portable battery packs that users return
to a kiosk when they’re finished.
These units are beginning to pop
up everywhere. In 2014, Olea Kiosks
was approached by outdoor advertising
firm JCDecaux Airport Inc to design and
manufacture a digital charging station
kiosk. The end result was a sleek, eight
foot tall unit that features four wireless
chargers, eight 110-volt outlets and six
USB ports. The partners have deployed
more than 250 kiosks in seven major
airports around the county: Miami,
Newark, JFK, LAX, Houston, Boston and
Orlando.
In May, fashion retailer Neiman
Marcus announced plans to deploy 37
ChargeItSpot phone charging kiosks in
30 of its stores. The kiosks allow users to
charge their phones in a secure locker
while they shop.
And when Clark Kent visits New
York, he may end up changing into his
Superman outfit at a phone charging
kiosk instead of a phone booth. In June
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