Phone Charging Stations

Have you ever been out in public and you realize (often too late) that your phone is about to die? Usually when this happens to me, its only when I really need it the most. This is becoming a more common problem for lots of people. Cell phones are becoming more advanced: bigger, more detailed screens and more data capabilities like WiFi and 3G use along with gaming and other "apps". While this is progress, battery technology is far behind. Batteries are not as capable as phones demand. To use my smartphone all day (I have a HTC Hero 2) I need to charge it at least twice. Lots of people have this problem and usually have to resort to using their phone only when necessary. There's a new technology breakthrough that soon fix this problem when you're on the go.

It's called an ACM (automated charging machine). The thing about it that I found hilarious is the guy next to it.
In this CNN article he is referred to as an entrepreneur, but really all he did was get the rights to selling it in America from a Chinese company that had already done all of the real work in inventing. I was skeptical when I first opened it up "there's no was that douche-y looking guy actually invented something."
He got the idea when his phone died on his way to the airport and noticed that he had his roommate's only house key in his pocket. If he didn't call her to arrange a return, she would be locked out all weekend. Without his phone, he didn't know her number. He wound up driving back to his house to leave the key under the mat and missed his flight. On his return, he drove past a number of ATMs and convenience stores. That's when the idea struck him: You get cash anywhere. Why can't you charge your phone anywhere? He later on went to contact that Chinese company that had previously invented it and gained exclusive rights to sell the system to many locations in the U.S. Stupid people with a little motivation get rich sometimes.

I've seen this technology before at an airport, but it seemed to be kind of flawed. The ACM back then didn't charge your phone any faster than a regular charger, so at most maybe you would get 30 minutes of charge (which doesn't really equal much to some phones). Also, the system was set up that you would leave your phone, unattended, in a locked box next to a bunch of other unattended phones in a semi-metal case. No guard, just a key. In an international airport. I saw this charging station when my phone had died, but I opted out because I wanted to protect my belongings. The modern ACM charges at a quicker speed, but this does some harm to to battery when it is suddenly flooded with too much energy. Again, battery technology is falling behind.