New York City to support phone addicts one charge at a time

You know that feeling when your heart suddenly drops because the battery on your phone is rapidly slipping to single digits? It’s even worse when you’re supposed to be meeting up with friends at a bar in Midtown, appreciating a day-trip outing in Manhattan, or enjoying the sunshine at Coney Island. Cell phone companies have been trying to figure out a way to create an everlasting power to our hand-held lifelines, but it seems as though they’ve taken a new approach. In New York City, companies like AT&T and the new start-up, Brightbox, have taken note of the public’s attachment to their phones and decided to place charging docks all over the city.

Brightbox is a company based in New York City bringing a secure phone charging station found in certain New York City bars, hotels, malls, and event spaces. All a user has to do is swipe their credit card for a flat rate fee of $2.95 or less, place their iPhone, Andriod phone, or BlackBerry in the charging chamber and leave it securely locked in for however long they want. As soon as the phone reaches full charge the color of the charging chamber turns green, then the user simply swipes their credit card again and they are ready to continue the day or night with 100% battery. The thinking behind phone chargers in crowded areas is to have customers stay longer and not worry about finding a phone charger. This also helps drive foot-traffic in and bring customers back. CEO-turned-COO, Adam Johnson, has been known to say, “[Picture this] Grey Goose is now charging your phone!” Brightbox is currently working on an app and possibly partnering up with other location applications like FourSquare. Some places you can find a Brightbox is New York Health & Racket Club, Hilton hotels, Terminal 5, and Tao Night Club. Brightbox’s services are quickly finding business all over the country as they have been spotted in Austin, Texas and coming to Los Angeles, California soon.

While Brightbox targets customers and ultimately helps the business, AT&T’s new strategy is targeting the phone addicts outside on the go. Street Charge is the name given to the funky looking, solar powered chargers in the middle of boardwalks, sidewalks, and parks in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, and the Bronx. The street charge stations are bolted to the ground and offer six charging spots for iPhones, Androids, Blackberries, and any other USB charger. The street charger is topped off with three 15-watt monocrystalline solar panels to store energy and replenish our precious devices. Goal Zero is in charge of the solar power and reports that technically it will take two hours or so to charge a dead phone fully, but Street Charge officials are hoping that users will get enough charge to get to the next station. The solar panels are positioned and designed to store extra energy in case of a few cloudy days. Goal Zero says, “We’ve come to terms with the phone booth extinction and now we’re bringing solar to the streets!” Street Charge does not offer any type of security to users like Brightbox does, but it is used as more a short-term charge. For special events or weddings one can simply get a quote and have a street charger delivered for the event. The inspiration for AT&T’s street charge came from Superstorm Sandy when lines were out the door at restaurants for outlets to charge cell phones. The 25 charging stations are taking over the city this summer.

Whether it’s waiting at a bar with a fresh cocktail or soaking up the sun on the boardwalk, AT&T and Brightbox wants you to relax while they take care of the stress of charging your phone. New York City is just the first of multiple cities that is replenishing phone batteries.