Around three quarters of the world’s population has access to cell phones. Surprisingly enough (or not), in some developing countries, people have a greater chance to own a cell phone than to have access to electricity or water.More and more mobile apps and public phone recharge stations, especially designed to fit the needs of that particular market, are appearing.

Solar Phone Charging In the Developing World

In countries where electricity can be a luxury not accessible to all, public phone charging is very popular. To counter the electricity issue, solar phone charging has been one of the solutions provided to local consumers. For example, in Uganda, Buffalo Grid implemented solar-powered phone charging stations that work through text message activation. Cell phone users in need of charging their mobile can send a text message to the device, a battery that is carried around on the back of a bicycle and that is charged through a 60-watt photo-voltaic panel. The idea being, since people to not have power, the power is brought to the people. Text messaging is also the way the service is paid for. Buffalo Grid provides other devices as well, similar to the phone charging valets and phone charging kiosks that can be found in the US.

Other examples include the eChaja portable phone charging station (solar powered), developed by South Africa and Swaziland. This multi phone charger has the shape of a suitcase and can charge up to 6 phones. The amount of time desired to charge a phone is setup before beforehand and once done, a bell rings to announce the end of the charging cycle.  Depending on one’s need, the eChaja can be available for phone charging station rental or for sale. Easily carriable, it can be placed nearly everywhere and represents an easy solution for people to charge their phone on the go.

Juabar, a company that created solar charging kiosks for mobile phones used in Tanzania was awarded the 2012 IMPACT, a social entrepreneurship award.

Public Phone Charging in Africa: An Expanding Market

BuffaloGrid, eChaja and Juabar are only a few examples among many of the phone charging stations that can be found in Africa today. Indeed, more and more entrepreneurs are seeing the potential in establishing phone charging businesses in poor rural areas. Several places are seeing the use of phone charging kiosks become the norm. Cell phone operators in Africa have identified cell phone charging as one of the biggest challenges they face in expanding their business. People tend to restrict their phone usage due to phone charging issues.

A study carried out by Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP) on phone charging businesses in Tanzania and Uganda has shown that phone charging services help improve cell phone use and increases the amount of time people spend talking on the phone. The study also identified that the demand for phone charging is so significant it has become the main reason for rural electrification.

With the abundance of smartphones on the market today, consumers have more and more choices to purchase the most advanced cellphones. Examples range from the iPhone 5 to the Samsung Galaxy S4. One problem that has yet to be solved is the cell phone’s short battery life. Most smartphones have a lower battery life than old fashioned ones.  In other words, cell phones are getting improved but the very thing that keeps them alive, the cell phone battery, is definitively not. 

New smartphones features and especially apps are the very one using up the battery in no time.The biggest challenge smartphone users face is to have their phone battery last through an entire day.  The world has yet to see a new generation of smartphones combining advance features and longer lasting battery life.

According to an article published on CNN, scientists are trying to develop battery free mobiles but these would probably take several years before appearing on the market. Until then, if you have an iPhone, you can refer to some of the tricks from Business Insider to keep your phone alive longer:

1. Turn the Brightness of the Screen Down

The bright phone screen uses a lot of battery; turn the brightness down to point where you can barely see the screen.

How: Go to settings > Brightness and wallpaper > turn auto brightness off and adjust the brightness

2. Turn Off Your Phone Screen

While not in use, turn off your phone screen.

How: Apply a light touch on the on/off button of your phone

3. Turn Off Your Apps

Turn off all apps when not in use: Apps are the main reason smartphones have such a short battery life. Turning them off saves a lot of power.

How: Click the Home button twice to have all apps appear on the screen. The apps located at the bottom are the ones that are running. Put your finger on any of the icons and hold it down. Red circles will appear on top of the app icons. Tap on it to turn off the apps you want to.

4. Turn Off the Wi-Fi

Disable Wi-Fi. that will prevent your phone from looking for networks to connect to.

How: Go to settings > Wi-Fi> Switch to off

5. Turn Off Location Services

How: Go to settings > Privacy > Location Services > Switch to off

Retailers suffer pains when they see their hard earned customers walk right out of the door before making a purchase simply because the customer’s phone lost its charge. It is something that happens all too often and many retailers are experiencing a significant loss of business because of it.

There used to be not much a store owner could do about the situation. The shopper’s phone would make that annoying low battery beeping sound and the shoppers would be out the door in search of a place to charge up. For many, their phone is not a luxury, but a necessity that they cannot do without. Having a dead phone battery is an emergency that demands they leave the store even if what they have to pick up from the store is important.

In many instances, the shoppers do not return to the store to complete their shopping trip. Instead they go on with other things or even decide to get the items later at a different store close to home. This does no good for the owner of the phone charging station. Learn about Burger King and why they placed phone charging stations in their restaurant.

Now there is a solution that just might turn the whole situation around. Smart store owners who take advantage of this innovative technology do not only have a better opportunity to retain their customers, but also attract new ones easily.

These shopkeepers are installing ChargeAll, the convenient cell phone charging station and giving their customers a good reasons to stay and shop. They understand that customers simply do not want to miss that important phone call. When stores advertise that they have an in-store place for charging mobile devices, their customers tend to stick around longer and new customers come in to take advantage of the charging station.

The kiosks provide a safe place for the phone to charge, which is very important to customers because they do not have to worry about their phone getting stolen or damaged when they are not around. ChargeAll even has a convenient charging station model that fits nicely behind the counter. This model helps businesses portray the image of possessing excellent customer care because the customers can hand their phone over to a live person and pick it up with they are done. This helps to generate a sense of trust between the customers and the company.

For those businesses who prefer their employees not handle customer phones, the kiosk is a nice alternative because customers can put their phone on the charger and secure it themselves behind one of the locked doors.

Both the kiosk and the smaller charging station have the capacity to charge up many different models of phones and other mobile devices. This is helpful because customers can even charge up their tablets and they do not have to worry if they lost their chargeror left it behind.

Years ago, department stores realized that providing an in-store restaurant was a great way to keep hungry shoppers shopping. It was an idea of genius and a great approach to customer service.  Now the need of customers is charging their devices and the businesses that satisfy the need are utilizing a powerful business strategy. The results of this approach are already being demonstrated in growth for the many malls, restaurants, clubs, airports, transportation hubs, and retail outlets where these charging stations have been installed.

Just recently, Superstorm Sandy blasted the northeastern part of the United States and millions of people were without power; without a way to charge their mobile phones. There were many people found camping out around outlets in public areas; all lined up for their vital opportunity to charge up their phones. Just one charging station installed could have yielded some dramatic results for any retailer who made this service available. Even now on a normal, disaster-free day, people run to the mall just to charge their devices. They are excited to use the charging kiosks.

How do you think the installation of a charging station would affect your business? Would you consider installing one? Do you think it is a service customers would appreciate? Could installing the ChargeAll raise your sales and profits?

There was once a time when every mobile phone manufacturer had their own proprietary charging tips. Every time consumers changed their phones they also had to get a new charger. The result was landfills of potentially hazardous cables and chargers that could leak mercury into the environment. This is what caused the European Union to convince 10 top mobile phone manufacturers back in 2009 that they needed to make chargers and connections to them universal, at the same time spawned the idea idea for a universal cell phone charger. These manufacturers then decided to start installing the micro-USB chargers that are now present on many mobile phones.

Apple was one of the 10 mobile phone manufacturers that made the agreement, but they have proven to be hesitant to stand by their promise. This is made apparent in the way they have designed the iPhone 5 with the new Lightning Connector. The only way Apple has shown to stay within the confines of the agreement is via an adapter for the Lightning Connector that allows for micro-USB. It seems that Apple has no real plans of honoring the agreement in their mobile phone designs in the future.

The question becomes why Apple has such a resistance to the micro-USB standard.  One reason is that the company does not want to settle for limited functionality in their product. Micro-USB connections have the ability to charge and sync, but Apple’s proprietary connectors do much more than that. For example, the iPod Out feature allows iPod functionality to extend to compatible devices thanks to the proprietary connection. This is something that could not be accomplished with micro-USB.

The functionality could be had through featuring both ports on a single device. However, this would take away from the aesthetics and user-friendliness that the Apple brand has become famous for.  Apple is far from ready to step down from their reputation just to comply with the micro-USB standard.

There is yet another option that Apple could lean towards, which is using  a Mobile High –Definition Link (MHL) as is featured in the Samsung Galaxy S III.  However, the standard for this type of connection continues to go unrealized. Since customers would at some point still have to buy a proprietary adapter, this option can prove to be unattractive.  It could be that once a standard for MHL has been adopted Apple will seriously consider the option.

The Lightning cable that Apple now uses has been the source of long discussions across the industry and the market.  This is because it contains a mysterious chip that allows the cable to work no matter how it is inserted into the port. Some are of the opinion that Apple is really using this chip because it ensures only Apple’s expensive cables work for devices and consumers cannot get by with purchasing a cheap imitation. However, usable imitations have already been made and will be soon found all across the internet for sale at only $5 a pop.

Yet, Google programmer Ken Shirrif reports that many UL standards have been disregarded in the design of the knockoff. Not only has it been made of lower quality parts and produces more electrical noise, but has the potential  to damage the touchscreen and put the user at a risk for electrical shock. The hazards that the imitation iPhone 5 charger cords present may not be worth the money saved.

Nevertheless, it is hard to find justification for the high cost that Apple charges for their charging cables. The cables are made of better quality parts, but it has been estimated that the cost of these parts is only $1 more per cable than the price of the parts used in the knockoffs. However, Apple charges a whopping $30 per cable.

The greatest conclusion that can be reached over the entire matter is that profits is really what justifies Apple’s continued use of a proprietary cable. While it may be true that advanced functionality and quality control are important , there is no hiding the fact that  Apple is making a pretty penny off each cable sold. The parts for each Lightning Cable costs the company only about US $3.50 and, with a retail price of $30 for each cable, it has been predicted by the senior analyst of ABI Research, Michael Morgan, that Apple will enjoy a revenue of over $100 million in the next year alone just by selling Lightning cables and chargers. Rest assured, ChargeAll will be one of the first to offer an Apple iPhone5 Lightning connector on our phone charging pad.