Multi-Device Charging Problems Faced by Passengers at Airports
Thousands and thousands of passengers pass through airports each and every day across the country. Approximately 70% of those travelers have cell phones, which is a huge number that needs to be accommodated. Unfortunately, most airports are not equipped at all to manage travelers’ need to charge their cell phones or other mobile devices. And with sitting and waiting being a necessary part of traveling, the onus of keeping your device’s battery life full falls to the travelers themselves.
This is where having a multiple device charging station comes into play. There aren’t enough outlets in any airport to support the number of passengers who actually carry their phones. And with long wait times and often longer travel times, passengers must figure out ways to keep their devices up and running so they can communicate or keep themselves entertained while waiting.
Some airports have taken to offering group charging stations where travelers are welcome to charge their phones at a minimal cost. This is certainly a good idea and a step forward, but it still falls short of supporting the actual number of visitors that pass through an airport at any given time throughout the day.
Benefits of Using a Multi-Device Charging Station at an Airport
Anyone who has been to an airport knows how it goes. At some point, you will have to be sitting and waiting. For international flights, airports expect you to be present at least two-and-a-half hours before the flight. And then there are situations where flights are delayed and, even worse, completely cancelled after you’ve already been waiting for three hours.
Some people would like to take that time to be productive. Others just want to keep themselves busy and a smartphone or mobile device like an e-reader allows them to better occupy their time. But at the rates that cell phones or mobile devices lose their battery power, it’s not always possible to do so.
And as much as travelers want to use the time they have in waiting areas using their mobile devices, they do not want to do so if it means not having that device charged when they get to their destinations. Cell phones in particular are extremely important when traveling. They allow the user to let family or friends know they have arrived, they allow them to arrange rides, and they let whoever is back home know that the user has landed safely at their destination.
Also, this is the generation of social media. People want to share all of their experiences, all of the time. So taking pictures at the airport to post on Instagram, or speaking with friends through Facebook, is only possible with a charged cell phone. The best way to keep your cell phone charged is with a portable charging station for multiple devices.
How Your Own Multi-Device Charging Station at an Airport Can Help
Once you’re at the airport, you’re pretty much at the mercy of its services. If you want to charge your phone, then you need to find an outlet or wait your turn for a charging station spot to open up. Here are some other problems travelers face when they don’t have their own multiple device charging station:
- First come, first serve: Realistically, as a traveler you have no idea how many people are going to be at the airport when you show up for your flight. So you don’t know how many people will be using the public charging station, and that’s if they even have a public charging station. It’s literally first come, first serve, which basically means it’s a toss-up.
- Limited ports: Airports maybe have a few ports in the seating area as you wait for your flight. Again, if you aren’t there early enough to get one, then you’re pretty much out of luck.
- Need to keep an eye on your device at all times: You want to believe that everyone is honest and that you can leave your device charging while you walk to the bathroom or get something else done, but the truth is that’s not the case. If you aren’t using your own multiport charger, you must keep an eye on your device at all times.
- You must allow other travelers to power up if they have an emergency: It’s only common courtesy. If another traveler is genuinely experiencing some kind of emergency and needs to charge their device, they go first.
- Can’t unplug someone else’s device if they are not there, even if the other person’s device is powered up: Let’s say you’ve been waiting patiently for an hour and you’re next up to charge your device. If the person before you isn’t around, then you have to wait that much longer. You are not allowed to unplug another person’s device if they are not present.
- Can’t charge all of your devices at the same time: It is one device at a time. So pick which one is most important or is best suited to occupy your time and live with the decision.
- Need to keep kids away from charging station: Kids are always tough to travel with, especially when they are at the age where they are curious about everything. Mostly through no fault of their own, kids can cause damage to your device or to someone else’s. You need to be aware of where they are at all times.
- Can’t work while your device is charging: This is the fast life and people aren’t satisfied with just sitting and waiting while their device charges up for an hour. That’s kind of defeating the purpose of occupying your time wisely. Not carrying your own multiple device charging station means you charge and you wait. That’s just how it goes.
- There is typically a one-hour charge maximum for public charging stations: Even if your Kindle is at zero and you’ve just started the most amazing 600-page novel, you get one hour. It’s fair, of course, but it certainly puts some limits on how much charge you can actually get.
Our Multiple Device Charging Station: Our Solution to Your Charging Needs
Ohming Technology offers the Charge M.E., our version of a personal and portable charging station. The Charge M.E. can charge up to eight devices simultaneously from one electrical outlet, which means you should have no problem charging all of your mobile devices. What’s better is that you can still work while charging these devices without any of the hassles we listed in this article.
To learn more about the Charge M.E. and why it will work for your travels, click here.
Paul Romanenko
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