Samsung, the world's second largest handset maker, said the stations would be installed at 15 colleges around the country, such as Diego State University and University of Colorado at Boulder, by the end of the year. The next step is to add the facilities to 35 more campuses by the spring semester of 2010. The charging stations will be installed in student unions and at on-campus sporting venues.
These add up to a total of 90 new recharging facilities, in addition to the more than 300 stations already in place at 10 of the nation's busiest airports, including Miami International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.
Each mobile charging station is equipped with eight 120-volt electrical outlets for several users to power up their cell phones, laptops and iPods at the same time. There is a small shelf for holding the gadgets during recharging. The service is free of charge and works with any personal electronic devices, not just Samsung's gadgets.
"College students and faculty rely on their mobile devices everyday for communication, scheduling and research," said Paul Golden, the company's chief marketing officer. "Samsung Mobile charging stations will help students and faculty stay powered up and connected both in and out of the classroom."
Samsung's program will certainly benefit a large number of on-campus users. But if unfortunately, your college is not included, it is better for you to carry an extra battery around to avoid your device from running out of juice. Bringing an AC charger for charging between class, or a car charger for powering up while you are driving to school is a good alternative too.
