Smartphones have a nasty way of losing a charge.
Just when you think you have enough battery life to listen to Justin Timberlake‘s new album again, you get the dreaded “low battery alert.”
Thanks to AT&T’s Street Charge project, there’s a new way of getting a little extra life out of your iPhone or Android.
The project, still in its trial phase, includes 25 solar-powered charging stations to help keep smartphones and devices juiced up and ready to rock.
Each of the stations will feature iPhone 4, iPhone 5, and microUSB plugs, in addition to USB ports for other devices, all free to the public. Currently, charging stations are found in Riverside Park on the west side of Manhattan, in Union Square, and in Brooklyn Bridge Park, with the remaining 22 stations to come this summer.
Neil Giacobbi, who helps with gifts, sponsorships and programs in the New York region for AT&T, stated that, because there are no external wires and construction, the towers can be disassembled and then reassembled in another location.
The company has staff monitoring the usage and will track where the optimal locations will be for each station.
Still in its trial phase, Street Charge comes out of AT&T’s work during the recovery from Hurricane Sandy.
“We realized charging was the missing ingredient during the day,” said Neil Giacobbi, who helps with gifts, sponsorships, and programs in the New York region for AT&T.
Brooklyn-based Pensa helped helped AT&T design the 10-foot tall steel tower. Each tower consists of three arms with solar panels, supplied by Goal Zero.
One station is designed to provide three to four days of continuous charging if holding a full charge.
Stations can absorb ultraviolet rays during cloudy or raining days, but can get fully charged in up to four hours in direct sunlight.
Planned locations include:
Manhattan:
- Riverside Park, Pier I
- Union Square Park, North Plaza
- Rumsey Playfield, Central Park Summerstage
- Hudson River Park Pier 59
Brooklyn:
- Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1
- Fort Greene Park
- Coney Island
- Metrotech Plaza
- The Dumbo Arts Festival
- The Brooklyn Book Festival
Queens:
- Rockaway Beach
- Clearview Golf Course
- Socrates Sculpture Park
Bronx:
- Orchard Beach
Staten Island:
