
Ask HN: Do you think the “charging as a service” concept has any merit - avip
Seems there are lots of newcomers in the &quot;batteries sharing economy&quot; space [random list: 0]. Do you think this concept has a real business potential, or it&#x27;s another &quot;sharing economy&quot; baseless hype?<p>[0]<p><pre><code>  https:&#x2F;&#x2F;chargerent.net
  https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nrggo.com&#x2F;
  http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.xiaodian.so&#x2F;
  https:&#x2F;&#x2F;techcrunch.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;03&#x2F;29&#x2F;anker-ankerbox&#x2F;
  ...</code></pre>
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billconan
I think they are useful. I went to LA with a friend in Aug, we were low on
battery and needed the phone badly for calling uber and navigation.

we were in a museum, and they have charging boxes ... basically a passcode
secured lockers with cables inside. We had to wait for 10 minutes for the
phone to reach 15%.

it would be nice if it was a battery that I could carry while touring around
the museum.

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cimmanom
I could think of a few use cases for rent over buy, but they’re all kind of
edge cases:

1) I use my laptop almost exclusively at home or in other locations with a
wall outlet available. If I needed to take it out and about for a day or week
and was worried about running out of juice, I might consider renting a battery
pack instead of buying one to sit in the closet and eventually explode.

2) if I were traveling overseas and didn’t want to schlep heavy battery packs
for phone, tablet, etc. I’d consider renting them for the duration of my stay.

3) I’m out and about and not only has my phone’s battery run down, but so has
my external battery pack (or maybe I forgot it at home). If rentals were
available at every bodega; as easy to rent as it is to pop in and buy a bottle
of water; and as easy to return as a library book, that might be an option.

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sharemywin
I would put them on college campuses maybe, downtown could make sense. I've
seen charging stations in malls.

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avip
To clarify the abovementioned are leasing chargers or battery packs, not
immobile charging spots (which is a similar and somewhat more established
concept).

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byoung2
Don't people have their own battery packs to carry around these days? Or are
these services for when those die?

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avip
There are disposables but they are pretty discouraged due to environmental
impact. I don't see them getting much traction.

