Cellboost, a disposable wireless battery charger for mobile phones, is making waves in the wireless industry with carriers eager to offer it and wireless consumers hankering to use it.
Why? “It’s a no-hassle, no-maintenance, no-cords, Johnny-on-the-spot solution,” touted Todd Ruhalter, president of Compact Power Systems Inc., which sells the product.
Cellboost was designed to combat the problem of power drainage in lithium-ion batteries in cell phones, which has increased as more advanced services and applications have become commonplace. “It’s a cancer in the industry,” said Ruhalter.
Cellboost, an alkaline-based device that weighs in at about one ounce and is the size of a dental floss dispenser, plugs into a mobile phone’s charger port and allows users to talk without interruption. It also charges the phone while powering it. When its power is used up, it can be discarded like any alkaline-based battery. Cellboost has a 3-year shelf life and provides one hour of talk time and 60 hours of standby time to an average phone. Each Cellboost can be used to achieve this full charge or for smaller sequential charges.
The product has proven useful for wireless subscribers from traveling business people to wireless gaming gurus to citizens dealing with a long-term power loss, like the many in Florida devastated by this year’s hurricane season.
Carriers support the product because powered phones facilitate more talk time and data usage, said Ruhalter.
Alternatives to Cellboost include owning a back-up lithium battery, but that would also have to be charged in order to be used and would cost up to $60, according to Ruhalter. In addition, it would not be as easily disposable as Cellboost.
Cordless battery chargers that run on AA or AAA batteries offer another alternative to Cellboost, but require customers maintain the batteries they run on. “People want to maintain their phones, they don’t want to maintain the device that maintains their phone,” said Ruhalter.
Since Compact Power Systems, a subsidiary of consumer electronics distributor ESI Enterprises Inc. Group, was formed in early 2003, its flagship Cellboost product has been delivered in 60,000 storefronts and will likely reach 100,000 by the end of this year, according to Ruhalter.
The product’s retail price averages between $6 and $7, depending on the retailer. Cingular Wireless L.L.C., AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Radio Shack, Office Depot, Office Max, Staples, Auto Zone, Wal-Mart, 7-Eleven, Sam Goody’s, and supermarket and drug store chains all sell the product.
Cellboost fits 95 percent of wireless phones sold in the U.S. market, according to Ruhalter, including phones from Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp., Samsung Corp., Siemens AG, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P., Sanyo and LG Electronics.
Compact Power Systems’ patent on Cellboost covers “self-encased battery chargers that charge rechargeable batteries on any mobile device,” said Ruhalter, noting the patent’s broad definition.
With that patent, the company plans to expand the product for use with other portable devices including digital cameras, camcorders and laptops, as well as smart phones and PDAs, which could see a customized Cellboost solution by the end of the year.
