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Ask HN: Do you think the “charging as a service” concept has any merit

1 points by avip ↗ HN
Seems there are lots of newcomers in the "batteries sharing economy" space [random list: 0]. Do you think this concept has a real business potential, or it's another "sharing economy" baseless hype?

[0]

  https://chargerent.net
  https://www.nrggo.com/
  http://www.xiaodian.so/
  https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/29/anker-ankerbox/
  ...

6 comments

[ 0.24 ms ] story [ 18.7 ms ] thread
sharemywin
I would put them on college campuses maybe, downtown could make sense. I've seen charging stations in malls.
avip
To clarify the abovementioned are leasing chargers or battery packs, not immobile charging spots (which is a similar and somewhat more established concept).
byoung2
Don't people have their own battery packs to carry around these days? Or are these services for when those die?
avip
There are disposables but they are pretty discouraged due to environmental impact. I don't see them getting much traction.
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.

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.