Lost a charger? In a public place with no charge? Don't fret, head to your local cell phone recharger with jacks for all brands. Simply plug and chug!
-- johnchaughey, Nov 22 2001

Emerency cell charger http://shop.store.y...aveltools1/m93.html
This one is battery powered (AAA), but I've seen those that run on a chemical reaction as well (can't find a link, though) [bristolz, Nov 22 2001, last modified Oct 17 2004]

For small fee, charging "lockers". http://www.chargebox.com/
[jutta, Aug 19 2006]

Baked at the last two Glastonbury festivals.
-- -alx, Nov 22 2001


One where you could trade your flat battery for a fully charged one would be good. A quick test of the current battery, to make sure it''s not a complete lemon, and change for a fully charged one. A professionally run place like that could maximise battery lives buy ensuringn that they are always fully charged from flat.
-- dare99, Nov 22 2001


Why would you trust the exchanged one any less than the original battery, or any other object which you received from a hopefully reputable vendor? If they give you bad batteries, complain to the BBB and take your business elsewhere.

Reputable battery exchangers would of course test the returned batteries, and dock your credit card after the fact if it turned out not to hold its charge.

This could all be automatic -- could easily be a vending machine.
-- egnor, Nov 24 2001


I'm not sure that taking care of batteries actually helps their life. As far as age, perhaps batteries should have an internal odometer. (They already have a little computer which tracks their current charge; adding an itty bit of flash shouldn't be very expensive.)

BBB stands for Better Business Bureau; perhaps it's a USA-specific thing. It's a chain of local organizations that you're supposed to call when you feel you've been treated unfairly (but not so unfairly that you'd call the cops). I don't know much about them, they're just canonical "people you call when you want to complain about a business".
-- egnor, Nov 25 2001


Widely baked in less developed economies throughout the world.
-- BunsenHoneydew, Jul 02 2009


Even widelier baked now that all phones charge from USB or Lightning.
-- notexactly, Jul 03 2019


If you stand outdoors in a thunderstorm with your phone held above your head at arms length, the state of charge of the battery may soon be among the least of your worries.
-- 8th of 7, Jul 03 2019


Dear apple, after plugging the lightning adapter into the lightning port on my iPhone, I was shocked to see that the little lightning symbol did not appear on the charge indicator. Carelessly, I forgot to add any lightning to the other end of the cable. After attaching the phone to a nearby radio tower, cable extended upwards, I waited until 2-3 good strikes hit the tower. Sadly, I can no longer find my iPhone, was I using the wrong kind of lightning? Please let me know which adapter I need.
-- bs0u0155, Jul 03 2019


I think one strike is enough. Try again with a new device.
-- pocmloc, Jul 03 2019


"Dear User, you have successfully uploaded your device to the Cloud. There is nothing wrong; it is simply time for you to buy a ridiculously expensive upgrade."
-- 8th of 7, Jul 03 2019



random, halfbakery