Pub phone-charging stations seem like an excellent idea on paper but in reality they’re a bit of a dicey proposition: you either have to risk your phone getting stolen or stand over it vigilantly for an hour. An Australian start-up is attempting to provide a solution in the form of the Discgo Charger — a portable charging system designed for cafes, bars and restaurants.
The Discgo Charger allows customers to move about an establishment freely while recharging their phones. Each Discgo Charger has the same charge rate as plugging a phone into a wall socket and is capable of charging two phones at once. Rather than fitting a charging sleeve to your phone, the unit comes with a variety of different cables including Micro USB, iPhone and even a few “old school” connectors.
The Discgo Charger has already been installed in a handful of high-end Sydney establishments including Star Casino. The service is provided free to patrons, with the company making its money through hiring fees (keeping you in the pub is what the proprietors get out of it).
Parent company Puck Charger Systems has big plans for the Discgo Charger which it hopes to get into cafes, restaurants, bars, gyms, shopping centres and cinemas around the country. Eventually, an app will be released that alerts users to establishments with Discgo Chargers in their area.
“What makes Discgo Charger different from other venue chargers is the fact that it’s portable,” said Puck Charger Systems managing director, Sean Brandtman. “It gives customers the freedom to move around and the comfort of knowing their phone is with them, not on the other side of a venue attached to a wall. You’re not tied to anything and Discgo gives you the freedom to hang out in the venue the way you want too.”
Of course, the rise of wireless-charging phones such as the Nokia Lumia 925 could render the invention obsolete, although it will probably be a few good years before these solutions become mainstream. That said, we’re not sure if we like the idea of losing the “my phone ran our of battery” excuse when explaining why we didn’t call during a boozy night. Tch, eh?
Comments
9 responses to “What The Hell Is A Discgo Charger?”
this is a really good idea. I was at a nice bar in Sydney the other night and they had one of those ‘chargebar’ things near the entrance. looked too easy for someone to just slip in the door and grab one.
“Self charging phones”, is this really a thing? The referenced article simply mentions the Lumina has covers for wireless charging that presumably work when placed on a ccompatable base
Yeah, I’m a bit puzzled too, I didn’t see any mention of self-charging capabilities in that link. Be great to see something along those lines though.
Correct, but the base is also portable. More info here: http://www.nokia.com/global/innovation/wireless-charging/wireless-charging/ (I’ve changed ‘self-charging’ to ‘wireless-charging’ to clear up the confusion)
so you have to go to the bar to collect a charger (and i assume leave something as collateral)?
I’d rather just have some usb ports mounted in useful places on tables.
I don’t get it. You have to pay to charge?!? I just ask the bartenders to do it for me at most places.
It’s a free service
Ah, do you leave a cash or credit card deposit or something?
I believe that’s up to the individual establishment/proprietor.