The South Korean giant, Samsung Electronics has installed free solar powered mobile charging stations in Bengaluru, India. The move is likely to bring a smile on the face of umpteen smartphone users whose batteries die off as the evening approaches. Time spent by the device owners near these charging points will be ‘utilised’ by the Korean manufacturer for product demonstrations and conversions.
These charging points have been put up for now opposite five Samsung smart cafes across the city. The locations are CMH Road, Indiranagar; Total Mall, Sarjapura Road; Sahakaranagar, Malleswaram and Vijayanagar.
“We have chosen to introduce solar power charging in Bengaluru as the city is home to the highest number of Samsung smartphone users in the premium segment. We enjoy 59 percent market share in the premium smartphone segment in the city, which includes all smartphones priced above Rs. 40,000. With this initiative, we can also engage with smartphone users near the store by inviting them into the smart café to see product demos and ensure conversions,” said Asim Warsi, Vice-President, Marketing, Samsung India.
The chargers have been put on a 10 foot high fixed pole with a charging dock at 4 feet height. And, eight people can charge their devices simultaneously at one such charging station.
Solar based mobile chargers in the past have not been very popular because of being slow. Samsung, however, claims that their stations will be able to generate 300 KW of power every day, which should be sufficient to charge at least 20 devices a day.
The company will see how their stations are received in the city of Bengaluru before deciding on a pan-India rollout or installing such chargers in more cities.
Obviously now, these charging stations are not going to cost the Korea-based manufacturer a bomb but at a time when renewable energy and solar energy hit an instant chord with the literati, the move is likely to win them millions of hearts.
Additionally, they have not minced any words and mentioned at the very outset that they plan to use up the time spent by the mobile owners for product demos, which makes it a very smart business move indeed!
