Popgadget has a piece about mobilemobile which is a charging station for recharging mobile gadgets like cellphones and MP3 player on the go. At $.50 per minute it's pricey but a useful service when you are desperate.

I think a better model would be the ubiquitous propane tank swap. Cell phone retailers and others should provide pre-charged batteries that users could swap for their depleted ones like empty propane tanks. This I think is a better solution in our go-go instant gratification society. It would have the added benefit of brining current customers back into the stores where they can checkout the newest handsets and service promotions. Users would purchase the first battery and then pay a small fee for the power when they swap to a recharged battery. Admittedly, the wide variety of battery designs would complicate things but the service could focus on the most popular devices and expand from there. Eventually, device designers and makers would standardize designs to facilitate these services.

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