Held tightly in the hand or up to the ear of nearly every student is an essential item, a cell phone. But with days becoming increasingly more busy, it’s easy to forget to do the one essential thing to keep that phone going: charge it.

The BYU Bookstore is providing a new service for students to keep their phones charged and ready to go with a free cell phone charging station at the Northeast entrance to the Bookstore. Kiosk users can also download music content from a selection of close to 12 million songs. The kiosk is run by Softland International, an audio and video distributor.

Tony Nugent, a consultant to Softland in their digitial media kiosk program,  said the kiosk is capable of charging 12 devices simultaneously and works with a variety of devices.

“The kiosk can charge 90 to 95 percent of the mobile devices currently on the market as well as several ‘legacy’ phones for those who take pride in holding onto their older models,” Nugent said in an email.

Nugent said BYU is the first university location Softland has placed their kiosks and they are excited to work with BYU in this unique endeavor. They believe it will be a great convenience for students.

“The kiosk gives students the opportunity to charge their devices for free while managing their busy schedules,” Nugent said. “I think we can all relate to when we’ve run out of battery power or forgotten our power cords at the worst possible time.”

Nugent said many students were excited about the new kiosk as they set it up on Thursday.

“Students were very curious about the kiosk,” Nugent said. “Some of the reactions from those who walked past were nods of approval, ‘Great idea,’  and ‘That’s really cool.’”

Frank Tovar, of the BYU Bookstore marketing department, said students can plug their phones in to one of the chargers then step to the side while it charges for however long they need it to.

“We just want to show off what bookstores can do as far as supporting students and providing for services that students need,” Tovar said.

In addition to charging phones and downloading music the kiosk also allows for visual signage and will be a spot for advertising and announcements.

Casey Woolley, video specialist in the creative services department, said the kiosk will also be used for advertising and announcements within the bookstore.

“It seems like a really nice idea,” Woolley said. “I’ve seen them in airports where they charge you to use it, so it’s nice that they have a free one. I’m a fan of it.”

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NV3 Technologies Provides Cell Phone Charging On the Go - Business News - The Munch - University of Maryland's Smith School of Business.

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JMR Worldwide
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UNIVERSITIES NATIONWIDE UTILIZE
NV3 TECHNOLOGIES’ CELL-PHONE AND TABLET CHARGING KIOSKS

Auburn University, University of Alaska, University of Miami, Towson University Provide Secure Charging Stations to Provide Students With an
“Always Charged” Connected Campus Experience

Baltimore (October 4, 2011) – Today from its headquarters in Baltimore’s Emerging Technology Center, NV3 Technologies (NV3) announced that Auburn University, the University of Alaska, the University of Miami and Towson University have deploy its state-of-the-art cellphone and tablet charging Kiosks on their respective campuses.

NV3’s innovative charging kiosks provide a very specific answer to the problem that many people in need of battery power face while outside of their home, dorm or office. In fact, according to a research study conducted by Ball State University, cellphones are almost ubiquitous on college campuses, with 99.8 percent of students owning at least one. Results from a national survey of approximately 500 students—which has been conducted twice a year since 2005—49 percent now have smartphones, compared with 38 percent from October 2010, and 27 percent in February 2009.

Also of note, is that NV3 is approved as a “Sole Source” in the State of Maryland, and is the only provider of 100% US-manufactured charging kiosks, which expedites procurement processes for university officials.

Ralph Valle, Towson University, lauded the school's initial placement of the NV3 Charging Kiosk. "Since installing the NV3 cell-phone charging kiosk in our student union, a very high traffic area right in front of the entrance to our university book store, students have inundated us with positive feedback. It's no secret that todays college student spends a significant amount of their time – both personal and for their studies – on their smartphone, tablet or other mobile internet computing device, and NV3's kiosk provides them with a very convenient, secure, accessible resource for them to charge their device."

Thomas Sparrow of Auburn Alabama, a vendor who placed cell-phone charging kiosks inside Auburn’s Jordan Hare Stadium, has been pleased with the following the product has been able to attract.

"Inside Jordan-Hare stadium where the 2010 BCS National Championship Auburn Tigers play, students and fans are constantly using their mobile devices to update friends on the game, post messages via twitter and Facebook, or track scores from games around the country and with that having low batteries on their devices. With the thousands of visitors to the 87,000 seat Jordan-Hare stadium for every home game, this helps provide an excellent customer service amenity to fans and provides an additional revenue opportunity to the vendor and school.”

Towson University and University of Alaska have both deployed NTC 32 floor models, while Auburn University and the University of Miami are using the NTC-1912, the desktop model.

Ryan Doak, managing partner, NV3 Technologies, noted that, “College students spend an increasing amount of time on their mobile Internet device for myriad reasons, including text, chat, email, watching interactive content, streaming video, etc. As such, the need for convenient battery charging options while on the go is an absolute necessity.

He continued, ”We anticipate and are hopeful that each of our University customers will expand the size of their deployments across their respective campuses.”

NV3 (www.NV3Tech.com) develops and manufactures interactive media and custom digital signage, kiosks, and next-generation information displays that answer both a consumer need for convenient, mobile phone charging while "on-the-go", as well as the means for companies to interact directly with captive audiences. Touchscreen, LCD, cell phone charging kiosks, coupled with web-based streaming content management solutions, comprise NV3’s flagship portfolio.

NTC Floor Model Kiosks (32, 1932, 2240, 2646), which can charge up to 12 devices simultaneously, stand 73 inches high and are 30 inches wide. The dual-screen base unit comes with a 19" HD LCD screen on top and a 32-inch HD LCD screen on the bottom. Media content is powered by an internal flash drive media player for the top and bottom screens to display media content. The NTC 1912, NV3’s Desktop Charging Kiosk, which can also charge up to 12 devices simultaneously, boasts a 19-inch Wide LCD screen with optional touchscreen, weighs only 50 lbs, and is 24" H x 18.5" W x 7". (* There is an option for remotely managed digital signage for each kiosk model.)

Unlike other kiosks being marketed to the public, NV3’s kiosk are American made and provide up to 800 milliamps – compared to 500 – for a more powerful flow of electric current with which to rapidly charge Blackberries, iPhones, iPads, Droids, Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sanyo, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and other widely used devices.

ABOUT NV3 TECHNOLOGIES
NV3 is a global provider of interactive media, and a custom manufacturer of digital signage, kiosks, and next generation information displays. The company’s solutions are deployed in various locations across the Country. NV3’s 25,000 square-foot facility enables their fabricators and engineering teams to design, manufacture and deploy a variety of digital media, distributed content, interactive and customizable kiosks solutions for any venue.

For additional information, please visit www.NV3Tech.com.

Baltimore (July 13, 2011) – Today from its headquarters in Baltimore’s Emerging Technology Center, NV3 Technologies (NV3) announced the availability and deployment of the third-generation NTC series Charging Kiosks. NV3’s (www.NV3tech.com) Charging Kiosks, available in both desktop and floor models, are ideally suited for myriad high-traffic locations such as convention centers, restaurants, hotels, theme parks, banks, universities, hospitals, airports and shopping malls.

“The NTC series is truly a technological innovation that addresses skyrocketing consumer demand for increased battery life in cellphones, smartphones and tablets,” said Ryan Doak, managing partner for NV3 Technologies. “Unlike other kiosks being marketed to the public, our American made units provide up to 800 milliamps – compared to 500 – for a more powerful flow of electric current with which to rapidly charge Blackberries, iPhones, iPads, Droids, Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sanyo, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and other widely used devices.”

NV3’s charging technology utilizes an intelligent monitoring algorithm, which ensures that the requested recharge is directed to the appropriate device. Also, it is very important to note that NV3’s charging kiosks will not impact a business’s energy consumption to cause any increase in its electric bill.

“As Mobile Internet computing increases in popularity, consumers will have an even greater need for extended battery life as well as a convenient option to charge their device in public venues. Sites and locations that offer this value-added convenience are also able to deliver target advertising and marketing messages to a captive audience through the kiosks’ interactive displays, touchscreens, and customized branding.”
Another significant point of differentiation for the NTC series kiosks is that they operate NV3’s very easy-to-use, plug and play interactive media player and digital signage software. Remote, secure accessibility empowers companies with the flexibility and ease for managing dynamic content in real-time.

NTC SERIES SPECIFICATIONS, FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY

• NTC Floor Model Kiosks (1932, 2240, 2646), which can charge up to 12 devices simultaneously, stand 73 inches high and are 30 inches wide. The base unit comes with a 19" HD LCD screen on top and a 32-inch HD LCD screen on the bottom. Media content is powered by an internal flash drive media player for the top and bottom screens to display media content. Available options include, touch screen, remote media management, credit card and bill acceptors, and custom branding.

• The NTC 1912, NV3’s Desktop Charging Kiosk, which can also charge up to 12 devices simultaneously, boasts a 19-inch Wide LCD screen with optional touchscreen, weighs only 50 lbs, and is 24" H x 18.5" W x 7".

Earlier this year, NV3 reported a 300% increase in revenue since 2008, and numerous digital signage and charging kiosk deployment across the globe.

ABOUT NV3 TECHNOLOGIES
NV3 is a global provider of interactive media, and a custom manufacturer of digital signage, kiosks, and next generation information displays. The company’s solutions are deployed in various locations across the Country. NV3’w 25,000 facility enables their developer and engineering teams to design, manufacture and deploy a variety of digital media, distributed content, interactive and customizable kiosks solutions for any venue.

For additional information, please visit www.NV3Tech.com.