We live in a "get it now" society. Want to watch every episode of your favorite show this weekend? Bicycle home instead of taking public transit? Have a cupcake delivered from a bakery across town? All of this is possible with a few taps on your smartphone or tablet.
Yet the unabated growth of the app economy — and need for corresponding powered devices — presents a common dilemma: Why is there no workable solution for charging mobile devices while on the go?
That's what inspired us to develop our own solution to the problem. What began as portable power packs rented from a table at music festivals and other events evolved into NRG Go Portable Power.
This technology allows customers to rent an NRG Go Pack from a self-service station, take the Go Pack with them to charge their mobile device and return the palm-sized unit at any NRG Go station. Reliant and its parent company NRG are helping power people at home, at work and anywhere else their busy lives take them.
Each NRG Go station is an integrated system comprising a patent-pending self-service station that includes NRG Go Packs, charging racks and software with cloud-based architecture and remote monitoring capabilities.
With the help of industrial design specialists, engineers and software developers across the U.S., our lean portable power team of eight created a seamless user experience:
- Walk up to an NRG Go station and start the transaction on a 27-inch touchscreen.
- A Go Pack lights up, indicating which one to take.
- Slide the Go Pack out and (ahem) go about your day.
- Connect your phone to the Go Pack.
- Return the Go Pack at any NRG Go station — and if you love it, you can keep it, as we provide a purchase option as well!
We heard great feedback from users throughout the development process, which kept the team going during the 16-month sprint from concept to finished product. Our efforts were validated when NRG Go Portable Power was recently named a Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Innovation Award Honoree.
If you're in Las Vegas January 6-9, 2016, during CES, drop by our booth and check out NRG Go Portable Power on display. But there's no need to book tickets if you're on Texas soil, as NRG Go stations are already in place around town at Celtic Gardens, Christian’s Tailgate, Pub Fiction and the University of Houston Student Center. And, our network is growing all the time. Here's a map of all locations for easy reference.
Still, as great as it feels to be recognized by CES, we're not resting on our laurels. NRG and Reliant work hard to ensure our customers have power when they need it — whether that's with home electricity from Reliant, portable solar power products from Goal Zero or solar power for mobile devices offered at our NRG Street Charge® solar-charging stations.
We have retail plans to enter more cities and markets with NRG Go Portable Power so everyone can experience the freedom of charging on the go. If you've rented an NRG Go Pack, we'd love to hear your thoughts!
With NRG Go Portable Power, consumers with low phone battery don't have to worry about missing out on conversations, sharing photos and videos and other interactions they have come to expect.
