Airports offer fliers a chance to power up

USA TODAY, January, 2007 by Roger Yu

Saddled with more electronic tools for productivity and leisure -- laptops, cellphones, BlackBerrys and iPods -- road warriors are clamoring for ways to recharge their electronic gadgets at airports. Airports are starting to pay attention. They're installing more power outlets, building workstations with outlet strips and contracting with vendors for recharging stations.

Sometimes for free and sometimes for a fee, travelers are finding more places to charge up. Nick Bova, a sales executive in Dublin, Ohio, says the lack of power outlets is one of his "biggest complaints about airports." Business travelers often carry several items that need frequent charging. Few laptops last more than two hours unplugged when playing a DVD. Travelers who forget to charge their phones or BlackBerrys at the hotel face the prospect of a day without e-mail and of depending on pay phones. "It's a new era, and everybody is looking for electrical outlets," says ...