One invention can boost customer satisfaction, make mobile phones more powerful and create higher revenue for carriers, a Norcross, Ga., company believes.
Enrev Corp., formerly called Advanced Charger Technology Inc., has created and patented a battery operating system that charges wireless phone batteries five times faster than today’s methods and significantly improves battery power and life.
Richard Siber, associate partner and churn guru with Andersen Consulting in Boston, believes battery technology such as Enrev’s could revolutionize the wireless industry.
“This is a true technological breakthrough, and it creates a win-win-win situation for the consumer, the equipment manufacturer and the carrier,” said Siber. “Consumers benefit because they no longer have to be slaves to their batteries.”
Battery life is a source of frustration for wireless customers who increasingly rely on their handsets for mission-critical communications, said Karen Robinson, president of Enrev. This in turn translates into churn for carriers and inventory headaches for handset manufacturers, said Siber.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that as much as 50 percent of 30-day handset returns are associated with battery problems, he said.
“Many consumers return products because ‘the phone doesn’t work’ when in fact it is usually a battery-charging issue,” said Siber.
Customers also threaten to churn approximately one year after purchasing their handsets, the time it takes for a typical battery to die. Users often are enticed by new offers and purchase a new phone and rate plan rather than buying a new battery. Enrev’s technology can extend the life of a mobile-phone battery to five to six years, said Robinson.
“The carrier is the big benefactor in this because it allows them to put in churn management/customer loyalty programs,” said Siber. “It allows them to generate more minutes of use since the batteries will utilize nearly 100 percent of their capability. More minutes of use will lead to a greater operating margin.”
Enrev, backed by venture capital money, is seeking to license the battery-charging software to original equipment manufacturers, which in turn would incorporate the technology inside handsets. Handset vendors will have the ability to create brand loyalty by private-labeling the technology. Enrev’s goal is to create a brand-within-a-brand concept much like the Dolby brand used on home-theater equipment.
Wireless engineers historically have tackled the issue of battery life by either addressing power control functions in the handset or creating new batteries, said Robinson.
Robinson said Enrev’s technology essentially creates an intelligent battery, meaning the operating system adapts responsively to the battery’s electrochemical state via a unique algorithm that provides real-time feedback, thus maintaining the battery at the optimum charge level. Within the last two years, the company has sold 15,000 two-way radio batteries incorporating the software. The technology can be used in devices ranging from wireless handsets to battery-operated fork lifts and is effective with all major battery chemistries today, said Robinson. In the coming months, Enrev plans to begin targeting the laptop and palmtop markets.
Robinson said the net cost to license and add the technology in handsets is minimal, and opens up a host of new handset form factors and cost savings. For instance, manufacturers can install less expensive batteries in lower-end handsets.
“The net cost to install this technology even in a low-end phone makes a less expensive device as a whole because you’re increasing the performance and reliability,” she said.
