As I prepared Monday to leave for Customer Engagement Technology World, my husband presented me with a challenge.

"Why don't you try to make it home without your phone dying for once."

My response: "I doubt that'll happen."

I always run out of battery before I arrive home, which means I end up walking up and down the aisles outside the airport, hoping to see my husband's car instead of simply texting to find out where he's parked. However, my phone-charging woes could soon be over, according to Ron Bowers of Frank Mayer & Associates. 

The company has teamed up with KEOConnect to launch the KEO, a kiosk that allows travelers to leave their phones locked up and charging at airport stores while they shop and eat between flights.

Bowers gave me a quick demo at CETW, explaining that the KEO features user-friendly technology and a large multi-media screen for product identification. Traveling consumers simply leave their phones in one of the charging compartments and have the convenience of shopping, browsing and dining until the phone is ready to go.

The KEO kiosk not only provides free phone charges, it also has updatable video content including travel tips, entertainment, seasonal guides and product recommendations, Bowers said. The touch-screen technology updates travelers with up-to-the minute flight info, news, weather, sports and more. KEO will also be incorporating multimedia capabilities including movies, music, magazines and books in the near future.

Passengers are responding well to the pilot programs already running in several Hudson News stores throughout the country's largest airports, Bowers said.

The charging process can take 10 minutes or up to 60 minutes, so there's obviously a lengthy set-up process to ensure the phones are locked up safely. Lengthy is right -- that process actually takes the user through nine screens before the registration is done and charging can begin. That seemed like a bit of a learning curve to me. However, Bowers is confident that people will be patient enough to use it.

"Yeah, it is a learning curve, but your phone is your whole life, so you have to know it's safe," he said.

We also discussed how the right location will be key to KEO's success. People probably won't give it much attention while shopping near home or running other errands, where the goal is to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible. Plus, they can quickly charge their phones back in their cars or when they get home. Those consumers won't have a need for the KEO.

However, being stuck in an airport with little or no phone battery is a different story. During my last trip, my phone died before I could call home to let my husband know my flight was delayed. Instead of enjoying a coffee and dinner, I had to sit in a little area to plug my phone charger into a wall outlet. I would have loved to have dropped off my phone to charge while I ate. Instead, I had to sit there next to it, waiting for it to charge.

Obviously, I'm looking forward to having the KEO as an option. My husband is, too.

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