As a long time business traveler who likes to listen to music and podcasts and who occasionally needs to participate in lengthy phone calls, I have often gathered with others around the few electric sockets available at airports to grab a bit of juice for my portable devices. Some airports have finally started making more outlets available - perhaps they recognize that forcing some of their best customers to sit on the floor next to the columns where their cleaning crews plug in vacuum cleaners was not a good form of customer service.

However, there are still plenty of times when there is no source of ready power and I have a battery operated device that needs to be charged.

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