Duracell Smart Power Lab

This review is for the location of the Duracell power lab located at the Times Square Welcome Center. It’s on 7^th ave between 46^th and 47^th street this year (2010).
The location is pretty hard to find. They don’t have a guy in a giant battery suit– Charmin has a guy wearing a Toilet Costume to advertise their store. The only thing you see when you walk by is a tiny sign and an unmotivated employee. You need to just walk in and you will see 2 pedal bikes to help generate electricity to power the ball drop.
I think it’s kind of ironic, the amount of power they spend to light the tvs and advertise the setup is a waste to the amount of electricity we can generate by pedaling. They don’t do a good job of hyping up the exhibit. We walked in and there really isn’t much to see. Even though it’s the same parent company that owns Charmin and Duracell, the Duracell exhibit here seems like the bastard child. There is no cell phone charging available, and there are no demos here.

The Duracell Smart Power Lab is located right up the escalators from the Charmin restroom. I’m not really sure what the tie-​in is between batteries and toilet paper but hey, who am I to judge.
The best part of the lab is that there is a station where visitors can lock up their cell phones in clear cubes and charge them while exploring the exhibit. Free cell phone charging in Times Square? Pure genius. There are 3 charging cables at each station which appear to fit most cell phones, including my husband’s iPhone and my Droid.
The exhibit itself featured «snowmobiles» which you pedaled and the energy is being saved in a battery to power the 2010 ball drop in Times Square, an exhibit of new Duracell products (the weakest part of the exhibit since many of these were broken or did not appear to be new), and a place where you could have your picture taken with what looked like the 2010 sign that sits on top of Times Square with the ball and have it sent to you electronically.
At the end, you pick up your phone, fully charged, and are one your way. I left happy, and full of power. A rare thing in a big city.