sap away. Not that long ago，... there wasn′t much

you could do，... but now you can pretty much keep your smart device full of juice

all day if you use a portable phone charger. And in a smartphone obsessed country like

Korea，... they are all the rage. Won Ji－hyun reports.

If your job requires you to stay connected all the time，... chances are you′re glued

to your smartphone all day.

″I have just sent you an urgent email. Please check it right away.″

For those with constant internet access，... it′s tough to make it an entire day without

charging your phone.

″Since my job requires me to answer my clients right away on my phone，... I tend to use

a lot of mobile data. This can sometimes drain about half of my phone′s battery life in

just an hour. So I always carry an extra power source with me.″

Despite the advancing technology，... smartphone battery life still remains a major problem.

This means more people are buying portable chargers and extra batteries.

The market value of portable batteries in Korea surpassed 326－million U.S. dollars

this year，... more than double from a year ago.

Plus， some convenience stores have also begun offering charging services.

″A lot of college students and businessmen use our charging services in the evening，...

when their phones are about to die.″ As wearable smart devices and electric cars

develop，... experts say the market size for portable chargers will soon exceed that

of semiconductors and LED displays. Won Ji－hyun， Arirang News.