Phone Chargers Standarised 30 Jun 2009
In February this year, all the major mobile phone manufacturers agreed at the GSMA conference to build a universal phone charger, meaning if you bought an iPhone one year, then a Motorola the next, you only need to buy power cable.
This news will be greeted by most as a step in the right direction in an age where almost every member of the family has a mobile phone. No longer will they have to go around hunting for a lost power cord, people can use any charger lying around the house.
While this deal was approved by all the big players – Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, Apple, LG, NEC, RIM and Sony Ericsson – it is currently only going ahead in Europe. However, at the meeting earlier this year it was mooted that they were pushing for a worldwide uptake of this type of charger.
Manufacturers are not only doing this for altruistic reasons, though. The idea is to sell the universal charger separate from the mobile phones, thus reducing the cost of making the units. It is also claimed there will be less landfill waste because people will not throw away the old chargers when their mobile phone has reached its use-by date.
In February this year, all the major mobile phone manufacturers agreed at the GSMA conference to build a universal phone charger, meaning if you bought an iPhone one year, then a Motorola the next, you only need to buy power cable.
This news will be greeted by most as a step in the right direction in an age where almost every member of the family has a mobile phone. No longer will they have to go around hunting for a lost power cord, people can use any charger lying around the house.
While this deal was approved by all the big players – Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, Apple, LG, NEC, RIM and Sony Ericsson – it is currently only going ahead in Europe. However, at the meeting earlier this year it was mooted that they were pushing for a worldwide uptake of this type of charger.
Manufacturers are not only doing this for altruistic reasons, though. The idea is to sell the universal charger separate from the mobile phones, thus reducing the cost of making the units. It is also claimed there will be less landfill waste because people will not throw away the old chargers when their mobile phone has reached its use-by date.
