The Universal Phone Charger Plan
BBC News is reporting that mobile phone makers — Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, T-Mobile, Orange, 3, AT&T and Vodafone — are planning to come up with a universal phone charger that should help reduce cost and energy waste by some 50%. In their drive to keep products environment friendly, this new phone accessory should come to the market in the year 2012.
This looks like a great idea especially for consumers with more than one mobile such as myself and the two other people in my family. We have a basket full of charges at home and I tell you, sometimes we fight over this because wires get tangled or lost and misplaced.
From The BBC:
The world’s biggest mobile phone makers and network operators have backed plans to create a universal phone recharger.
Most manufacturers now produce chargers which work only with their own devices.
The re-charger will consume 50% less stand-by energy than today’s models, the GSM Association (GSMA), an umbrella group for the industry, said.
Firms to back the plan include Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, T-Mobile, Orange, 3, AT&T and Vodafone.
The majority of new handsets will support the re-charger by 2012.
“This is a broad agreement that will move the industry to a single, energy-efficient charger for all mobile phones,” said Michael O’Hara, marketing director for the GSMA.
In a statement, Mitti Storckovius, director of environment, devices at Nokia said: “By supporting this industry initiative on common charging solutions, and enabling consumers to choose if they need a charger with every new device or can re-use existing ones, we can contribute further in improving the industry’s environmental footprint.”
The micro-USB connector will be used as the common charging interface.
Manufacturers had been under pressure from the European Commission to produce a standardised charger.
EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen told German radio station Deutsche Welle last week that there were more than 30 different kinds of charger in use across the 27-nation European Union.
The GSMA estimates the new charger will mean the potential elimination of up to 51,000 tonnes of duplicate chargers.
