"People will not have to throw away their charger whenever they buy a new phone," said EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen, estimating that unwanted phone accessories accounted for thousands of tonnes of waste in Europe each year.
The Commission said the agreement would involve the creation of an EU norm, and that the new generation of mobile phones would use a standard micro-USB socket to ensure compatibility.
So this is what happens when a consumer-minded regulator forces large companies to do the people's work.
At first, new phones will come bundled with the universal charger, but eventually they will be sold separately. If we're lucky and patient, the universal charger will hopefully bleed its way into the American market.
Telecom firms back standard phone charger in Europe [Reuters]
(Photo: Iain Farrell)
Now I do use their v750, but it doesn't ever flash an unauthorized charger issue, even though I use a generic car charger.
]]>Older iPods could still charge off firewire for a couple generations after they stopped being able to actually sync over firewire, but eventually they got rid of the dual-voltage support, presumably because they'd rather make a few people replace really old chargers than make EVERYONE pay an extra few bucks for every phone.
Also, just plug your phone into your computer to avoid that problem. Unlike motorola, iphones charge off any old USB port on a computer. I charged one today on a 2003-vintage HP box running a 3-year old version of Linux.
If you get a wall-to-USB-port adapter, that's your best bet--and make sure to get one that can put out 1A. It doesn't have to be sanctioned by Apple. Just needs to put out 1A @ 5V.
]]>@Trai_Dep: That just means that I haven't given up on you. Or, maybe I'm just taking a jab. Either way. ;)
]]>@Trai_Dep: Yes, you're right. My long hours of haranguing you are finally paying off as you are coming around nicely.
My primary bone of contention with you is that you don't seem to recognize that corruption, incompetence, arrogance, elitism, etc. are not Conservative/Progressive issues, they are Washington D.C. issues. You only seem to be able to assign fault and blame on one side. It's frustrating to me because I see partisanship as a large tumor in our system of governance.
Of course I'd have a drink with you. Our banter has never been mean-spirited in my opinion. I can't say that for everyone here.
]]>You'd have to explain to me why government intervention is needed to prevent business from acting contrary to their long-term interests. I think we seriously disagree on the purpose of government. Governments shouldn't prop up failed businesses - that gets us TARP: billions of taxpayer dollars funneled to private corporations with the right lobbyists in the right places.
The reason why the GSMA was already working on this prior to any government intervention is because of cost. If a consortium of phone manufacturers can get a single build of a power adapter and manufacture billions, that's cheaper than each company developing their own. So I see this as government spending money to fix a non-issue that was already fixing itself anyway. No matter how low the costs were, it's a waste of resources.
A corporation has no incentive to do the greater good. Even when government passes laws, the corporation still has no incentive, only a detraction from doing regular business through risk of further government action. The only way to get corporations to care about the greater good is through supply and demand.
Keep worrying about that "blatant, consumer-sodomizing greed". I'll keep worrying about blatant, taxpayer-sodomizing greed.
]]>I have never bought a phone that came with the car charger. Irritating. This would help that situation, too.
I wonder if they will extend it to Blue Tooth headsets.
]]>@Trai_Dep: Another reasonable comment from you. You're up to two now.
]]>I am converting my old Nokia chargers with "big plugs" into the new Nokia "mini plug" by buying some short lengths of converter wires with the big female end to the small male end plug.
]]>@katstermonster: Wouldn't it have been cheaper, or equal to just buy a new charger?
]]>"The Verizon-branded version of the Motorola RAZR V3 series of mobile phones are designed to encourage the use of Verizon-branded charging hardware by altering the amount of current the phone requires."
I know that's far from specific, but I've seen many a Verizon phone display "Unauthroized Charger" when using a charger that doesn't specifically say "Verizon"
]]>Thing is, it IS the original cable and charger.
]]>probably just her phone, because its not the 3 models I've used.
]]>Anyway, I understand that this first effort only applies to smartphones which still account for the minority of purchases.
]]>Seriously. My girlfriend's Verizon phone (Not a Motorola Q) has a Mini USB connection, and yet it will only charge off a charger with the Verizon logo on it. Verizon has been doing it for years. The only exception that I know of is the Blackberry 8830 (and possibly others) which still support standard chargers.
]]>The physical plug will be different, of course. A converter is just a few wires in an appropriately-shaped plastic thing, though, so this isn't as big a deal as all that.
And of course you could just use a charger from the country you're visiting, which is the point of this standard anyway.
]]>@OminousG:
That "till" should be a "when". The EU didn't change anything, they just stepped in and took credit something they had no business being involved in.
]]>Article is extremely misleading, the GSMA had the universal standard almost complete and ready to roll out till the EU stepped in.
]]>@ekthesy: I got the iphone 3gs this weekend and attempted to plug it in with my wall charger here at work only to have it say "this device does not support charging". I hate apple and their proprietary bullshit. Its bad enough they have a different charger than everyone else, but then they go and make 3rd party accessories 1 generation old obsolete.
]]>@colorisnteverything: Phones charge via DC, and most wall plugs can take AC from ~100 volts up to ~240 volts and convert it to stable DC voltage. You're right about the shape of the plugs, but it's a lot easier to convert the shape of the plug than it is to convert 110v AC to 220v AC or vice versa.
]]>@mdmadph: You have drivers installed to charge that 8330. I am unsure why RIM saw fit to enact this ridiculous requirement, but they did.
]]>To me, this reads like the government and the corporations colluded to force you to pay more for cell phones by dropping chargers long term, making them added accessories.
It's pretty clear if you look at the market, if you exclude Apple (who make a ton of $ selling proprietary licensed connectors to their equipment) the market is automatically converging to a standard without government interference.
]]>Wow.
]]>(Now the wall-to-USB adapter might not work internationally, but you can always plug the phone into a computer to charge.)
]]>@dangerp:
I can't claim that to have based my purchasing decision on the power/data connector, but I'm grateful that it's mini-USB.
]]>@mdmadph: Yeah...at least on the Pearl 8130, this is the case. Pretty annoying, but not too bad. If you plug it in first and fire up Windows Updates, it downloads the drivers for you. It's bizarre, though
]]>At least with the Curve 8330, this isn't the case -- I just plug it into a laptop. Never had to install anything.
]]>Mini is "too big" now
]]>How soon before cell phones just stop coming with adapters because "we've already got them" ... and the manufacturers forgetting to lower the prices to reflect the cost savings?
]]>Just going to a mini USB connector would be good enough for me. That's gotta be the greatest thing about my Blackberry...if I lose or forget my charger, I just buy a mini USB cable, install some drivers, and plug it into the nearest computer!
Not like that time my mother had to break into my apartment and overnight my charger to me after I left it home during a week-long trip to Virginia (from Connecticut). Oops...
]]>Good gosh I hope this day comes! How handy and convenient and not to mention pretty green too.
]]>