Mobile/PDA About Us Advertise here


		User name	Password

		Not registered yet? Register here. Lost your password? Click here.

Browse by topic

News

Standardized mobile charging coming soon

29 June 2009 13:40 by Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 11 comments

If you have switched mobile phone brands anytime recently, you will surely have encountered the annoyance of needing to buy a new proprietary charger, either for your wall, your car, or for your PC.

That problem will be coming to an end in Europe as of 2010, as 10 of the largest mobile phone companies have submitted a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to the European Commission that means a new universal charger will be available, revolving around the Micro-USB connector.

The ten companies are: Apple, LG, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Texas Instruments.

"I am very pleased that industry has found an agreement, which will make life much simpler for consumers," adds the EC's Gunter Verheugen, via a FAQ. "They will be able to charge mobile phones anywhere from the new common charger. This also means considerably less electronic waste because people will no longer have to throw away chargers when buying new phones."

The FAQ does note that the MoU is only relevant to the EU however they hope the move will spread elsewhere.

"The MoU covers the territory of the EU. However, as the market for mobile phones is essentially global, the MoU should be seen as a good model for other geographical markets. The Commission is committed to sharing this approach with its trading partners, in order to extend its benefits world-wide," adds the FAQ.

Permalink to this article | Topic: Phones

UN approves universal phone charger (25 October 2009)

Nokia Q2 profit drops 66 percent (16 July 2009)

Nokia launches music store in India (13 July 2009)

Sony considering 'PSP Phone', says report (29 June 2009)

iPhone 3GS jailbreaking software is on the way (26 June 2009)

New Guide: Jailbreaking an iPod Touch with v3 software (24 June 2009)

Apple drops space in 'iPhone 3G S' (24 June 2009)

iPhone 3.0 unlock software now available (24 June 2009)

New Guide: Using DoubleTwist to share and sync your media (23 June 2009)

« Previous news article
Rapidshare to appeal German court decision

Next news article »
French Xbox Live users get Canal+

Post your comment

Discuss this article!
Morreale (Member) 29 June 2009 13:52
Yea, my LG Voyager is proprietary and so was my old Nokia 6275i and my other Nokia but at least they came with the charges and USB cables for the computer :) I don't have a car, so no need for that charger... [ + quote]
varnull (Inactive) 29 June 2009 15:04
I read about this close on a year ago.. it's a new directive about interoperability and choice, under the European competition and anti-trust directives. It's come from the micro-usb standards committee afaik. Apple and M$ better be ready for some fallout when they are found ignoring the directives in a Europe which is slowly starting to grow teeth.. We have started electing fascists to the European Parliament these days.. a little xenophobia never hurt anybody. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 29 June 2009 15:07
ThePastor (Junior Member) 29 June 2009 19:51
Standardizing chargers is a HUGE start, but they need also to standardize PC connectivity. If they are going to use the Micro USB port to charge they should also use that for data and put an end to all of these proprietary connections like on my Samsung. [ + quote]
SProdigy (Member) 29 June 2009 22:46
*Originally posted by ThePastor:* Standardizing chargers is a HUGE start, but they need also to standardize PC connectivity. If they are going to use the Micro USB port to charge they should also use that for data and put an end to all of these proprietary connections like on my Samsung. Same with my Samsung. Makes you wonder, since the Moto RAZR had mini-USB 5 years ago! [ + quote]
jutsu (Junior Member) 29 June 2009 22:52
hmm, isn't charger for different battery types used in cellphones have diferent charging method? like sonyericsson using Li-Poly, Nokia using Li-Ion........ [ + quote]
gnorvell (Newbie) 30 June 2009 10:02
I believe charging control is in the phone not the charger. USB supplies a standard 5 volts regardless of battery type. [ + quote]
vyze (Newbie) 30 June 2009 10:02
*Originally posted by jutsu:* hmm, isn't charger for different battery types used in cellphones have diferent charging method? like sonyericsson using Li-Poly, Nokia using Li-Ion........ Chargers may vary in the amount of volts/amps that they output but built into the phone itself would be a power management device that would indicate when to turn charging on and off. The charger is a 'dumb device' as it just does one thing, when it is told to, and nothing else. My Nokia has a USB connection but that won't charge it, same as the PSP... which would be nice. USB is about to get a major make over with USB 3.0 later on this year. Funnily enough the first OS to support it isn't Windows or OSX but Linux! :D [ + quote]
ThePastor (Junior Member) 30 June 2009 15:05
USB 3.0 is going to be awesome. Double speed... Bi-directionial (parallel)Larger, but backwards compatable plug... USB - the one thing on the PC's that actually seems to work (most of the time) I'm not sure of the USB 3.0 Micro USB upgrades though. It's a good question. I bet Wikipedia has something on it. [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 2 July 2009 4:06
This is a long time coming. I think usb is a good format however what are they going to do about the power point connection. unless the connection from the phone would be universal and the power point connection will be the connector of that country. I will be wanting one of these. [ + quote]
pmshah (Newbie) 6 July 2009 22:16
At times actions by most manufacturers surprise me. The products sold in countries other than North America usually include chargers / adapters which can handle voltages ranging from 110 to 240 50/60 Hz. For some strange reason the very same models sold in North America are NOT capable/designed to function beyond 120 volts. Perhaps a couple of cents they might be saving in downgrading these chargers /adapters is VERY important to them. I picked the price difference at a couple of cents by simply checking on the local prices. A 5 V DC 1000 VA SMPS sells for about US$ 1/= equivalent. [ + quote]
vyze (Newbie) 8 July 2009 11:15
*Originally posted by pmshah:* ... The products sold in countries other than North America usually include chargers / adapters which can handle voltages ranging from 110 to 240 50/60 Hz... When I lived in England it was "easy" to spend a day and drive through 4 or 5 countries. Living in America and moving from one house to another house entailed a 5 day cross country drive where I didn't need a power adapter for my laptop/cell phone as I didn't leave the country. In Europe there is more of a demand/market for people needing various adapters so it is included. If Europe was using American/Microsoft business tactics then those chargers would be an additional charge (re: xbox wireless vs wii/ps3 builtin wifi) [ + quote]