Universal charger will become standard

Yesterday, the European Union’s telecoms industry officially committed to producing the largely rumoured universal mobile charger which will make it easier for customers to upgrade mobiles and cut down on the waste produced from unused chargers.

As much as several thousand tons of waste is produced each year according to the European Commission.

Although Apple was expected to hold out, they have joined the initiative along with LG, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Samsung, Texas Instrument, Research in Motion, Sony Ericsson, and Qualcom.

For consumers, the move may reduce the price of a mobile upgrade since an additional charger will not have to be purchased with a new mobile purchase once the first uniform charger is acquired.

GSM Association led an alliance of 17 mobile device manufacturers back in February to start a similar initiative in Brussels.

The new deal only applies to the European Union and companies that have been included in the deal will face lawsuits if they fail to follow suit with the new standardised charger laws.

Smartphones and regular mobile phones are both included in the standardised charger categories.

While the move is good news for consumers, some consumer groups like Beuc expressed dissatisfaction that similar devices such as MP3 players and other small portable gadgets were not included in the standardized charger deal.

Manufacturers will have to adhere to the new charging standards beginning in 2010 next year and is expected to take the place of over thirty different chargers that are on the market today.