At Mobile World Congress this year, phone makers announced a new plan to introduce a single, universal phone charger standard to improve the mobile industry’s environmental record. Now the deal has been signed by both industry bosses and the European Commission.
While a surprising number of phone companies – who have been guilty of using multiple charging standards in the past for seemingly no good reason – signed up to the GSM Association’s original proposal, it could have come to nothing without the European Commission’s blessing.
It’s still a voluntary agreement with no legal binding, but the idea that you’ll be able to charge your handset using anyone’s charger should appeal to almost anyone who has uttered the words “Can I borrow a Nokia charger? No the older one.”
The new one-size-fits-all charger will use a mini-USB connector and should be arriving on phones some time next year.
Out 2010 | £TBC | GSM Association (via BBC)
Does this mean we’ll start seeing loads of cheap mobile phones chargers that are made in china and sold on ebay for 25p now then?