News

European Commission To Require Uniform Cell Phone Chargers By 2011

August 02, 2010 by Jeff Shepard

The European Commission announced that, starting in January 2011, cell phones will have a uniforml charger. The one-size-fits-all model means new phones will no longer come with chargers, and there will be less electronic waste. It will also let owners access another person’s charger when the juice is gone.

The uniform charger is the product of an agreement by cell phone makers such as Apple, Emblaze Mobile, Huawei Technologies, LGE, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, Research in Motion (RIM), Samsung, SonyEricsson, TCT Mobile and Texas Instruments.

The industry companies agreed that the new charger will be for all smartphones and all "data-enabled" phones – and will use a micro-USB connector. The new universal chargers will not cover older mobile phones.

The Commission says that approximately half of the mobile phones in use across the European Union will be covered by the new provision, and that will lead to substantial environmental savings.