Micro-USB picked as universal mobile handset charging port

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 18 February 2009 08:08

IT Industry - Market

So a mobile phone industry body has finally settled on a standardised charging scheme. I smell greenwash.

The variety of connectors used to recharge mobile phones - along with varying power requirements - has long been a source of frustration for users.

When travelling, for example, you can't rely on your host's charger being a match for your phone, so you need to lug a charger around with you.

Or if three people in a household own phones from three different manufacturers, that probably means three chargers cluttering the kitchen bench.

And how many chargers do you have tucked away in a cupboard just in case you'll need them again?

So having a standard charger that will work with more or less any future phone is clearly a Good Thing, especially as the plan includes more efficient chargers.

Such "4 star" (or better) chargers are said to be up to three times more efficient than conventional equivalents, though that figure appears to assume that the charger is left connected to the mains after charging.

But what exactly have the members of the GSM Association (GSMA) agreed to? See page 2.