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'One Size Fits All' Chargers Next Year

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PCQ Bureau
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The increasing number of mobile devices, that are coming in every other day, like laptops, smartphones and tablets is no doubt making life convenient for everybody. However, it also comes with its own set of woes, and the most painful being to keep all these devices charged up. There has been a pressing need for battery backup --be it for laptops, tablets or a smartphone. More the number of devices, more varied are the chargers. If you and your family use multiple smartphones, you may find yourself buying different chargers for each device. The large number of proprietary chargers add a lot of pressure to the environment. According to a report, 51,000 tons of cellphone chargers are being discarded every year which translates to a huge waste.

Apart from the environment issues, consumers too face a lot of problems with incompatible chargers. When you are in a cinema hall or in a shopping mall, you may find a charging station but not necessarily a charger that your cellphone is compatible with. plus if you carry more than one phone, you can imagine the pain of getting them perked up. Vendor monopoly in deciding the price and availability for their proprietary accessory is another issue for the same.

One-Size-Fits-All Chargers to Hit Market

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One solution that can do away with the problems cited is standardized chargers. This solution has been identified by the main association of mobile phone manufacturers and GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association). The association announced a plan to standardize all phone chargers with a micro-USB connector. The idea has been around for quite some time now, but it is to become a reality in 2012. The charging end is to include a micro-USB charging male port. It is important to note that cell phones are not necessarily required to have the micro-USB female port on them. The chargers could use converters for specific type of charging ports. The power end of the charger would be the standard USB connector. This can be connected to the PC, laptop USB ports or standardized main adapters for AC connectivity.

e-Waste to Reduce Drastically

While universal charger will make life much easier for the consumer, who will be able to use the same charger for various handsets, as well as charge their phones anywhere, the new measure will go a long way in reducing green house emissions and mitigating climate change measures. Not shipping a separate charger with each cell phone means less electronic waste. The move for sure, will bring down the electronics waste drastically over the course of a few years.

Some of the manufacturers which have agreed to be a part of the standardization procedure are Samsung, Apple, Nokia, Research in Motion, LG, Motorola and Sony Ericsson.

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