Several mobile phone companies on Tuesday announced a plan to adopt a
universal cellphone charger, making it possible, at long last, for consumers to get rid of the tangle of incompatible old chargers filling up the bottom drawer of their desks.
Spearheaded
by the Group Special Mobile Association (GSMA), the initiative involves
17 mobile companies, including Nokia, LG and AT&T committed to implementing Micro USB on all their
cellphones by Jan. 1, 2012. Once adopted, the standard would allow any phone to be charged with a standard USB cable, which could draw its power from a PC, laptop, or USB power adapter.
Conspicuously missing from the list
was Apple.
"Moving toward a universal
charger is a good thing considering the life of cellphones," said Casey
Harrell, a toxics campaigner with Greenpeace. "I don’t know why [Apple]
didn’t join, but a universal standard is not truly universal unless all
the big manufacturers are taking part."
USB is already fast becoming a de facto standard for charging a variety of devices, but many manufacturers use nonstandard mini-USB plugs. A standard would enable a single charger to power any compatible cellphone, as well as any other device (such as a camera or Bluetooth headset) that has a mini USB power port.
The initiative is aiming
to address the environmental impact of cellphone chargers in a number
of ways: 1.) Reducing the overall amount of cellphones produced by 50
percent; 2.) Decreasing the amount of waste produced by discarded,
useless cellphone chargers; and 3.) Cutting down on the energy and materials (including toxic chemicals) required to produce chargers by 51,000 tons.
For
consumers, the move would also reduce the overall cost of a handset,
since it would allow manufacturers to offer chargers as an optional
accessory.
Some of the participants include mobile giants Nokia,
LG and AT&T. Apple didn’t respond to phone calls for comment on its
absence from the list. But iFixIt’s Luke Soules, who disassembles Apple products, said the reason is likely tied to money.
He noted that Apple’s MacBooks utilize a MagSafe connector for charging
— a unique connection that third-party
accessory manufacturers cannot reproduce. He said Apple is likely embracing the
same strategy with iPhone connectors, which utilize a USB dock
connector, to continue to capitalize on charger products.
"It
doesn’t surprise me a bit," Soules said. "It sure seems that Apple is
trying to, if not make money off the AC adapters, at least prevent
anybody from making money off AC adapters. It seems to me they’re
trying to prevent others from sharing."
It’s worth noting, however, that several third-party manufacturers do sell
iPhone chargers, so Apple doesn’t have dominance in this
space. And Apple has been heavily marketing the "green" aspect of its
new products in the past year. Therefore, Apple could still feasibly
adopt the new universal charger standard.
However, joining the initiative wouldn’t be easy for Apple. Adopting
Micro USB would render iPhones incompatible with pre-existing speakers
and dock accessories, which would displease consumers. If
Apple were to participate in the near future, it would likely stick a
Micro USB port on an iPhone in addition to the dock connector — and
offer either charger as an optional accessory. Sounds a little
complicated, though, doesn’t it?
What do you think Apple should do? Vote in the poll below.
Apple absent from universal phone charger push [AppleInsider]
Photo: Otacon_85/Flickr
For this week’s 
Second Place — Ernie Tedeschi
Third Place — Cobra Commander
