Hasta La Gadget!

Cellphone battery dead? No problem: Just borrow a charger from a friend. Oh, wait — you can’t, because your friend doesn’t have the same phone as you, and his charger won’t work with your phone.

That annoyance will end next year, for Europeans at least. Thanks to the efforts of the European Commission, most cellphones sold in Europe will have a one-size-fits-all charger starting in 2011. So far, 10 major cellphone makers, including Apple, Motorola, Samsung and Research In Motion, have signed on to the agreement.

Americans will have to wait. Without a government agency setting a deadline, it’s up to handset makers to make the switch to a single standard. All consumers can do is let their old chargers gather dust in a drawer, while hoping manufacturers will eventually converge on a standardized charger.

“For the FCC, this is probably number 5,000 on their list and it is legislative priority number 10,000 at this point,” says Joe Banos, chief operating officer for Wilson Electronics, which makes cellphone boosters and antennas. “We believe the U.S. will ultimately follow Europe here, but the question is when.”

Today each cellphone ships with its own charger. Different companies use different connectors — and often different models from the same company do too, making it difficult for users to borrow a charger. And when it’s time to toss the phone, the charger also goes into the bin.

A universal charger means consumers don’t have to get a new charger with every mobile phone. As a bonus, it’ll be easier to borrow a charger when in need.

And if all that isn’t enough, there’s the green aspect. One-size-fits-all means fewer chargers will wind up in the landfill, less electronic waste, and fewer resources consumed in manufacturing chargers.

In 2009, the European Commission said it reached a voluntary agreement with handset manufacturers to use the micro-USB connector for the charger. Starting in 2011, all phone models sold in Europe would then have compatible chargers. Now, that agreement is taking effect.

Changing the rules in the U.S.

Smartphone makers in the United States are moving toward something similar, but more slowly. Motorola and Samsung have said they will offer a standard charger here but haven’t committed to a deadline. It’s a complex game where each handset maker is optimizing for itself, but collectively those decisions might help realize the goal of having a universal charger, probably centered on micro-USB.

“For the most part it is already happening here with smartphones,” says Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at the Altimeter Group. “An HTC Evo charger will charge a Nexus One or Incredible, as long as it has a micro-USB connector.”

The major holdouts in the U.S. are Apple and Research In Motion. Apple uses a proprietary 30-pin connector for its iPhone, while many BlackBerry chargers and devices are engineered so they will work only when paired together, says Wilson’s Banos.

But even among companies that use micro-USB, it’s still not a standard.

“There’s the flat, wide mini-USB connector; the short, squat micro-USB; and different versions in between,” says Allen Nogee, an analyst at In-Stat research. “They are all still using different versions of the USB connector.”

But if you can get a connector to fit into the phone, it doesn’t matter which model it is for or which company made it, because all USB-based chargers deliver the same voltage, say experts.

The push to change the situation in the U.S. could come from accessories makers for smartphones, says Nogee. Today, when you buy a new battery pack or car charging kit, it comes with a little bag stuffed with connectors so users can pick the right ones for their phones.

“It is much more expensive for these companies to support different phones and connectors,” says Nogee. “But the problem is that so far, accessories makers haven’t had enough say in the phone manufacturing process.”

Ultimately, economics will force handset makers in the U.S. to change, say industry experts. As companies move to a universal charger in Europe, they will bring the same connectors to U.S. models.

It’s not clear how Apple will make the change, but it is certain that if the company moves to a micro USB-based connector for its new iPhone model in Europe, U.S. customers can expect the same.

“It makes so much sense that I believe the U.S. will follow,” says Banos. “It would be insane not to.”

See Also:

• Nokia Announces Bike-Powered Phone Charger
• Europe Gets Universal Cellphone Charger in 2010
• Ugandan MacGyver Builds Own Cellphone Charger
• AT&T Zero Charger Switches Itself Off
• Mobile Industry (Minus Apple) Embraces Universal Phone Charger …

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

From the netbook I write these posts on to my iPhone, Zune, Nook, and Nintendo DS, I–like many of you–own entirely too many gadgets. And I’ve fallen victim to the problem that comes with our shiny toys tools: how to charge all of them without creating the world’s largest knot.

The Idapt i4 from Inoitulos has come to save the day, offering a charging solution much more practical than those goofy charge pads that look like they’re right out of Deep Space Nine. The IdaptT i4 is a thick, square hub of three interchangeable power adapters and room for one charge cord.

The idea is to put your smaller devices, such as an iPhone or point-and-shoot digital camera, on top of the device using one of its three interchangeable ports and charge your bigger devices–an iPad or netbook, for example–using its power cord receptacle. Oh, did we mention that it supports over 4,000 mobile devices, according to Inoitulos? Thank you, Eli Whitney, for interchangeable parts.

Home wiring may not be the hottest of topics, but get it wrong and, well, things can certainly get exciting. As electric vehicles become more commonplace, more and more people are going to start looking into what it will take to get more current running to their cars — nobody’s going to want to wait around for a 110V trickle charge. Leviton is a big name in home wiring and automation circles and has launched the Evr-Green sub-brand. One of its first products will be a pre-wiring kit for Level 2 charging stations, like GE’s WattStation. Level 2 chargers offer 240V and, with the Evr-Green pre-wiring kit, will be basically plug and play. The kits are said to cost around $200 — though naturally that won’t include the cost of installation for the kit itself.

Leviton partners with Coulomb Technologies, makes EV charging stations plug-and-play originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While range is an unfortunate limiting factor for electric vehicles, slow recharging time is perhaps even more troubling. Going 100 miles on a charge would be okay if you could stop at the corner electron stand and top up your cells while hitting the potty, and JFE Engineering’s quick charger gets makes that a reality, able to charge an EV’s batteries to 50 percent in just three minutes. Five minutes gets you a 70 percent charge, but from there things go downhill, with 30 minutes required for an 80 percent charge. The company is now pledging that these units will be ready for installation at convenience shops and the like by March — in Japan, of course. The “low cost” version is said to go for $60,000, while the standard model costs twice that. Fast-flowing electrons: expensive business.

JFE Engineering’s quick auto charger does 50% charge in three minutes, hits parking lots in March originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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