Comments on: Universal cell phone chargers coming soon

Finally, the mobile industry will provide a single cell-phone charger that will work with any phone.

[cmstratton]

How about Apple - will they be going along with the standard?

[tdreher]

HAHAHA!

[Chapmaniac]

Apple marches to the beat of their own drummer.

[Someone-else]

The way Apple is they will now patent Micro-USB and sues everyone that uses it.

[mikehartigan]

Apple
Standard

-- my keyboard wouldn't even let me type those words on the same line!

[celticbrewer]

If they follow past trends, they'll have a proprietary charger, it'll charge the battery slower than mini-usb, Apple will sell it for twice what the mini-usb charger costs, and apple fanboys will proclaim how superior it is.

[tcr071]

No. Apple does not do anything standard.

What you can be assured that they WILL do is replace the charging connection every two product life cycles so that all the accessories you purchased become worthless and you must re-purchase them. Thats about all you can count on for sure as far as charging goes though.

[skladek]

tcr071, Apple has been using the dock connector since the 3rd gen iPod. They stuck with the dock connector for the iPhone/touch's first and second generations. The MagSafe adapter for the MacBooks had been in use for 2 years and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere soon. Eventually these chargers will be changed, but both have been around for more than 2 generations without being changed.

[tcr071]

That is funny. Because it seems to me I can't plug my iPhone 3g into the same adapter I plugged my iPhone 2g into.

I also can't seem to find a firewire port on my new aluminum MacBook.

Weird.... guess it just must be me...

[Monahan92]

This will be one of the dumbest things Apple does if they don't go with the standard. I'm not saying it would be a surprise if they don't but Apple, It is not always good to be different. These kinds of things don't change your beloved device's appearance and you don't always have to make things proprietary so you can charge extra for it SO JUST GO WITH IT. Make it easier on the people. I'm sure the people don't care...or even notice, many people probably don't even even know what a micro-usb plug is. All of the other mobile phone makers are being smart and this is just a good idea...i can't believe no one thought of this before. I hope this happens so or at least by the time i buy my next phone.

[yanchineseguy]

Hooray!

[egghead1619]

No one thought of this sooner because it has been a huge money maker. The phone is given away practically free with a single wall charger and the consumer is then forced to purchase a new car charger and any other accessories they used to have with their old phone.

[timber2005]

That and maybe because all the copper was cheeper.

[robwhelan]

It HAS been thought of before. Of course it has, over and over again. But they always ignored the requests because all of that crap is such a money-maker (you hit the nail on the head with that one).

And this is still only just the tip of the iceberg of what they could (and should) be doing; what about chargers that don't draw current unless they are actually charging something?

See http://www.iwantmygreenplug.com to help push for a universal charger for *all* small electronics that doesn't wast power or overflow the landfills.

[perry-crann]

This seems like a great idea. Millions less cables in landfills and only one charger to keep track of. But it is one of those things that seems like it makes so much sense that it will be practically impossible to implement.

Perry Crann

[Chapmaniac]

This is a great day for consumers and the environment! Not only will the mini USB standard help everyone charge their phones easily, you can (most likely) use that same port to charge your phone via USB 2.0 computer ports. Taking it one further, all phone manufacturers employing this new standard should allow data access and transfer through that port to a computer. This should also allow contact/calendar/etc. synchronizing through Microsoft's ActiveSync technology - or something proprietary but not hair-pulling <grin>.

[timber2005]

Good luck on that. My bet is MOST will use it for power only, but Microsoft's Device Center MIGHT just do what you are wanting, and even make it easy when the company chooses to use a proprietary software.

[rbz275]

Please note, micro USB is the upcoming standard. It is NOT the same as the mini USB on your current phone or camera. Micro has a smaller plug and isnt symetrical.

[myles taylor]

"It's such a no-brainer, it makes you wonder why no one thought of this sooner."

It's probably not thinking of it; but the implementation of it that had people stalled. It requires collaboration and companies don't like to do that.

[demner]

Well, I have a phone charger that fits in my other phones but don't actually charge any but the original!Maybe because the newer phones need more juice than the adaptor could supply? Regardless, shape is only one factor.

[sjohnson29]

There are several companies already doing this. Look at Blackberries. They use the USB standard now. As do other phones and peripherals I've seen and own. We have 2 blackberries in house that use the same chargers as do different brands of a bluetooth speakerphone and headset that we have. All can be charged with the same AC Adapters, USB computer cables, and USB connector car chargers. So hopefully many other vendors will do the same and it won't take until 2012 for this to happen.

[hafenbrack]

Have you ever tried charging a MOTO phone (with mini USB) with one of those RIM shargers, you'll get an error saying "Unable to Charge" Just because this is the same form factor doesn't mean that the charge will work. This new standard charging should help to alleviate that.

[oakie51]

that photo's caption is wrong... the pictured charger is MINI-USB, not "micro-USB". the two connectors are not the same.

[oakie51]

do they also plan on making batteries standard? maybe at least operating voltage and amperage? because without that, this will do more harm than good... just because the plug fits doesnt mean the charger is compatible for the device and/or battery's needs.

[ThatGuy2-1]

THANK GOD!!!! I've HATED LG because of this. Their chargers don't even work with other LG phone models 'cos it's a cradle type unit that came with the phone ... it was the most annoying this EVER! Atleast with the iPhone and most other phones, if you're at a friend's house and they have a "similar" phone or iPod, you're good to go; with LG you were out of luck unless they had the EXACT SAME PHONE 'cos of the stupid cradles ... will never buy another LG again until this charger issue gets worked out.

[CountryClubRepublican]

"It's such a no-brainer. It makes you wonder why no one thought of this sooner."

Uh, it was thought of years ago. The problem was that every cell phone maker made tons of money selling proprietary chargers for the aftermarket which they didn't want to give up.

I'm surprised but glad this went through. Now if they can do the same thing for laptop chargers and printer ink cartridges!

[raehl311]

Don't think they gave up the money - they just realized that once chargers are standard, they can stop including them for free with the phone and sell you one for $60 instead - just like they do with printers and USB cables.

[celticbrewer]

True, raehl311, but then another company (probably from China) will come along and make a cheap charger for $15. It may die within a year, but consumers will still buy them because they're a fraction of the cost.

[BigGuns149]

I honestly would prefer that they didn't include redundent cables like they they do with USB printers. The reality is that most of the time we are buying these devices to replace an older unit that died or we decided to upgrade. Very few consumers are buying a phone for the first time much like the vast majority of people aren't buying a printer for the first time. Why would I want to buy a cable that I already own that works? While the cables are cheap they aren't free. Either you are paying more for that cable or they are cutting corners in the quality somewhere else so that you can have a cable that you don't need and probably don't want anyways.

[mlissner]

This is good, but it doesn't do very much unless they stop giving away chargers with every phone. I already have three of these mini USB chargers.

A change needs to be made where they ask you after you buy your phone something like, "Here's your phone. Do you need a charger? You probably don't."

[darkmerkaba]

Umm, the igo chargers from Radio shack are the best ones out there. all you do is buy a $10 tip every time you get a new device and plug it into the wall/car charger. their travel kit is the best thing ever. i have tips for my ipod, psp, cell phone, camera, and gps.

[renGek]

I used to use igo until I realize there are lots of manufacturers that sell portable batteries that comes with literally
50-100 different tips for a price of $30. Kinda made me wonder why I bothered with igo.

[probell]

Another benefit omitted from the article is that every USB port on a computer becomes a charging port for hand-held devices. As a result different AC power connectors for different countries will be unnecessary and handsets can be charged from notebook computers on battery power when away from an AC power grid.

[AL-Graphic]

Be aware, the Micro USB standard(MICRO USB not regular USB2) is only for Wall unit electricity charger not for the compurter USB charger, because virus issue, if your computer equiped with Micro USB connector, it is for data input/output, your Anti-virus will need to scan first then act as I/O function, the GSMA standard is a Micro USB and a 110 volt plug in, not bothsides as USB connection. Of course, you will be able to find adapter later, but be aware the computer virus issue!

[BigGuns149]

I've never heard of said issue and there are already USB A to Micro USB cables on the market. Besides the device isn't taking 110V! The power adapter steps down the voltage to the appropriate voltage for the device. Do you know what you are talking about? I can't tell.

[Jack_McSlay]

That's a big load of ********. The standard is to input the EXACT voltage that regular USB does, and the virus will NOT affect your cell phone by any means, not to mention that being USB-powered doesn't necessarily mean the divice is capable of receiving/transmitting data through the USB connection.

[Spodyody]

"It's such a no-brainer. It makes you wonder why no one thought of this sooner."

Um, universal chargers have been around in East Asia for at least 5 years. You can go to any convenience store and get your phone charged for a buck.

[cyberdog433]

About time, only the picture of the Motorola charger shown is MINI-USB and not MICRO-USB. Also noticed that nowhere does the article mention Verizon and AT&T, the two largest carriers in NA, as going along with it. While I can attach any Mini-USB to my AT&T phones, my wife's Verizon phone displays 'Unauthorized charger' when I connect one of mine to her phone......they're the same brand and model phone, other than she has the Verizon CDMA version. (Lets hop on board Verizon!)

[Zen-Masta]

I'm a little late chiming in on this but, it's ABOUT TIME. Ever since I got my first phone with mini USB I've vowed not to get another phone or bluetooth headpiece that does not use it. For one it's great not needing multiple charges, and for 2 I can charge it on my computer OR even data transfer easier (if the device supports it). To many phones have these ridiculous data cables it's such a racket.

[fazalmajid]

Actually, the Chinese government not only thought about it earlier, but even mandated USB power connectors for all cell phones designed after June 2007.

Then again they're eeveel communist furriners, what do they know?