One thing I abhor about cellphones is that they come with chargers of all shapes and sizes. Even Nokia itself provides sockets that can’t take in plugs from different models. That can be a hassle when on the road because of the extra weight you have to carry for different electronic doodads. What’s worse is the impact on the environment. Think of the landfill problems we face, considering that people change cellphones almost every 4 months!
But there’s good news. No longer will you have to suffer through proprietary charging connectors on cell phones much longer. There’s some buzz in the industry may settle on the humble micro-USB as a standard for charging. A United Nations driven initiative, spearheaded by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), proposed the move to save consumers the hassle while saving the world.
Apparently the primary reasons for the proposal is that fifty one thousand tons of plastic chargers swell landfills each year. With a unified standard, buyers can reuse a charger from phone to phone.
What I’m curious about is how Apple will take this. Their cool dock connector provides an unparalleled wealth of functionality that only their system provides. But for the other manufacturers like Nokia, Samsung and Ericsson, let them unify! Their multi-sized chargers never added extra value!
Here’s a toast to a greener world- and less consumer vexation.
