Universal phone charger ahead of schedule

The European Union and several popular cellphone manufacturers have agreed to use a mini-USB standard for charging all phones.

Universal standards should be in place by 2010, two years ahead of schedule, InformationWeek reports. Apple, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Qualcomm, RIM, Samsung and Sony Ericsson are among the companies endorsing the agreement.

In the US, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association agreed in April to MicroUSB standards, with the same timetable of 2012 for implementation.

The move to universal chargers is an environmental boon. It’s reported that universal chargers will use 50 percent less power in standby mode, and the CTIA has said charger production will decrease by 50 percent, resulting in less greenhouse gases.

But will these chargers be totally beneficial to customers? Certainly, customers will have fewer headaches when buying extra accessories, such as car chargers, but where else is a 50 percent production decrease coming from? Most cellphones are packaged with some sort of charger. Manufacturers could very well stop including them, forcing customers to buy a separate unit.

For environmentalists, at least, that’s a worthy sacrifice.