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Hell Ya CTIA… Let’s Standardize Charging

Posted by Chris Leckness on April 23, 2009 – 7:31 am  Share
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OMG. One of my biggest gripes is when a company uses a proprietary charging connector. *cough cough… Samsung… Cough Cough* Well, I love Samsung products a lot, they are very close 2nd to HTC personally, but they choose to use a proprietary connector that sucks. Luckily they stick with the same connector so going from Samsung phone to Samsung phone isn’t a challange, but seriously, we need a standard. With the announcement from the CTIA yesterday, we might be closer!

“Earth Day serves as a great reminder that the wireless industry and all of us have a role to play when it comes to taking care of our planet. We recognize the need and the responsibility we have to help create a low-carbon economy, and the initiative to adopt a ‘Universal Charging Solution’ is an important step in the right direction,” said Steve Largent, President and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association. “A universal charger will not only be more energy efficient, it will also make life easier for consumers by allowing them to use the same charger for future handsets.”

What do you think, you want to see a universal standard for charging and syncing? I talked about this already back in February when a similar announcement was made by the GSMA and I also made a big rant back in 2006.

Source: IntoMobile

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Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris runs a Mobilitysite, GotZune, and a few other smaller sites and blogs. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.


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  • I'd also like a universal charger (really, who wouldn't?). I think even if you don't unbundle the charger, it's still somewhat more environmentally friendly than the current situation. Why? Glad you asked.

    Even if you don't reduce the number of chargers made, because the universal chargers would still be useful with new devices, people would keep them (and put them in other rooms, their office, etc.). At worst, they'd end up as spares in case another charger died. That's more environmentally friendly because the chargers wouldn't end up in landfills when the user got a new phone.

    Of course, if people are going to keep these extra chargers plugged in, you'd have to figure out how to reduce the vampire effect. Maybe the units would somehow only draw power when plugged into a device....

    Steve
  • badersk
    I agree. I have two pda phones and 3 bluetooth headsets and they all use different connectors. I also agree on the removal of a charger with a unit along with an option to purchase it with one for those upgrading from older stuff. It would save on the price if we didn't need one.
  • webbahboy
    I add my "amen!" to any rant about universal connections and charging!
    I entered a new era when I could charge my Magellan GPS, my Motorokr S9 bluetooth headphones, and my HTC Fuze with one unit. Wow does that simplify things.
  • ScottMGS
    This is only "environmentally smart" if you *don't* get a new charger with every device! The manufacturers would have to unbundle the charger allowing the consumer to buy - separately - the right number and kind of chargers needed. I'd get one for the car, one for my office and two for home assuming I had more than one device that needed charging.
  • Heather
    We definitely need a standard for phones, bluetooth headsets, mp3 players, gps, everything...i hate having a thousand different chargers in my car.
  • CodeBubba
    I think we're starting to see this happen. When I bought my iPaq 111 I was pleased to discover that it has the exact same 5V mini-USB connection that just about all my devices are coming with now. AT LAST. I can plug all of my goodies into the same chargers.

    -CB
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