Universal phone charger closer to reality

Yesterday, while all eyes were on Windows 7, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has taken a big step towards enabling the existence of a universal phone charger by giving its stamp of approval to an energy-efficient one-charger-fits-all solution.

Officially known as the Universal Charging Solution (UCS), ITU's standard will help dramatically cut the number of chargers produced, shipped and discarded, as you will have just one charger for all phones, no matter the make and model.

"This is a significant step in reducing the environmental impact of mobile charging, which also has the benefit of making mobile phone use more straightforward," said Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. " Universal chargers are a commonsense solution that I look forward to seeing in other areas."

The UCS chargers will make use of the Micro-USB interface and have a 4-star or higher efficiency rating, meaning thwy will be up to three times more energy-efficient than unrated chargers.

News source: tcmagazine