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Phone makers agree to universal chargers after European Commission pressure


The world's biggest mobile phone makers have agreed to standardise chargers in a bid to reduce waste. The new universal chargers will be on the market by 2012, an industry body said.

Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG are among the companies which have signed up to the pact. Industry body the GSM Association (GSMA) said that the companies had chosen micro-usb as the charging connection standard for phones.

The announcement comes just days after European Union Industry Commissioner Gunther Verheugen said that the Commission would legislate if phone makers could not agree a standard charger.

Verheugen told German radio station Deutsche Welle that he was becoming impatient at the industry's refusal to create a standard charger and that the Commission would force manufacturers into complying with its wishes if it had to.

The industry has now said that it will unify chargers to help reduce the massive waste involved in each manufacturer having its own charger, and some phone makers having different chargers for different models within their ranges.

"By supporting this industry initiative on common charging solutions, and enabling consumers to choose if they need a charger with every new device or can re-use existing ones, we can contribute further in improving the industry's environmental footprint," said Mitti Storckovius, director of environment and devices at Nokia.

"The universal charging solution presents a unique opportunity for our industry to bring positive benefits to the environment and also to the end-user experience," said WS Lee, vice president of Samsung Electronics.

The GSMA said that it expected the move to result in the manufacture of 50% fewer chargers a year, based on the assumption that half of phones sold are replacements.

Mobile phone networks such as 3 and Vodafone have also backed the plan.

The GSMA said that it hopes that by 2012 a universal charger will be "widely available in the market worldwide" and that the "majority" of mobiles being made will have a micro-usb charging socket by 1st January 2012. 

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