Universal charger for mobile phones in Asia soon
Handset manufacturers say they will increase support for micro-USB charging across their products due for Asian markets, as part of efforts to follow similar plans in Europe.
From January next year, European mobile phone users will no longer require different chargers to power their devices, following the European Commission's announcement that a one-size-fits-all charger is expected to be made available from 2011.
Compatible with the micro-USB data cable, this "universal charger" will be incorporated into new models released by mobile phone manufacturers, most of which are now taking steps to prep their portfolio.
In Asia, Nokia said the company has already introduced models that support micro-USB charging and the plan is to ensure that, by 2012, the majority of their devices can use the common charger as well as the existing Nokia 2 mm standard.
"We will progressively introduce compatible phones leading up to 2012," the spokesperson told ZDNet Asia. Some of the phone models that already support micro USB charging include the Nokia N97, X3 and N900.
Similarly, Sony Ericsson said the Xperia X10, Xperia Mini and soon to be launched X8 and Cedar will also sport the universal charger, a company spokesperson said in an e-mail interview.
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) noted that their smartphones have been manufactured to incorporate the micro USB charger since last year.
The European Commission in 2009 gathered several handset manufacturers, including Nokia, Apple and Samsung, into an agreement to provide a single charger in a bid to reduce wastage and inefficiency. Chipset makers such as NEC, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, have also pledged to be part of the deal.
Wireless universal charger
Besides the micro-USB connector, a wireless interoperable charger known as Qi, is also set to revolutionize the way users charge their mobile phones in the near future.
Developed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), the low-power standard Qi--which means energy flow in Chinese--works on magnetic induction technology to produce up to 5W of power.
The consortium recently finalized the standard for low-power charging and the specifications for interface definition have been released to members, with the public download release date set for Aug. 30.
With the certification of products now open, the WPC expects Qi wireless chargers to be made available in the later part of this year.