Apple joins universal phone charger list

The world is rejoicing today at the news that we will all be getting a single mobile phone charger, using microUSB.

Personally, I'm delighted at the news — as delighted as I was the first time it was announced (in 2007) and the second (earlier this year).

OK, to be fair, today's new news is that the EU likes the scheme, but that's not particularly pertinent — the downside for phone manufacturers is that they will irk peripherals makers by adopting a non-proprietary standard, but that's significantly outweighed by the benefits of lower shipping costs (through using smaller boxes with no chargers) and loud claims of greenness. The industry was going to do it anyway, EU or no EU.

What is interesting about today's announcement is the inclusion of Apple on the list of compliant companies. According to Apple: "As we've said in the past, we are committed to the Apple dock connector and this initiative will not require us to change it. Today's memorandum gives manufacturers the option to provide an adapter that connects with the universal charger."

So, an adapter for Apple then. Better than a full-size charger, I suppose, but it does still mean an extra thingummy to carry around...