An environmental benefit: reducing production and disposal pollution.
Starting in 2010, all newly manufactured cell phones will be required to come with a universal charger plug, regardless of the brand. This decision was made by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), the UN agency for telecommunications, which also specified the technology to be used: micro USB.
The charger will feature a standard electrical plug on one end and a micro USB input (the same shape as USB but smaller) on the other, to be inserted into the cell phone.
The European Commission has long been a proponent of a single charger, spurred by consumer associations. The lack of a standard cable has indeed caused inconvenience to users, in addition to increasing waste and pollution.
According to estimates by the Gsm Association, the mobile phone industry produces 51,000 tons of chargers annually. This involves energy consumption and pollution during production and the issue of disposal at the end of their usefulness, such as when changing phone models or brands.
Consumers will see tangible savings. Firstly, in terms of consumption, as the new charger will have three times greater energy efficiency compared to previous models. Secondly, in terms of cell phone cost, as companies will (hopefully) deduct the cost of the charger from the final price in the future.
So far, all major manufacturers have agreed to this change: Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, LG, Apple, Sony Ericsson, Blackberry.
This news was reported by the web magazine ‘Notizie tra le linee’.
Pubblicato in Mobile & App
Be the first to comment