Standardized Cell Phone Chargers On The Way

Earlier in the year, the Wirefly team discussed the initiatives Chinese manufacturers were taking toward standardizing cell phone chargers across all cell phone manufacturers. We wondered whether such a move would ever happen here in the U.S. and how nice it would be for consumers and the environment.

So you can imagine how excited we were by the news that Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, LG and Sony Ericsson – the manufacturers responsible for 85% of the GSM cell phone market – agreed to standardize their cell phone chargers to micro-USB. Not only will this development help cut down on cable clutter, it will, according to Nokia, “enhance user experience with a singular and stronger data transfer and charging interface.� Okay. Sounds good.

Whatever the motivation, as a multiple cell phone user and a gadget geek, I am all too enthused at the opportunity to reduce some of the clutter around my desk by using one charger for all of my cell phones. Now if we can just get home entertainment system manufacturers to follow suit.