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European MEPs Back Single Charger Standard

posted by Dopefish on Saturday March 15 2014, @08:12AM   Printer-friendly
from the one-plug-to-rule-them-all dept.
lhsi writes "Members of the European Parliament have backed a regulation for all smartphone devices to use a standardized charger, a Micro USB connector being the favored type (and one that is in use already).

The regulation is still only a draft law and must be approved by Europe's council of ministers. However, that body has already given its informal backing to the law, suggesting it will win final approval.

European member states will have until 2016 to translate the regulation into national laws and manufacturers will then have 12 months to switch to the new design

The reason for this regulation is both to help consumers and to cut down on electronic waste (51,000 tonnes annually)."

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Saturday March 15 2014, @09:09AM

    by c0lo (156) on Saturday March 15 2014, @09:09AM (#16826)

    Would companies have different connectors for non-EU markets and only use the regulated ones for EU customers? Or would they just standardise worldwide so they don't have to manufacture two variations of the same phone?

    in the throat-cut mobile phone market competition, would it make much sense for a manufacturer to support the cost of double standards? After all, it is not the charger that makes a differentiator factor from the competition, is it?
    If the Texas Board of Education manages to push creationism US wide only by ordering the manuals it approves in bulk (so that the picked publishers can sell them at lower prices nation wide due higher quantity production), I imagine an entire Europe may cause the phone makers to finally drop their "specially designed plugholes" for the whole world.

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  • (Score: 2) by mojo chan on Monday March 17 2014, @10:18AM

    by mojo chan (266) on Monday March 17 2014, @10:18AM (#17598)

    Don't hold your breath. They make a lot of money on proprietary cables and chargers, so it would be worth it to them to screw Americans if they can. Both the very high end (e.g. Apple) and very low end (e.g. Nokia) do it.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)