New EU Law Forces All Cellphone Chargers to Share Common Standard

[Steven Bogos]

New EU Law Forces All Cellphone Chargers to Share Common Standard

The new law will make it mandatory for all cellphones to be able to be charged through a single, universal standard.

We've all been there. You're over at a friend's house, and your cellphone is running on fumes. "Hey man, can I borrow your charger?" you ask. "Oh, sorry," he replies, "I only have an iPhone 5 charger..." In Europe, at least, this scenario may soon be a thing of the past, as a new law will require all cellphones to use a single, universal standard for their chargers.

Provided the Council of Ministers green lights the regulation, the law will come into effect in 2017... so phone makers do have a few years to get their act in gear. EU countries will have until 2016 to put it into their local laws. The European Parliament session [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20140307IPR38122/html/MEPs-push-for-common-charger-for-all-mobile-phones] that drafted the law found that a common charger would "reduce waste, costs and hassle for users."

As for what that standard may be, back in 2009 the European commission received industry backing [http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/29/nokia-apple-rim-and-others-agree-on-micro-usb-phone-charger-st/] from the likes of Nokia, Apple and RIM for its phone charger standard that relies on a micro-USB socket. Micro-USB is already used for many Android smartphones, and other electronic devices such as cameras.

This should come as pretty welcome move for anyone who's ever bought a new cellphone and been left with a useless charger. Here's hoping similar laws get adopted around the world.

Source: Engadget [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20140307IPR38122/html/MEPs-push-for-common-charger-for-all-mobile-phones]

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[VladG]

Well, pretty much everything uses micro-usb except Apple stuff and a very small handful of tablets anyway. I'm actually curious how Apple is going to handle not using their Lightning connector.

 

[FalloutJack]

Well, pretty much everything uses micro-usb except Apple stuff and a very small handful of tablets anyway. I'm actually curious how Apple is going to handle not using their Lightning connector.

They'd sell an adapter plug to make up the difference, I would think.

 

[Bryan Nolen]

They already sell a microusb to lightning adaptor

 

[VladG]

Well, pretty much everything uses micro-usb except Apple stuff and a very small handful of tablets anyway. I'm actually curious how Apple is going to handle not using their Lightning connector.

They'd sell an adapter plug to make up the difference, I would think.

They already do, naturally. It just wouldn't be Apple if they didn't charge outrageous sums for a million and one shitty accessories for their outrageously priced stuff.

But the point of the article is that they will have to use a standard port from the start, without adaptors. And then Apple will be sad because it won't be a unique, overpriced snowflake any more.

 

[FalloutJack]

Well, pretty much everything uses micro-usb except Apple stuff and a very small handful of tablets anyway. I'm actually curious how Apple is going to handle not using their Lightning connector.

They'd sell an adapter plug to make up the difference, I would think.

They already do, naturally. It just wouldn't be Apple if they didn't charge outrageous sums for a million and one shitty accessories for their outrageously priced stuff.

But the point of the article is that they will have to use a standard port from the start, without adaptors. And then Apple will be sad because it won't be a unique, overpriced snowflake any more.

Oh, good luck actually getting them to behave. Putting aside your opinion on the product itself for a moment - because I lean not one way or the other on the matter - I know how companies think. They won't do anything they don't want to do if they can find a way around it. And naturally, if they still have to, they're dead-set on finding some way to recup a loss.

 

[frizzlebyte]

While it's less of a problem than in the past, I'm glad the EU is doing this. It should cut down on e-waste, at least a little bit.

Now, I doubt the USA would ever really pass legislation like this, but they should. It would be great to have a common standard over here, as well.

 

[Callate]

Sweet mother of mercy. Can we get that over here, too?

It boggles the mind that you can get Germany, France, and the U.K. to agree on setting a common phone charging standard (and overcoming any industry opposition to same) and you can't get members of the same party in my country to agree not to shut down the government and trash their own country's credit rating.

 

[Something Amyss]

Oh, good luck actually getting them to behave.

Europe has had luck getting them to behave in the past, so why would it be different now?

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Well, pretty much everything uses micro-usb except Apple stuff and a very small handful of tablets anyway. I'm actually curious how Apple is going to handle not using their Lightning connector.

They'd sell an adapter plug to make up the difference, I would think.

for 80 dollars. with 20 dollars shipping.

OT: Please bring this to the US, I beg you.

 

[FalloutJack]

Oh, good luck actually getting them to behave.

Europe has had luck getting them to behave in the past, so why would it be different now?

The rest of that post pretty much sums it up.

for 80 dollars. with 20 dollars shipping.

In order to recup any losses, yes.

 

[Braedan]

While I love the idea of standardized charging plugs, I REALLY don't like the idea of a government being able to decide how businesses are going to create products merely to be convenient. If it was bad enough that legislation was needed, then people would have stopped buying the one product that wasn't part of the standard.

 

[J Tyran]

While I love the idea of standardized charging plugs, I REALLY don't like the idea of a government being able to decide how businesses are going to create products merely to be convenient. If it was bad enough that legislation was needed, then people would have stopped buying the one product that wasn't part of the standard.

This is the tip of the iceberg with the EU, they regulate just about everything from the size of fruit deciding how it must be packaged to the packaging itself. There is barely any consumer or essential products that they don't meddle with, its one the gripes many Euroskeptics have.

Personally I like the idea of having a single charger for all phones and hopefully tablets, with induction chargers becoming one of the next big things I wonder how useful it will be in the end.

 

[iseko]

I wonder how this is going to work. Android devices all share a micro usb port. However voltages and amperes differ amongst chargers. You can really fuck up your battery if you constantly use a wrong charger. Still, prob not a fuck that is given so... Go eu

 

[Exterminas]

While I love the idea of standardized charging plugs, I REALLY don't like the idea of a government being able to decide how businesses are going to create products merely to be convenient. If it was bad enough that legislation was needed, then people would have stopped buying the one product that wasn't part of the standard.

This is the tip of the iceberg with the EU, they regulate just about everything from the size of fruit deciding how it must be packaged to the packaging itself. There is barely any consumer or essential products that they don't meddle with, its one the gripes many Euroskeptics have.

Personally I like the idea of having a single charger for all phones and hopefully tablets, with induction chargers becoming one of the next big things I wonder how useful it will be in the end.

Overall the EU's meddling has been very beneficial in terms of consumer friendliness. For example, when I buy a yoghurt I know exactly how much fruit it contains based solely on the product name!

 

[J Tyran]

While I love the idea of standardized charging plugs, I REALLY don't like the idea of a government being able to decide how businesses are going to create products merely to be convenient. If it was bad enough that legislation was needed, then people would have stopped buying the one product that wasn't part of the standard.

This is the tip of the iceberg with the EU, they regulate just about everything from the size of fruit deciding how it must be packaged to the packaging itself. There is barely any consumer or essential products that they don't meddle with, its one the gripes many Euroskeptics have.

Personally I like the idea of having a single charger for all phones and hopefully tablets, with induction chargers becoming one of the next big things I wonder how useful it will be in the end.

Overall the EU's meddling has been very beneficial in terms of consumer friendliness. For example, when I buy a yoghurt I know exactly how much fruit it contains based solely on the product name!

I wouldn't disagree, the standards do improve things. If recent political events in the UK are accurate even the businesses are willing to put up with the meddling because of the huge advantages being in the EU provide, the silliest regulations usually have simple workarounds too.

I guess it comes down to the big government vs small government argument at the end of the day, every EU country has two governments meddling when many people around the world would view even one meddling government as being almost intolerable.

I should add that I am very pro Europe, I think Britain should go all in and help define the future of the EU. This whole in and out attitude limits our influence when we should be working with the other nations, I also think Britain and the EU should ditch NATO and form our own collective European military.

Together with all the economic and military power aligned the EU would be a superpower instead of the loose coalition it is today.

 

[The_Echo]

This is a great idea.

Why didn't this happen a decade ago?

 

[Nikolaz72]

This is a great idea.

Why didn't this happen a decade ago?

What the E.U does is good stuff.

It just takes a long while to decide on things. But that's democracy for you.

 

[Cerebrawl]

Overall the EU's meddling has been very beneficial in terms of consumer friendliness. For example, when I buy a yoghurt I know exactly how much fruit it contains based solely on the product name!

There's plenty of examples in the other direction as well, at least from a Swedish perspective. We've been forced to loosen up consumer and enviromental protection by the EU. Like forced to drop bans on certain poisons and pesticides that are harmful to people.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

YES.

How fucking wonderful is Europe.

Consumers first.