In a move set to make one small aspect of modern life simpler, mobile phone companies are working on a one-size-fits-all charger for all new handsets, a press report said on Monday.<\/p>\n
The firms are planning to introduce the device in response to growing pressure from European Union regulators, the Financial Times Deutschland daily reported, citing unnamed industry sources.<\/p>\n
EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen told German radio station Deutsche Welle last week that with over 30 different kinds of charger in use across the 27-nation European Union, his "patience is now at an end."<\/p>\n
Handset makers like Nokia have resisted developing a universal charger in the past because of compatibility and legal problems, the FTD cited a spokesman for the European Commission as saying.<\/p>\n
Introducing a one-size-fits-all charger would also help the firms to cut costs since in the future new handsets would no longer necessarily need to be sold with a charger, the FTD said.<\/p>\n
It would also enable firms to bolster their green credentials since the planned new charger, which works using a micro USB socket in the handset, uses less electricity than current models, the paper cited its sources as saying.<\/p>\n