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Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 10:00 am
Apple absent from universal phone charger push
Although AT&T and several other iPhone partners joined an industry initiative to standardize mobile phone chargers over the next few years, Apple has yet to follow suit and may remain committed to its proprietary dock-connector interface .The GSMA and 17 mobile operators plan to develop a universal charging solution that would appear by January 1, 2012. Micro-USB will be the common charging interface.
The group includes AT&T, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, T-Mobile, and Vodafone. According to the GSMA, which represents the interests of GSM operators, the change would make things simpler for the consumer, who could use the same charger with all future phones and charge anywhere with any available unit.
The chargers will boast a 4-star or higher efficiency rating in order to be three times more energy-efficient than an unrated charger and consume 50% less stand-by energy. The GSMA estimates greenhouse gas reduction by 13.6 to 21.8 million metric tons as the replacement rate for existing chargers decreases.
Noticeably absent from the list of supporters is Apple. Its ubiquitous dock connector was introduced on the third-generation iPod in 2003 and has appeared on every iPod and iPhone since. By the time of the 2012 deadline, the dock connector will have been around for almost a decade.
In a possible nod to the iPhone's exemption, the GSMA targets only "majority" adoption by 2012. The BBC notes that the move may be a response to pressure from the European Commission, which has observed more than 30 different kinds of chargers in use across the European Union.
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Previous Comments View All
This is welcome news. It's good to see the entire industry work together to achieve a common goal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RichL 
This is welcome news. It's good to see the entire industry work together to achieve a common goal.
This is welcome news. It's good to see the entire industry work together to achieve a common goal.
I dunno, better this than not this, but it seems to me like it's way overdue. That the industry is only able to get together on standards, when under pressure from outside sources, and just as the technology is going obsolete anyway does not speak *that* well for the industry IMO.
The way the article talks about energy savings is a bit weird also. Changing the type of plug to mini USB shouldn't have any effect on energy savings. It almost sounds like what they are really doing is changing the "brick" part to a smaller, more energy efficient USB connected thing, (like Apple has been doing for years and years). At least that's the only way I could see any energy savings, but I am hardly an expert in such matters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cowhide
Since Apple products use USB to charge anyway, Apple is ahead of the game. Leading by domination.
Since Apple products use USB to charge anyway, Apple is ahead of the game. Leading by domination.
The point would be that any charger could plug into any phone AT THE PHONE END. It doesn't really matter if it's USB or a wall adapter, it's whether you can connect it to any model phone.
Apple will resist this as much as possible. They LOVE their proprietary connections (display ports, ac adapters, iPod/iPhone connectors) it's a great way to nickle and dime their customers.
Want to connect to HDMI? You'll need an Apple brand converter. Oh, you lost or broke your power cord? $79 please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2
I dunno, better this than not this, but it seems to me like it's way overdue. That the industry is only able to get together on standards, when under pressure from outside sources, and just as the technology is going obsolete anyway does not speak *that* well for the industry IMO.
The way the article talks about energy savings is a bit weird also. Changing the type of plug to mini USB shouldn't have any effect on energy savings. It almost sounds like what they are really doing is changing the "brick" part to a smaller, more energy efficient USB connected thing, (like Apple has been doing for years and years). At least that's the only way I could see any energy savings, but I am hardly an expert in such matters.
I dunno, better this than not this, but it seems to me like it's way overdue. That the industry is only able to get together on standards, when under pressure from outside sources, and just as the technology is going obsolete anyway does not speak *that* well for the industry IMO.
The way the article talks about energy savings is a bit weird also. Changing the type of plug to mini USB shouldn't have any effect on energy savings. It almost sounds like what they are really doing is changing the "brick" part to a smaller, more energy efficient USB connected thing, (like Apple has been doing for years and years). At least that's the only way I could see any energy savings, but I am hardly an expert in such matters.
Apologies to cowhide & Virgil if I'm wrong, but isn't the idea that the mini-USB will be the connection to the phone, not the power source? I wish Apple would do something like this, for when you are in need of power in a pinch, like the airport.
"It's ubiquitous dock connector" The possessive "Its" does not have an apostrophe. Sorry, a pet peeve of mine. Move along...
Quote:
Originally Posted by dude abides
The point would be that any charger could plug into any phone AT THE PHONE END. It doesn't really matter if it's USB or a wall adapter, it's whether you can connect it to any model phone.
Apple will resist this as much as possible. They LOVE their proprietary connections (display ports, ac adapters, iPod/iPhone connectors) it's a great way to nickle and dime their customers.
Want to connect to HDMI? You'll need an Apple brand converter. Oh, you lost or broke your power cord? $79 please.
The point would be that any charger could plug into any phone AT THE PHONE END. It doesn't really matter if it's USB or a wall adapter, it's whether you can connect it to any model phone.
Apple will resist this as much as possible. They LOVE their proprietary connections (display ports, ac adapters, iPod/iPhone connectors) it's a great way to nickle and dime their customers.
Want to connect to HDMI? You'll need an Apple brand converter. Oh, you lost or broke your power cord? $79 please.
I'll take the benefits of Apple's ac adapter for laptops over the standard any day. Plus - what other adapter can you just go to the store and get a replacement for? With most laptops you'd have to order one.
That said - I agree Apple could do better in some areas. I never fully understood why their red-white-yellow ipod - RCA connectors had to be different.
I can see why they wanted the dock connector: for docking. And charging a royalty for access to the port. Could they have docked with mini-usb? Probably. But now it'll be ugly to go back.
As long as everyone settles on a common voltage, the main hurdle will be crossed. If it's USB, then iPhones are still in the game with a simple adapter. Not ideal, but as pointed out, Apple's proprietary dock connector is becoming pretty damn ubiquitous.
Someone needs to slap Sony upside the head; no two products of theirs seems to share the same power adapter, or even voltage. I wonder what their CEO's home looks like in terms of power strips stashed under couches or behind furniture, all loaded with a menagerie of Sony wall-warts...
Quote:
Originally Posted by dude abides
I wish Apple would do something like this, for when you are in need of power in a pinch, like the airport.
I wish Apple would do something like this, for when you are in need of power in a pinch, like the airport.
Why? The iPhone's is easily the smallest and most convenient AC charger available in the industry. The body of it is roughly a 1" cube and it's universal 100-240V. If you can't manage to fit one of these in your pocket/purse/briefcase/underwear you're in bigger trouble than any industry standard is going to help with.
An advantage of Apple's proprietary connector is that it's self-aligning, which isn't the case with any size of USB connector, making them fiddly to insert and unsuitable for a dock.
It's funny to see Motorola there. They were usually the worst offenders, even with micro-usb if you plugged a non-Motorola charger into the plug it would complain with a message and not charge, yet the Motorola charger would work in the other phone. Both were same voltage and amperage.
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The USB port as is or the mini is a universal plug, Several products from flashlights, to cell phones use the USB port to charge up. The computer is ubiquitous, and is the place from which charging can come from. If not the computer there are plenty of USB charges out there. All we need from manufactures is an adapter that fits on the end of the USB cord as a transitional device. By next year we could all eliminate most of the wall rat energy drains.
It is the those wall rats, or transformers that are the problem, not the cord or the connection. Transforming the connectors with adapters the way we use to use adapters to change from serial to USB. There are plenty of third party manufacturers that could and will do this if given the opportunity.
Since Apple products use USB to charge anyway, Apple is ahead of the game. Leading by domination.