Ideas & Opinions

The big phone charger question

By Mike on 07 November 2008

GLOBAL – Mobile phone chargers are often (and rightly) demonized for their vampirish juice-hungry habits, and the topic of exploring more eco and energy efficient solutions has been chatted about previously here on Conversations – way back in April, Charlie asked what if we all changed our chargers? Plus, around the same time we reported on Nokia’s prototype Zero Waste charger.

But surely there’s more to the phone charger conundrum than using more efficient chargers.

Do we even need chargers anymore?

What I mean by this is that with so many of us already owning devices with chargers, when we get a new handset does it need to have a charger included? What if it didn’t. Would you be upset? Or what about the choice of getting a handset with a charger or without. Surely, having the option would be smart. This is an area that is being explored at Nokia, alongside heaps of other methods for improving energy efficiency and sustainability, and we hope to have more concrete details on what’s being done soon.

Then there’s the array of chargers, and different size adaptors to suit each model. Certainly a one-size-fits-all approach would be utopian, but is that realistic with the different demands and designs of each handset that Nokia launches? I’m sorry, I know I’m bombarding you with questions, but I’m extremely keen to find out what you think about it all.

Jot down your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Ricky Cadden Says:
November 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pm

The idea of shipping phones without a charger has certainly been hotly discussed and debated, and I think, there are 2 very valid points:

1. For *most* users, it would likely not be a big deal. Personally, over the years I’ve accumulated no less than 7-8 Nokia chargers, of various shapes and sizes. To not get another one in my next phone would likely not phase me in the slightest.

HOWEVER

2. There are still people who are likely purchasing their first Nokia (or other phone, to open the discussion to the industry), and since most manufacturers, including Nokia, Samsung, Apple, LG, and Sony Ericsson insist on using non-standard, proprietary plugs, it’s still a requirement. If all manufacturers used the same (mini or micro USB) power outlet, then the option of not including a charger becomes a real possibility.

I, for one, would love to see a bit of standardization there.

Pascal Says:
November 7th, 2008 at 5:29 pm

Completely agree with Ricky: of course all users want less chargers, if not for the environment then to simply solve the traveling/carrying around issues.

It is a shame that Nokia (and others) want to protect their turf with their proprietary approach. My Nokia N95 has a miniUSB port, but cannot charge through that. Why not?

This is an area where regulations should have stepped in years ago.

Troy Norcross Says:
November 7th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

I think this a great topic – Look at what has been done in Korea and soon China:

They have mandated that all phones in Korea have the same charging ports and data ports. Phones are no longer sold with charges because all phones use the same one! Reduce cost – Reduce electronic waste!

http://techdirt.com/articles/20061219/092747.shtml

Steven Hoober Says:
November 7th, 2008 at 7:22 pm

I you want to talk about waste, how about batteries. Within arms reach are three Nokias with three different batteries. All the same connector type, all within a few mm of each other in size (length). Really? We can’t just narrow it to a couple types to share those as well.

BTW, I have a lot of chargers for other devices that do not suck power when not charging (I have a meter, I can check). Not sure why it’s been such a challenge for mobiles.

Joseph Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 1:23 am

I buy high-end unlocked phones, and always resell them when I am ready to upgrade (to get a little of my money back). I need to sell them with the charger, so obviously would need a new one for myself with whatever new phone I buy.

AdamF Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 1:14 pm

This is a great debate and as I read the replies I can see its one with different views.

I can see the importance of keeping waste to a minimal and selling a phone with a charger you already have 5 of does seem a waste of time, energy and money.

However, I like having a few chargers.
I have one at my desk at work, I have one beside my bed, and I have one at my computer desk at home.

Having more then one charger makes it convenient and easy to charge where ever I happen to be.

I know it sounds lazy, because I could just move the charger and plug it in to where I happen to be.
But isn’t it all about convenience?
Isn’t that why we have mobiles phones?
We could of course, just go back to having a landline phone and be gone with the whole issue.

James BC Says:
November 9th, 2008 at 1:39 am

Standardised plugs as well as making selling phones without chargers easier, also opens up a new opportunity for third party companies to sell alternative chargers. We might see some really innovative new devices, perhaps with additional functionality coming on stream then. What about a charging dock? No cables, just a plug with a dock on that you could sit your phone on?

Micky Says:
November 9th, 2008 at 12:46 pm

This is a great subject, and one I have often pondered about.

@James BC – This is already happening. Take the non OEM Silver desk top Dock available for the N95-1, and 8GB models, great looking dock, and allows charging, and data transfer. I have both, and although both are supplied with their own chargers, you don’t need them, as the input for the docks are the older type of Nokia charger pin, the larger variant, and having a few of these gathering dust in a drawer somewhere, these put them to use, and put the newer small pin charger out of a job.

I have also invested in a few Nokia CA-100 cables, which allow you to charge your Nokia device via your laptop, but more importantly, charge via a proporta USB Mobile charging device, which has a 3400mAh internal battery. I have a few of these, which I take almost everywhere, including my Solar Proporta charger too. I never need to go hunting for an outlet to charge my devices, Im self contained.

@Mike, thanks for the great subject, its good to see all the different views posted here.

James BC Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 4:53 pm

That’s cool (and I have one in a drawer from an old N-series) but I was thinking of something that literally plugged into the wall socket and your phone sat on it. No good for heavyweight devices but perfect for the lighter, slimmer models. Really neat, doesn’t have any unnecessary cables. Would need to switch itself off with the full charge though.

And another thing. My N85 rings loudly when it’s fully charged, but only once. Why can’t it become a super-irritating beep that won’t go away until you switch it off. Light a seatbelt alarm in a car.

Dirk Trossen Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 9:23 pm

I can’t believe this blog, given that Nokia is still pursuing its own proprietary approach to charging. Not providing standard charging plugs while thinking of not providing chargers sounds silly to me. Provide miniUSB charging facilities and it becomes a more compelling proposition. But this has to come first, I believe. Then I can re-use chargers of all kinds, not only Nokia.

ARJWright Says:
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:03 pm

I like the topic as others here, but think that it might be better looked at not so much from just more efficient chargers, but also how mobiles can use kinetic and solar charging options to be less dependent on the grid. Then, asking whether one needs a charger with a new device or not becomes a better question. Of course battery tech needs to be addressed then too

gadget Says:
September 10th, 2009 at 11:39 am

Please, please, we need to sort this out. I have a drawer absolutely full of mobile phone chargers. What is amazing is that mobile phones have only been around for about 10-15 years. I’m going to need another drawer soon. LOL. The answer is a common platform across all manufacturers. That’s it. No other option is required.

Mark Says:
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:39 pm

The idea of all manuffactures using a common charger is fine, the only problem is that several of the chargers I have are of different voltages, so unless all new chargers were of the same voltage we would be back to the same problems again.

Troy Says:
October 5th, 2009 at 11:15 pm

It does look like manufacturers are getting closer to standards, thanks to a wider adoption of USB. My new Nokia twist uses the same charger as my wife’s LG Dare.

I’d be interested in purchasing a phone without a charger, but only with certain conditions:

1) When purchasing the phone, the service provider gives the user the option to include a charger *at no extra cost.* If I don’t already have a compatible charger, I shouldn’t have to pay extra to be able to use the phone.

2) The service providers pass on detailed charger specifications. So I can be sure the charger I have really would work. Ideally, there’d even be a cross-manufacturer/cross-service provider listing of phones and chargers. I’d plug in something like “Old charger is from an LG Dare,” “New phone is a Nokia Twist,” click a button, and it would tell me, “Yes, you can use your old charger.”

3) At any point during the life of the phone, I can request the charger for no cost. This could be tied to the serial number, so it can only be requested once per phone to prevent abuse.

This way, if I decide, “I want to do something environmentally friendly and not ask for a charger I don’t need,” I won’t have to pay for the charger I could have gotten for free when the old charger I was re-using dies 18 months after I bought the phone. There could be a reasonable limit on how long you can request this, but it should be at least 2 years to cover the typical service contract.