Finally – a single charger for all mobile phones

"One size fits all" phone charger in 2010

The mobile phone industry has handed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to the European Commission, committing to providing a mobile charger which could supply power to any handset.

The MoU aims to ensure the new inter-chargeable mobile phones will be available in the EU from 2010 onwards, with the interface selected being the Micro-USB connector - a slightly smaller version of the popular mini-USB interface used for many portable devices.

EU commissioner for enterprise and industry Günter Verheugen said he was pleased the industry had found an agreement which would make life much simpler for consumers and businesses.

"They will be able to charge mobile phones anywhere from the new common charger. This also means considerably less electronic waste, because people will no longer have to throw away chargers when buying new phones," said Verheugen.

Conservative consumer spokesman Malcolm Harbour MEP said: "The days of drawers full of useless old mobile phone chargers will soon be over. Common sense has prevailed."

The manufacturers' MoU would be accompanied by a new EU standard which would reduce radio interference problems.