Plugging the gap, at last

Fairfax

ABOUT TIME: Moves are afoot to create a universal charging plug for mobile phones. Pictured is a plug-in adaptor that allows a phone to move radio-controlled cars.

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It has taken more than 25 years, but mobile phone manufacturers have made a "groundbreaking" decision - to use the same charging plugs for all handsets.

But while that will spell the end of the "Has anyone got a Nokia/Motorola/LG charger?" group emails that plague workplaces, it will also require all mobile phone users to eventually get a new charger.

An industry group containing the five dominant manufacturers - Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, LG and Sony Ericsson - has committed to using a micro-USB plug in all future models.

The plug is a smaller version of the mini-USB plug used to connect many digital cameras and MP3 players to computers.

Warren Chaisatien, managing director of industry researcher Telsyte, said the decision was good news for consumers but added "it's also pretty funny really".

"Over the years there's been a lot of developments on wireless technology and 3G (networks) - and all the bells and whistles, but hey, at the end of the day simple stuff like battery life and in this case power supply has been an overlooked as an issue," he said.

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