GSMA Mobile Phone Producers agree on eco-friendly Universal phone charger for 2012.

The evolution establishment and introduction of International Standards & protocols in any industry is fascinating - Philips for example just unilaterally imposed the C - 60 Minute compact audio cassette as they invented it. Even Dixon's staff could understand what they were ... eventually.

This week at the annual GSMA Mobile World Congress, 17 of the top mobile operators and manufacturers agreed to adopt Micro-USB as the universal charger interface for new mobile phones designs - the TLA(Three Letter acronym) is the universal charging solution (UCS).

The intention is to have this up and running by 2012 and will meet the high efficiency targets (low energy) set out by the OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform). This should see a 50% reductionin chargers built - some half a billion units or they claim 51, 000 tones. Savings for the environment, energy usage and convenience.

UCS chargers will also include a 4-star or higher efficiency rating, which they claim will be up to three times more energy-efficient than an unrated charger.

The companies that have initially signed up include majoe players AT&T, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone, among others. Apple and RIM, have not yet indicated that they wish to join the party.

Foxconn International Holdings (Hon Hai) has also announced agreements with the Vietnamese Govenment for a new US $200-million cellphone plant in the Binh Xuyen II Industrial Park in Vinh Phuc province, some 60 km north of Hanoi, 12 km away from Noi Bai airport. Production is scheduled to start Q1 2009. -whilst Foxconn simultaneously cuts back on production on Chinese mainland and Taiwan plants.

The factory will have capacity of 89 million cellphones and tens of millions of cellphone parts per year.


The Credit Crunch has some remarkable consequences ... Intel are spending US$1 Bn. of shareholders funds in Vietnam on a new factory.