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O2's next HTC Smartphone to be sold sans charger

Sep 26 2012 10:00 AM | PaulOBrien in Android

O2 have announced on their website that the next HTC device they sell will not include a charger in the box, just a microUSB to USB cable, to avoid adding to the '100m chargers' already in the UK.

Quote

...we’re working with HTC to try something new – taking chargers out of the box. We’re doing this because our research shows the UK has more than 100m chargers lying in drawers, tangled in cupboards and generally gathering dust. The majority of phones are now upgrades and chargers that use USB cables are now widely used, meaning the bit of plastic that plugs into the wall can actually be used by pretty much every phone.

O2 is encouraging other manufacturers / operators to do the same and on the whole, I think it's a pretty sound idea... so long as it's not used as a way to screw a bit more money out of customers by overcharging for the USB to mains adaptor.

I'm watching you O2, don't undo the potentially good work...

About the author

Paul O'Brien founded MoDaCo in 2002 as a site focused on Windows Smartphones and has grown it since then by concentrating on providing a friendly community for both experienced and beginner mobile enthusiasts.

4 Comments

3shirts
Sep 26 2012 11:26 AM

Good move. I'm sure their motives are far less about reducing waste and more about saving a few pence but it's still fine with me. I already have 3 micro usb chargers at home, one car charger and one at the office

AshtonBRSC
Sep 26 2012 11:27 AM

Meanwhile Carphone Warehouse is making the problem worse by selling chargers for 1p from their new app!

https://play.google....rphonewarehouse

The main annoyance I have is too many phone chargers that aren't powerful enough to charge tablets.

everett_psycho
Sep 26 2012 12:10 PM

Works for me, as long as they don't pull an apple and decide one day we are going to change the port on your phone to something else and all your old chargers now dont work. Personally I tend to use a USB hub to charge our phones overnight and a quick top up from my monitor at work if I need one

T39andcounting
Sep 26 2012 02:35 PM

everett_psycho, on 26 September 2012 - 12:10 PM, said:

Works for me, as long as they don't pull an apple and decide one day we are going to change the port on your phone to something else and all your old chargers now dont work.

The article says it'll still come with a USB cable, so it's just the plug bit they're leaving out. As long as USB 2.0 remains the standard, the majority of chargers should work with the cable.

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