Universal mobile phone charger unveiled as industry gets greener

• New device will include a 50% reduction in standby energy consumption• Solar-powered phones set for launch

Richard Wray in Barcelona
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 17 February 2009 08.31 GMT

The universal mobile phone charger, which relies on the micro-USB connection found in the new BlackBerry Storm, will appear later this year. Photograph: PR
The mobile phone industry plans to introduce a universal charger as part of a drive to improve its previously patchy environmental record.
The plan from industry body the GSM Association (GSMA) is just one of a raft of "green" announcements at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Not only will it mean phone users no longer have to hunt for the right charger, but the specifications for the new device include a 50% reduction in standby energy consumption.
All five of the UK's mobile phone companies have signed up to the universal charger, as have the major handset manufacturers, and phones which can use the new charger - which relies upon the micro-USB connection found in the new BlackBerry Storm - will start appearing later in the year. By 2012, the GSMA has pledged that the majority of phones shipped around the world will use the universal charger.
The mobile phone industry has been attacked by environmental campaigners in the past for being one of the least green areas of technology, but mobile phones made from recycled materials or sporting solar panels have been one of the most interesting features in Barcelona so far.
Samsung unveiled the Blue Earth touchscreen phone which has a solar panel on the back that can charge the phone. Available in the UK in the second half of the year, the handset is made from recycled plastic from water bottles and is also free from harmful substances such as brominated flame retardants, beryllium and phthalate. Samsung Blue Earth - Mobile World Congress 2009
It also includes an in-built pedometer which tells the user how much CO2 they have saved by walking instead of using motorised transport. Samsung's SGH-F268 handset was last year named as the industry's greenest in a survey by Greenpeace.
A range of solar-powered phones are also being created by Dutch company Intivation, in a joint venture with ZTE, China's largest mobile phone manufacturer, and mobile phone network Digicel, which has operations in such remote places as the South Pacific islands.
And Sweden's Flexenclosure has showcased the latest in wind-powered mobile phone masts.
LG pledged yesterday that it would remove brominated flame retardants, chlorinated flame retardants and polyvinyl chloride from the manufacturing process by next year. It also pledged to use green packaging across its entire line of 2009 mobile handset models.
The company has used the trade fair to unveil a handset equipped with a solar panel battery cover as part of what it termed an "aggressive green initiative".
"Using renewable solar energy in a mobile handset is an example of our ongoing efforts to help create a safer, cleaner environment for our customers," said LG's chief executive, Skott Ahn.
Exposing the phone to the sun for 10 minutes gives it enough power for a three-minute call. Left in natural light for long periods, the solar panel generates enough standby power to enable the phone to be used without any further charging.