At the end of January 2011, the International Electrotechnical Commission standard IEC 62684 was accepted by the national committees participating in the IEC Technical Committee 100 as the international standard for universal chargers of data-enabled mobile phones. With the publication of the relevant European standard at the end of 2010, manufacturers were able to perform the necessary charger design changes and tests to ensure charger safety and interoperability with other smartphones sold in the EU. The standard defines a connector (micro-USB), safety, interoperability and sustainability parameters, but it also allows for compromises, because manufacturers can continue to use proprietary plugs if they include a universal adaptor.
The Benefits of a Universal Charger Standard
The environmental benefits are obvious. Lower emissions will result from reductions in charger production as manufacturers gradually start to offer chargers as an optional accessory. This in turn leads to a decrease in resources used for packaging smartphone chargers, the amount of waste created and the amount of resources spent on the recycling of obsolete chargers. European consumers will avoid paying for a charger when upgrading their smartphones, while manufacturers will spend fewer resources on designing, producing and shipping charging units.
IEC 62684 is intended to globally introduce the universal smartphone charger solution. At a later stage a harmonized charging solution may also emerge to cover a wider range of portable multimedia devices (http://www.ee.sgs.com/portable-electronics-battery-and-accumulator.htm) that have a similar charging requirement, including GPS devices, music players, digital cameras, games consoles and tablet computers.
Through its global network of accredited wireless testing labs (http://www.ee.sgs.com/wireless-telecommunication-testing.htm), SGS can support your designing and testing of mobile handsets and accessories, to comply with the standards and regulations of the markets you target.
For further information, please contact:
SGS Consumer Testing Services
Johee Klein
International Account Manager – Consumer Testing Services
SGS North America, Inc., 16870 W. Bernardo Drive, San Diego, UNITED STATES
Postal Code: 91730
t +1 858 592 7100 ext. 214
E-mail: cts.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/ee
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