Science with Franny: Device Chargers

Everybody has a tangle of wires somewhere that is supposed to charge the various devices that our lives demand these days. We have cell phones, cell phone bluetooth headsets, mp3 players, PDAs, digital cameras, and whatever else we've managed to accumulate. Every one of these things comes with its own unique charger/cable. I have long wondered about this, as has Franny, although she has been much more indignant about it. I have been somewhat more forgiving about it knowing the different voltage and power specifications of different things, but I have certainly thought that it must not be that hard to standardize on something, or at least a minimum number of somethings. I recognize that a charger for a car battery should probably be more robust than the tiny one for my bluetooth headset. However, most personal devices these days are made with similar technology and similar, somewhat low, power requirements. Everything large I buy plugs into the exact same outlets in my house with the exact same electricity. Why can't smaller devices do the same thing?

My first taste of cross-device adaptability was when I realized that my laptop and my portable printer for work both use the exact same AC adapter. Granted they are both HP, but this was a first. As both are battery operated and last quite some time, I now have one less cable to drag around with me and find an outlet for, especially in hotels, which are notorious for their dearth of available plugs. As it is, I often end up unplugging a light or the alarm clock or something to avoid having to charge my phone at the bathroom sink.

I thought we were onto something a couple years ago when Franny and I got our Motorola RAZR phones. I also got a bluetooth headset, and about the same time, got my Creative Zen Micro mp3 player. I was thrilled to see that all these devices charged through a mini-USB port. Knowing that all USB ports are the same and have the same 5V power supply, I stupidly thought that industry had finally agreed on a charger standard. After some experimental research, I found that my Zen charger caused my phone to lock up and be useless. Luckily, removing the battery reset it and it survived, but I learned my lesson. After some more web-based research instead, I learned that although the power circuits on USB cables are identical, the devices apparently send other information back and forth with their respective charges that, at best, can't be understood by other devices, and at worst, cause software errors in those devices. Stuff like, "I'm full now. Enough with the electricity already," but in a different language for each device. I had to wait two more years before industry heard our call.

Enter the Open Mobile Terminal Platform, a mobile industry forum, mainly cellular carriers, but including manufacturers as well. They have decided to adopt the micro-USB (like the mini-USB, but even harder to plug in without looking at it) as the standard charging and data cable for some future generation of cell phones. This means that whatever phone and phone-related device you buy will fit the same generic charger, and that your phone will still cost just as much, but if you want a charger to go with it, you will have to pay extra. Everybody wins. I realize that this is just for cell phones for the time being, but cell phones cross over with PDAs these days, which means that lots of other small personal data devices can't be far behind. I don't know how long we have before seeing this spread as the default way that devices are designed, but I for one can't wait.

Of course iPods and iPhones will probably still be different, but that's just because Apple is special.