One world, one phone charger?

It looks like Europe will not have to resort to "severe measures" after all in order to get cell phone manufacturers selling products in the region to agree on a single cell phone charger standard. Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and many other cellular companies have agreed to standardize on one charging device format beginning next year.

This is good news for just about everyone: Europeans will be able to charge their phone with any charger and won't have to purchase a new one when they replace their handset. Manufacturers will save money on producing the accessories, and less waste will ultimately be generated by the many chargers that are simply thrown away when a phone outlives its usefulness.

The charger standard selected is microUSB, which is widely in use already with phones and other portable gadgets.

Naturally, such a decision doesn't come without some exceptions. In this case, it's a big one: The new standard only applies to "data-enabled phones," which includes handsets that can access email or the Internet. Though that accounts for about half of the 185 million or so phones purchased yearly in Europe, it still leaves a huge number of phones to be charged by whatever system the manufacturer wants.

Nonetheless, the hope now is that the program will find its way to Asia and the U.S. next, as nearly all the major providers -- including Motorola, Apple, LG, RIM, and Samsung -- have signed on. (The only big name I don't yet see on the list is Palm, but that could be an oversight in the story linked above, or the company could sign on later.)

With Apple alone, though, the ramifications could be huge: The venerable iPod connector that is also used for the iPhone has spawned thousands of accessories designed with that connector in mind. Changing a charger is easy. Changing multiple product lines of gear would be a massive undertaking... though it does offer manufacturers the chance to go back to the precious sales well again.

Anyway, exciting times for the industry, and congrats to Europe for getting this ambitious undertaking done without the process breaking down into threats, lawsuits, and tears.