O2 Energy Efficient Universal Charger - green and good

Sometimes it's the little things that matter. I don't know what your office is like, but I'm sure your internal email buzzes with the same topics as everyone else's: flats to rent and money-off vouchers are common topics, but there's one email that seems more prevalent than any others. It's this: 'This is Jenny Phipps in Accounts. My phone's run out of juice. Does anyone have a phone charger I can borrow that will fit my Nokia E71? It's the new version, not the old one.'

O2's new universal adaptor aims to solve this, and cheaply, too. It's a simple three-pin plug with a selection of interchangeable cables which fit Sony Ericsson and Samsung phones along with Nokia (the new version, not the old one, Jenny). More cables are on their way for BlackBerry and iPhone connections in early 2009.

Even more handily, the charger doesn't squander your electricity. I'm rarely convinced by technology that claims green credentials but this is among the least worst.


The O2 Universal Adaptor is already available for UK customers for ￡14.99 (US$22.10) with the additional connector leads costing ￡4.99 (US$7.30).


O2 could be on to a real winner with the charger for several reasons. The first is clearly the energy savings it offers customers coupled with the fact it works with most phones. This means you only need take one charger with you for multiple phones, or can buy one of these for at home and leave your standard chargers for use at work.

Where I see the real opportunity is if O2 approach the phone manufacturers and ask them to start supplying their phones without charges at a reduced price. Then O2 can bundle their charger with the phone instead. The mobile phone manufacturers will save money due to not needing to include a charger, have a small box, and less weight to ship. O2 will make their money by keeping the prices of their phones the same, even though they pay less for them from the manufacturer, to cover the cost of the charger. The company will also be seen to be environmentally friendly for supplying only green chargers to customers.

Whether O2 plan to do this, or if the phone manufacturers would be interested in such an offer, is yet to be seen, but hopefully they will. It also begs the question why aren’t all chargers like the O2 one anyway?

O2 releases energy efficient universal phone charger

Mobile phones are a gadget that many of us upgrade on a regular basis and most members of your family have. This leads to multiple phone chargers lying around the house with slightly different leads for different phones meaning you can’t ever share them. Although small the chargers can get quite hot and continue to use energy once your phone is fully charged unless you remember to unhook it.


Network operator O2 have come up with a solution that will mean not only can you use the same charger for multiple phones, but that charger will also save you money on energy bills. It is called the O2 Universal Charger and has been designed in a modular form, meaning there are leadss to fit most phones, and the possibility to add further attachments for future phones if necessary. Right now it supports Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson phones, but iPhone and BlackBerry connectors will be available early next year.

Unlike typical phone chargers the O2 one is a bit more intelligent when it comes to using energy. Once your phone reaches full charge it cuts the power being drawn significantly so if you forget to unplug it won’t have as much impact on your energy usage. Also, O2 have managed to stop the charger from losing energy through heat dissipation.

Overall O2 claim the Universal Charger could use 70% less energy than the equivalent charger shipped with your mobile and that it meets Energy Star guidelines. If you got everyone using these charges it could therefore add up to significant energy savings.


Once mobile phones are charged, most charges continue to deliver electricity to the handset (indeed, many phones now pop up a message saying they're charged, thank you very much, and please unplug them).

This charger has an energy control system which reduces the charge once the phone has had enough.

It's also claimed that the heat generated by this charger is less than most, reducing waste further.

O2 claims it cuts energy consumption by up to 70pc.

Of course, it's not that an individual charger uses that much power, but there are a lot of them, as the emails suggest (in fact, more than that – there are an estimated 73m mobiles in the UK).

If you happen to be buying an O2 handset, you can buy the charger at half price, until the end of the month.

Buy one for the office – just think of the email capacity, electricity and staff time you could save.

O2 Energy Efficient Universal Charger

Catridge recycling firm to employ hundreds

AT least 100 Ugandans are to get jobs in a new cartridge recycling company.

The Cartridge Centre, a subsidiary of UK-based Green Trees, the world renown cartridge manufacturers, started operations last month and is located on Kampala Road.

we want to help companies save money by recycling cartridges used in computers and photocopiers,?the centre抯 director, Howard Bakojja, said.

Bakojja said technicians, printers, laboratory assistants and casual labourers would be employed by the company.

Bakojja who has just returned from a month long course in cartridge recycling in London, said they would also purchase old inkjet and laser jet cartridges from the public.

The machines we have clean, drain the ink from the used cartridges and re- polish it,?he said, adding that the recycled cartridges would be tested before delivering them to the users.

We are doing this to conserve the environment because a plastic item takes over 400 years to decompose. Why throw away a used cartridge yet you can have it recycled??

He said the firm would save companies millions of shillings in importation of cartridges.