A new mobile phone charger that will work with any handset has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations body.
Industry body the GSMA says that 51,000 tonnes of redundant chargers are generated each year.
Currently most chargers are product or brand specific, so people tend to change them when they upgrade to a new phone.
However, the new energy-efficient chargers can be kept for much longer.
The GSMA also estimates that they will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 13.6m tonnes.
“This is a significant step in reducing the environmental impact of mobile charging,” said Malcolm Johnson, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau.
“Universal chargers are a common-sense solution that I look forward to seeing in other areas.”
The charger has a micro-USB port at the connecting end, using similar technology to digital cameras.
It is not compulsory for manufacturers to adopt the new chargers but the ITU says that some have already signed up to it.
“We are planning to launch the universal charger internationally during the first half of 2010,” Aldo Liguori, spokesperson for Sony Ericsson told the BBC.
“We will roll it out with new products as they launch.”

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Have you ever thrown your hands up in frustration because you simply want to use the Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse of a laptop to access a server or other standalone device? I have, but never know what product could help…now I do.

The Portable Laptop KVM Adapter from StarTech is specifically designed to turn your notebook into a portable KVM station. Simply connect the adapter between your standalone [or GUIless device] and notebook and you’re off and running.

I would think the biggest market for such a product are large data centers where they need to access any number of servers without a full KVM installation.

“Aside from a rack mount LCD console, which can be expensive, server administrators and technicians would typically have to use a server room ‘crash cart’, which is a cart comprised of a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Although a typical ‘crash cart’ is somewhat mobile, it lacks the portability of our Laptop KVM Adapter, which provides identical but more convenient control”.

The NOTECONS01 USB 2.0 Laptop KVM Adapter offers immediate BIOS-level access to the connected computer from the laptop control point, as well as the ability to handle full configuration of the attached PC, server, or other headless machines such as ATMs, kiosks and VLTs.

But the portable USB KVM station doesn’t come cheap, the MSRP starts at $470.

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SanDisk announced Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player. Is much like the slotRadio player as comes with a new microSD memory card slot that enables consumers to listen to thousands songs effortlessly without the hassle of downloading and syncing. It is fully compatible with the slotRadio and slotMusic cards as well as any microSD loaded music.

Some other features include wearable clip for hands-free portability, large OLED screen, built-in microphone, and support for files such as MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and Audible files (for audio books), in both unprotected and protected files.

The Sansa Clip+ MP3 player will come in the colors blue, black, and red will retail for $39.99 for a 2GB version, 4G for $49.99 , and 8GB for just $69.99.

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Get ready for your HD webcam close-up, the Hercules Dualpix HD720p is an ultra-mobile high definition 720p webcam. It has the capability of rotating for the best angle, so that you don’t have to turn your laptop upside down and topsy turvey in order to get a good shot. It also has a wide-angle auto focus lens, it handles well in low-light conditions and it of course features a built-in microphone. But its neatest aspect is how at the beginning of every chat session, the Dualpix HD720p will automatically rotate and detect your position. If you need further manipulation, it can be done with the included software.

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The Qlocktwo is a simple, cerebral, no-nonsense, and undeniably Teutonic-flavored timetelling device designed by German firm Biegert & Funk. How it works should be completely obvious by the photo. Also, you gotta love the Dieter-from-Sprockets product explanation video: