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Seriously? You're kidding, right?

As anyone with more than one cellphone pretty quickly learns, every manufacturer has their own idea of what constitutes the optimum charger interface.

MicroUSB, miniUSB, micro-barrel connector, proprietary plug... the array of options is pretty much endless and if you make the mistake of using brand A charger with brand B mobile then there's always a chance that the magic smoke will be released.

Yes, it's a right, royal pain in the backside -- but the EU has the answer to this annoying situation...

They are going to regulate exactly what type of charger interface mobile phones sold in EU countries must have.

Really? Honestly? Are they serious?

Surely there are far more important issues that regulators could be dealing with than dictating a common standard for cellphone chargers?

Not if this BBC story is to be believed.

As regular readers will know, I'm not a fan of overly zealous regulation and the bureaucrats who drive such things and this is a perfect example of why.

Yes, it would be wonderful if you could use any charger with any phone -- but is it the sort of thing that should be regulated?

Of course not.

If I was a mobile manufacturer, I'd be outraged if a bunch of cookie-chewing, coffee-slurping bureaucrats attempted to dictate how I must design my products in this way.

Sure, some safety aspects may deserve regulation. Compliance with electrical safety standards are important but a forced compliance with the specifications of the charger interface? No way!

What happens if a manufacturer wants to adopt a revolutionary new battery technology that requires a special type of charging circuit that can't be fitted internal to the phone?

Are the banned from delivering this vastly improved battery tech to customers simply because the charger would be non-compliant or because plugging in another company's charger could damage the phone?

What a great way to suppress innovation and progress.

The raison d'etre for these regulations is apparently so that the amount of e-waste associated with mobile phones can be reduced. How does that work?

Will manufacturers stop supplying chargers with new phones? Most unlikely.

And who gives a stuff anyway -- I suspect it's only a matter of time before all portable devices operate on a wireless charging system.

In a world where increasingly you can't do *anything* yourself (such as building a house, adding a new power-point or light socket, fixing your plumbing, etc)... it seems that those we pay to serve us are increasingly finding ways of ensuring that they are not our servants but our rulers.

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