O2 urges rivals to stop providing chargers with new phones

O2 has urged its industry peers to stop giving away chargers with new mobile phones, after a trial found the vast majority of customers were happy to buy handsets without chargers.

The telecom giant yesterday announced the results of a three-month pilot scheme, which saw it sell HTC One X+ handsets without the USB chargers they usually come with, but still with a detachable USB cable.

O2 had expected 70% of customers would be happy to take the greener option as most people already have a compatible charger at home. Anyone wanting an additional charger could buy one at cost price.

In fact, 82% of One X+ customers agreed to buy the handset on its own since the trial started in October, exceeding O2's expectations.

O2 believes there could be 100m unused chargers in people's homes and offices, enough to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools if thrown away.

The company now estimates there would be 24m fewer charges sold in the UK each year if the results of its pilot were applied to the 30m new phones sold annually.

Ronan Dunne, chief executive of O2, urged other mobile retailers to follow its lead and pledge to phase out the automatic inclusion of chargers at the point of sale.

"The results of the trial demonstrate a clear willingness among consumers to consider and respond to the environmental argument for taking a phone charger-free," he said. "I now hope that as a result of this study the rest of the industry will now consider joining us in our campaign to take chargers out of the box for good."

Last year, O2 pledged to phase out mobile phone chargers for all new phones by 2015, as part of a broad new sustainability programme. At that time, Bill Eyres, O2 head of sustainability, predicted just 60 per cent of people would be prepared to buy a charger-free phone.

However, the results show people are receptive to the idea of reducing electronic waste, if they are given the right information.

"These trial results offer powerful evidence that customers are prepared to amend their purchasing decisions if they have more choice and more information," added Dunne.

"The lesson for the industry from this pilot is that consumers are very receptive to the message that they can benefit the environment by avoiding the needless purchase of chargers. I would now like to see others taking similar steps, working with us as we aim to ensure all our handsets are sold charger-free by 2015."

In 2009, leading mobile phone makers, including Samsung and Apple, signed an EU resolution to create a single universal charger, based on a micro USB connector by January 2012, in an effort to reduce unnecessary waste. 

However, Apple appears to have backtracked on the pledge, introducing its own new Lightning Charger for the iPhone5 last year.

Nokia backs 3D printing for mobile phone cases

Nokia is releasing design files that will let owners use 3D printers to make their own cases for its Lumia phones

Files containing mechanical drawings, case measurements and recommended materials have already been released by the phone maker.

Those using the files will be able to create a custom-designed case for the flagship Lumia 820 handset.

The project makes Nokia one of the first big electronics firms to seriously back 3D printing.

In a blogpost, John Kneeland, one of Nokia's community managers, revealed the Finnish phone maker's decision to release the 3D drawings.

Printing in 3D involves sending a design file to a printer that then forms a solid version of that object by slowly building it up in layers of plastic. Early 3D printers could only work in one colour but the latest versions can produce intricate, multicoloured objects.

Industrial sequel

Mr Kneeland said Nokia was releasing what he called a "3D printing development kit" to help people produce the cases. The files are already available on the site Nokia maintains for its developers.

He said 3D printing was another way that the firm wanted to build links to that vast community of software and hardware engineers. To get the files, users must have registered with Nokia.

He said Nokia already used 3D printing internally to do rapid prototyping, but decided to back it more publicly to help the nascent technology realise its "incredible potential".

In the future, he said, 3D printing was likely to bring about phones that were "wildly more modular and customisable".

Nokia might just end up selling a phone template, he said, allowing entrepreneurs to use that to produce handsets that satisfy the particular needs of their locale.

"You want a waterproof, glow-in-the-dark phone with a bottle-opener and a solar charger? Someone can build it for you - or you can print it yourself," he wrote.

He added that, in his view, 3D printing was a technology that justified its hype and said it was "the sequel to the Industrial Revolution".

"However, it's going to take somewhat longer to arrive than some people anticipate, and that may disappoint people," he said.

Mozilla phones launch in Europe this year

Mozilla concept phone

Smartphones developed by the creators of the Firefox web browser are expected to be launched in Europe in 2013. Chinese phone-equipment maker ZTE said it was working with a European wireless carrier to sell Mozilla's Firefox OS-powered phones. ZTE chief executive Cheng Lixin also said the phones could be marketed in the US this year.

When finished, the phones will compete with Google's Android, but only at the lower end of the smartphone market. Mr Cheng did not specify which European carrier would be selling the phones. Jay Sullivan, vice president of products at Mozilla, said the company was also working with equipment makers Qualcomm, TCL Communication Technology Holdings on the devices.

"Interest and momentum continues to grow in Firefox OS," he told Bloomberg.

Regarding the US market, Mr Cheng said: "We closely monitor the ecosystem and how it evolves. If that is ready and if consumer studies support that data, then we may launch one in the US also this year."

Android controls three-quarters of the share in shipments in the smartphone market, but according to analysts, Firefox OS is already forecast to capture 1% of the share of global smartphone shipments in 2013.

Strategy Analytics recently wrote in a research note: "Overcoming Android will not be an easy task.

"To expand beyond niche status, Firefox OS will need to address at least three main challenges; they have low brand awareness among smartphone consumers worldwide, a limited retail presence in the influential United States market, and a relatively modest ecosystem of supporting apps and services."