AFTER INSPECTING ALL the desktops around work, I discovered I'm giving the office its first Micro USB Charger for communal use. It's a €20 Blackberry charger rated with a higher output than the standard SonyEricsson charger that came with my Xperia X10. Although the United Nations has convinced companies to offer the same recharging connection, there are machining problems when plugging in a charger from another manufacturer. In the X10's case, I can feel the metal micro USB does not fit as snugly when I use the Blackberry charger. But the thing does charge the phone and I guess that's fine. There's no problem getting the cable to slip into the phone's charging port but I had to stop myself from pushing the cable as deep into the socket as the SonyEricsson connection reaches. Neither the Blackberry charger nor the SonyEricsson charger are rated at an ampere of output. The Blackberry charger is rated at a higher power setting but the SonyEricsson's charger appears to finish the job faster than the Blackberry's charger. By 2012, when all mobile phones use microUSB, I wonder if mobile phones will ship without chargers. I imagine at least two Micro USB chargers will be in plain view at work by then. Previously -- 2008 Most Valuable Technology, 30 December 2008.
