Aren’t you annoyed at all the charger cords and electrical adapters you need to keep track of and/or lug around for all your electronic devices? Each device—cell phone, laptop, digital camera, mp3 player, PDA—has its own proprietary charging system. Wouldn’t it be easier to have a universal cable/charger?
It would, but it’s not going to be developed any time soon by major electronics manufacturers, for the simple reason that they make a lot of money on those cables and adapters tangled around your life.
The Wall Street Journal’s Water Mossberg asked Howard Stringer, the CEO of Sony, about this at a conference last month, and the executive replied:
“I have a sneaking suspicion it’s because the last three years, the most profitable business at Sony was the component division,” which makes such accessories. When the crowd laughed, he said: “I’m serious.”
Not only can margins on these cables and batteries top those of the devices themselves, Mossberg adds, many companies believe the varying designs of the items offers a competitive advantage.
“It seems to me,” he writes, “that the majority of common laptops, cameras and phones could evolve toward using a few standard battery and charger designs that could be made by third-party battery companies and sold at drugstores.”
It’s a great idea, but wishful thinking.