Have you ever wondered if you can actually feel the tipping point? That point in time when the momentum of a game-changing event has built up enough inertia to move a market? Today, the GSMA at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona made an announcement that feels a lot like a tipping point.
Green Plug has long advocated the need for an open systems power interface to enable interoperability, reuse and to reduce unnecessary parts like device-specific power adapters. In a world with universal power, vendors save money, consumers have greater convenience,and harm to the environment is significantly reduced.
Does anyone lose? We don't think so. In fact, the model that Green Plug advocates provides the platform for innovation in power monitoring and control applications.
What is significant about today's GSMA announcement is the fact that it validates the need for reusable, interchangeable power solutions for cell phones. This is relatively easy to do, since cell phones are all fixed 5V devices with little need to negotiate power requirements. But what about all those 6.5V, 9V, 12V, 14.4V, 16V, 19V, 21V and other notebook PCs, cordless phones, printers, game controllers, power tools, rechargeable toys, portable DVD players, digital picture frames, wireless routers, etc.? How is a universal power source supposed to know how to dynamically negotiate the exact power requirements for each device connected to it? That's where Green Plug's solution comes into play. By default, Green Plug-enabled power adapters will power all the GSMA phones as well as just about any other electronic device.
China and Europe have validated that everyone wins when we have universal power. Please help us send a strong message to consumer electronic manufacturers, and help make this a reality both in the US, and globally.
As always, we thank you.
Paul Panepinto is Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Green Plug. His will be a leading voice in this blog. You can email Paul, here.

Comments