AT&T Unveils Zero Charger

Mar 18 2010, 12:00pm CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Most of us have mobile phones today. We typically plug the things in at night and let them recharge even if the battery is not fully discharged just so we don’t get caught without our phone. What that means is that the chargers often end up drawing full power to send to the phones battery even when the battery is charged or when the charger is left plugged in without a phone attached wasting electricity.

AT&T claims that mobile phone users waste enough electricity by leaving chargers plugged into the wall to power 24,000 homes for a year. That is a lot of power. AT&T has a new charger coming that is called the Zero charger. The big feature of the device is that when it is left plugged into the wall and no phone is attached, it draws no power.

The charger is also green in that it uses a block and cable design that lets the same charger be used on future phones reducing the number of chargers thrown away each year. The Zero Charger is set to debut in May and AT&T says it will cost about the same price as existing replacement chargers. That should put the price at about $40.