As far as one-man wars on bad USB accessories go, Benson Leung from Google is one of the most resilient soldiers.
It seems he will no longer be alone in his crusade, however, as help is coming from the USB Implementers Forum. The USB-IF, which is a support organization targeted to the use and advancement of USB technology, aims to see a compliance program for USB chargers.
The USB-IF recently unveiled that it is working on a certification program for chargers, which will come with a handy logo. USB products carrying the logo will signal their compliance with your phone, tablet or laptop, thus guaranteeing that you can use them to safely charge your gear.
The initiative helps in those awful situations when users misplace or wreck their original chargers. We've all been there, hunting for a new charger only to be filled with doubt if the new one will match the first in quality. Without any visual cue, it is hard to tell the difference between a $30 USB charger and a cheap $12 one.
Thanks to the USB-IF, this is about to change.
If the compliance becomes active, users will avoid buying after-market chargers that are not in line with the standards of the devices they get plugged into. This is a good thing, since incompatible chargers can sometimes damage the smartphones, tablets or laptops they're driving power into.
Companies that meet the standards for USB compliance will get to place an indicative special logo on their products, signaling that they are safe to use.
The rest of the chargers will not sport the logo, which basically identifies these gadgets as potentially dangerous to other electronics. Keep in mind that for OEMs, the submitting of chargers will be optional, but only those who undergo rigorous testing will be able to use the stamp of approval. Another important detail to remember is that the certification covers just the chargers themselves and does not encompass the adjacent cables that can be dangerous by themselves.
However overdue it may be, the certification program for USB chargers is a neat addition to customer care. If you're surprised that until now such a program has been unheard of, you're not the only one. Hardware experts repeatedly underlined that an improper $10 charger can do massive damage to gadgets that cost hundreds of dollars, but such risks are about to disappear.
We should be seeing the logo making its appearance on chargers sometime later this year.
Are you excited about the prospect of having approved chargers in the market? Let us know in the comments section below.
