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Consumers are struggling with new methods for charging cell-phone batteries, as phone manufacturers reject the standard 24-pin charger in favor of developing their own formats.
Users need a particular battery charge jack to use a 24-pin charger. If they misplace the jack, it must be repurchased. The size of a connecting jack also varies according to manufacturer, making it difficult for users to borrow temporary replacements from others.
Life seemed easier one or two years ago, when chargers were identical. Nowadays, companies are replacing 24-pin with 20, 18 or 14-pin chargers of their choice, allowing them to pack in a multitude of functions on rail thin cell-phone sets.
An industry source says it is difficult to insert various parts into the sizeable 24-pin charger. Last November, the Telecommunications Technology Association presented a smaller, 20-pin charger to little effect, as only three cell-phone models -- one each by Samsung, LG and Pantech -- adopted the standard.
TTA researcher Lee Chan-ju says "New phones adopting the standard will come out from year¡¯s-end. It will take two years for the standard to take root in the market."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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