UK carrier O2 has announced that an upcoming HTC phone is to be sold without a charger in the United Kingdom. The carrier says that the decision is part of an effort to be more green and highlights the fact that 70 percent of people already have the relevant charger at home when they purchase a new phone. It's not yet clear which phone will be sold without a charger, but O2 wants to eventually remove chargers from the equation completely.
"I have a simple vision for O2: we want to take chargers out of boxes full stop," said Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2. "Right now, O2 with HTC has to go it alone on this matter - we both believe in it passionately enough that we can’t wait for the industry as a whole to join us in this crusade. That said, we hope we will be able to pave the way for others to follow us, as this has to be a collective effort if we are to achieve the bigger aim of eliminating chargers sold with every new phone in the UK."
The phone will ship with a USB charging cable in the box. It's not yet clear if the customer will be able to buy a charger separately if they don't already have one at home. Such is the case with the 3DS XL, which launched in the UK this past summer. This handheld console was sold sans charger in the UK, as Nintendo believed people purchasing the 3DS XL probably already had a DS charger at home somewhere. If not, the charger could be purchased separately.
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