Skip to main content
The VergeThe Verge logo.The Verge homepage
The VergeThe Verge logo.

O2 calls for carriers to stop including chargers with phones after successful pilot program

O2 calls for carriers to stop including chargers with phones after successful pilot program

/

82 percent of HTC One X+ customers don't need another charger

By Sam Byford

Source O2 | Via The Guardian

Share this story

O2 de Germany logo (STOCK)
O2 de Germany logo (STOCK)

British carrier O2 announced plans to sell a flagship HTC phone without a charger two months ago, and the results of that experiment are in. After selling the HTC One X+ with just a Micro USB cable for three months, it turns out that 82 percent of customers elected not to buy a separate wall charger with the phone. That's beyond the carrier's expectations — it had predicted that 70 percent of customers wouldn't need the extra charger in the box.

In a statement, O2's chief executive Ronan Dunne said that the results should prompt other carriers to make similar moves for the sake of the environment; it's estimated that there are over 100 million unused chargers in the UK. O2, for its part, has pledged to stop selling phones with chargers by 2015.

"The lesson for the industry from this pilot is that consumers are very receptive to the message that they can benefit the environment by avoiding the needless purchase of chargers. I would now like to see others taking similar steps, working with us as we aim to ensure all our handsets are sold charger-free by 2015."

More from Mobile