Have you ever had your phone die either on the road with a friend or at their house, oly to realize they don't have a charger that works with your phone? It's happened to me more than once, and I've always wondered why there couldn't just be a standard connection over all cell phones. Well, the forward thinkers in the European Commission have heard these same outcries, and are set to make micro-USB the standard for smartphones and data-enabled phones starting in January 2011.

This stems from an agreement that was signed by the top ten mobile manufacturers last year. Yes, that includes Apple. According to Dennis Abbott, an EC spokesman, "Introduction of the universal charger will make life much simpler for EU consumers. When you discover you've left your charger at home or work, you will be able to use someone else's, knowing it will fit your phone. How cool is that?"

I can only hope that this piece of legislation can make its way over to the U.S. and across the rest of the world as well. With these phones already having to follow this standard in Europe, there's no reason for heir equivalents elsewhere to be any different. In this case, hooray for conformity!