Nokia announced today that they're launching cell phone chargers that alert users to unplug them when their phones are fully charged. The chargers, which will launch with the Nokia 1200, Nokia 1208 and the Nokia 1650, are intended to save enough electricity to power 85,000 homes a year and are a part of an initiative by a group of manufacturers to increase energy efficiency. What the press release doesn't mention is how the alerts work - I would imagine a beeping noise would be quite annoying and a blinking light wouldn't be intrusive enough - and more importantly, why not just make the charger shut off when it's not powering up the phone? I've got a few phone chargers permanently attached to plugs in my apartment because it's easier to keep them live for when I need them - and I imagine I'm not the only one.

Via InformationWeek Blog