It looks like Sony Ericsson will discontinue using its proprietary Memory Stick Micro cards and switch to microSD slots.
In an interview with Trusted Reviews, Sony Ericsson Global Marketing Director Fortune Alexander said the company is moving in the direction of fitting its phones with the microSD slots.
Last week the company unveiled its Satio, Aino and Yari phones, all of which use microSD slots, Trusted Reviews noted.
Sony Ericsson's move comes four months after the company became a member of the GSMA, which is trying to enlist mobile handset providers to implement an industrywide standard for a universal charging solution (UCS) that will use Micro-USB as the common universal charging interface.
The organization has set a target date of 2012, by which time it hopes that all mobile operators and handset manufacturers meet efficiency targets set out by the OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform), the industry body that developed the technical requirements behind the UCS.
"A universal charger will also make life much simpler for the consumer, who will be able to use the same charger for future handsets, as well as being able to charge their mobile phone anywhere from any available charger," the group said in a statement. "[Also], with potentially 50 percent less chargers being manufactured each year, the industry can expect to reduce greenhouse gases in manufacturing and transporting replacement chargers by 13.6 to 21.8 million tonnes a year."
Other companies that have joined the GSMA's UCS initiative include AT&T, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung, Telefnica, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone, among others.
