Cell phone giants including Apple, LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Texas Instruments, NEC, and Qualcomm have inked a deal with European Commission to make a standard cell phone charger.

This charger will use the micro-USB technology, which is already being used to charge smartphones and will be out by next year.

At first, many companies were reluctant to give away their proprietary cell phone chargers because they feared it would make it easier for their consumers to switch over to their competitor’s phones. Now they believe it is the right move as it would help them lower costs incurred in manufacturing and packaging them.

The move by Apple is surprising because initially they were opposed to it. Moreover, Apple has licensed their proprietary Dock Connector chargers used for the iPhone to many third party manufacturers whose products use the Apple connector.

The move will cut down on wastes as people who switch phones can use the same charger and this in turn will lower their carbon footprint.

For now, the standard will apply only to data-enabled phones such as smartphones and other high-end phones selling in Europe. The Commission hopes that all such phones will switch to the new standard by 2012.

The standard will likely be compatible only with European phones but it is hoped that the standard will enter other markets as well.