Apple to stop Micro-USB from becoming standard?
(Credit:
Motorola)
Geardiary.com has a interesting post up about how more devices, especially cell phones, are using Micro-USB instead of Mini-USB, and how it's partially a ploy to get you to buy more overpriced charging adapters.
It's a good conspiracy theory that's hard to argue with, but it also seems clear that the shift to Micro-USB is about saving space in building the device.
Last week, CNET's Marguerite Reardon reported that the GSMA trade association had brokered a deal with the leading cell phone manufacturers to standardize on Micro-USB. Conspicuously missing from the list was Apple, maker of the iPhone, but the idea is that by the year 2012 (seems like a long way off, doesn't it?), virtually all cell phones--and hopefully all Bluetooth headsets--will have the same connector.
That would make life a lot easier for anybody who's ever left a charger at home and hopes to find someone with a matching charger (or go buy an overpriced one at the store).
I--and many others--hope the standardization extends to a lot of other gadgets. The Kindle 2 has shifted to Micro-USB for charging and data transfers, and it should be a no-brainer for next-gen MP3 players, digital cameras, and camcorders, plus portable game consoles (the Nintendo DS uses a weird proprietary hybrid USB charger), to make the shift.
Alas, high-margin charging accessories are huge revenue generators for companies, so I have my doubts that manufacturers are so keen on the idea of a universal connector that's a total commodity.
Someone would probably cry foul if everybody else shifts to Micro-USB, and Apple says, "Sorry guys; this is bad for business. You can be idiots, but we'll pass." Or Apple could have its cake and eat it, too, by agreeing to move to Micro-USB for charging but requiring users to use the 30-pin proprietary connector for syncing and accessory compatibility.
In the meantime, as they sort all this out, I hope that they come up with a simple two-headed Micro/Mini charger that offers more charging flexibility in a single accessory (yes, there are some three-in-one kits out there, but I couldn't find a simple two-headed cable).
Comments anyone?
(Source: Engadget via Geardiary.com)
Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel. E-mail David. Follow David on Twitter. 
Companies need to remember that if people have a hassle using a device they will probably not buy the same brand if it is too confusing or complicated.
The alternative would be to add the mico-usb port and keep the dock connector, but they're probably loathe to do such a thing as it may confuse people as to which port is for which purpose and for aesthetic reasons as well.
"Apple tries to patent Mini and Micro USB ports"
/sarcasm
The real question here is whether microUSB is the best port for the job. There will always be some devices that will be better suited by an alternative interface. As "efalconer" stated, the dock connector that Apple i using has more duties than a simple USB interface is usually used for.
I have a phone that supports that. However I will be surprised when you get a mini usb port to duplicate, l/r audio, vga, component, svideo, rca video, data, device control/communication, power out for certain accessories (Nike + is one) and firewire on supported models.
Micro USB can do that and more.
no micro usb cant.
No mini-usb can not do that. That comment right their shows what you know about usb. You must be one of the people who thinks that usb is bidirectional, like firewire. Just because the male and female ends of the usb cord look alike does not mean they are the same. You are probably in the camp of people who think that you can cut 2 usb cords open, hook the two male sides together (the not mini/micro part) and hook two computers together. If you did that you would likely blow out your usb ports. An example is you can hook two computers together with firewire but you can not do that with usb inless an active converter box is in use. Also mini/micro usb can not support the same profiles a full usb port. The reason being that the miniusb port specification was made for communication from computer to device, not device to peripheral, or device to device.
As long as you don't overload it you'll be fine.
The problem is to use all the functions of the dock connector the usb port would have to be the same width. If you look at a dock connector you will see that the pins are already very close together. It needs so many so it can support usb, firewire, svideo out, powerout, powerin, audio out, audio in, composite out, component out, and device extension/control. It would have to cram all the pins so close together their would be a high failure rate.
I think micro-USB standardisation is great for companies who don't have products which work like Apple's, but for those who create a full, rich experience and have room to spare in their designs it makes no sense.
Apple goes where ever there is money in it for them and NOT where better Technology is. Firewire (which Apple DIDN'T INVENT, it was the video camera dev group headed by Sony that DID) WAS better than USB and USB 2.0, but Apple in another GREEDY Monopoly move traded away Firewire to another Big Bully Intel for USB 2.0 so that Apple could get 100% of Intel's Flash NAND production (it's well documented, MacTards).
So all of you who put so much into Firewire got screwed as usual by Apple, who now RARELY puts Firewre on any Portable and fewer and fewer desktops. You watch as time goes by .... and I'll be saying, I told you so.
But maybe "in the tank for Apple" CNut will censor this truth away again.
You only have yourself to blame when you get censored. Happened today again, didn't it.
It would follow along the same lines as the DMI interface cable.
Too many iPods and iPhones are on the market and in people's hands to make a costly redesign.
Just non-sense.
Apple did the initial design and submitted it to the IEEE, where other companies contributed to the standard. TI is one of the biggest but Sony did help as did IBM and others. But Apple "CREATED" firewire, and others helped complete the open standards based specification. Apple ditched firewire in it's iPods to save money and work with a larger number of non apple computers. It was simple economics. (but I wish they could have held out)
To be accurate Apple has removed firewire from ZERO desktops and only the 13" macbook and macbook air so far. It stall comes on the entrylevel macbook white, the macbook pro 15" and the macbook pro 17". Not exactly RARELY or "fewer and fewer".
More to the actual point of the article. If companies standardize on USB for power and data it will just mean there will be additional ports for digital video, which is the main reason Apple can't yet ditch the dock connector. Maybe they could get everyone else to license the doc connector insteat?
Actually, the low-end Macbook (white plastic) still has FW 400. It's the high-end Macbook that lost it. And FW has one other great use besides video.
Firewire Target Disk mode. It totally rocks.
Does it hurt, perry clease?
It only benifits the consumer, not the company.
Too bad though.
I know that if you watch movies and televsions you think 90 percent of the planet uses Apple, but realistically off the mp3 player island they have what a 7% market share? Much better than before, but you... must... resist... the shiny... white... ipod... thingeee.....
good luck with that
It reminds be of another stupid move influenced by cell phone guys: the micro SD card. Bloody things are TOO SMALL. You need a freaking tweezer to handle the stupid things. And STILL cell phones are no smaller than many digital cameras that use full size SD, mini-USB etc. DO NOT GET IT.
Either way, I don't get your complaint about the size of the Micro-USB plug. The micro-USB plug is still attached to a strain relief and cord and a wall or car jack , just like every other charging plug on the planet.
micro SD...yes they are small just deal with it.
Grow up and buy a vowel.
Sunny Guy
Dont forget wifi.
- by Mark_Anderson February 23, 2009 3:38 PM PST
- Apple can do what they want. Outside the US few people care anyway.
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- by seven7dust February 24, 2009 4:24 AM PST
- once upon a time nobody cared about toyota outside japan too !
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- by Mark_Anderson February 24, 2009 8:16 AM PST
- Sure. Apple have sold about 7 million smartphones outside the US.
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- by b_baggins February 24, 2009 7:16 PM PST
- @Mark_Anderson
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- by Seaspray0 February 25, 2009 1:06 PM PST
- "... that is now the number 4 selling..." I don't care.
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- by SeanDuffy February 26, 2009 12:06 AM PST
- @mark anderson
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- by Seaspray0 February 26, 2009 1:48 PM PST
- @sean. You're right. I had a windows mobile phone with touch screen several years before the release of the iphone. But even before that were the PDA devices with touch screens.
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- by Dylan_Wisor February 26, 2009 4:38 PM PST
- I don't care about any of this. Arguing over USB ports is stupid.
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- by bluemudkipz February 28, 2009 8:51 PM PST
- Mark_Anderson: Do you understand what you're talking about?
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (85 Comments)BTW apple is doing quite well outside the US itseems
50% of iphones r sold outside the U.S
not bad for a relatively unknown company
and Ipods r popular worldwide too
Care to guess how many Nokia, RIM, Samsung and others have sold?
No-one cares, really.
Riiiight. It's just an amazing coincidence that everyone and their Uncle outside the U.S. is tripping over each other to come out with touch screen phones that look like the iPhone. Because no one cares that in 18 months a computer company released a smart phone that is now the number 4 selling smart phone in the world.
Uh-huh. No one cares.
you are aware that the iphone wasnt the first touchscreen phone rite?
(LG: prada phone)
--- but I don't care.
The iPhone is not a smartphone. Even Apple isn't bold enough to make that claim. If someone was to use it as a smartphone, it would have even worse battery life than my battered, 2-year-old, basic Samsung phone. Translation: the battery would die in two or three days. The iPhone is being marketed as a multimedia phone, and lo and behold, IT'S TRUE.
Oh, and by the way: "No-one cares"? Really? Please confirm, because I know I care.
Please do not make false claims.