Guest nedge2k Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 First we had proprietary connectors. Then we were blessed with mini-USB which, due to it's widespread use in devices of all kinds, made our lives that little bit easier. HTC then decided to take mini-USB in a new direction with the release of the Star Trek and the introduction of "flat" mini-USB. They then decided to change things again and came up with "square" mini-USB, which wasn't really square and could still take a standard mini-USB cable. Now, however, we could see yet another change... "The USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB-IF) today announced the completion of the Micro-USB specification, a new connector technology that will replace many of the Mini-series plugs and receptacles currently used in portable products. This USB-IF connector specification was developed to support the growing miniaturization trend for portable devices, as well as the continued adoption of USB in mobile phones... The Micro-USB specification supports the USB On-The-Go (OTG) supplement, which was created in response to the growing need for portable devices to communicate directly with each other when a PC is not available. Micro-series definitions include: Micro-B receptacles for standard devices, Micro-AB receptacles for OTG devices, Micro-A and Micro-B plugs, and standard cables. The Micro-series are unique in that they feature a stainless steel shell, which yields more than 10,000 insertion cycles for longer life and higher durability, and passive latching mechanism for higher extraction forces. The Micro-series connectors will continue to maintain the ease-of-use and speed of the USB technology." Sounds like a winner, right? Well, maybe. You see, the smaller things are, the more likely they are to break and we all know how easy it can be to break even a normal USB connector through vigorous use. I don't see this as a particularly good idea for portable devices, why not just improve the current standard and allow it to be backwards compatible? Bah :) [Source] via PPCT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mandt Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 (edited) USB on the go looks good, this document makes for interesting reading (pdf link): http://www.usb.org/developers/onthego/USB_OTG_Intro.pdf It'll be interesting to see how/if any handset manufacturers implement the technology, It'd be great to be able to plug your handset straight into a printer, or a portable hard drive even Edited January 5, 2007 by mandt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ingvarr Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 (edited) USB OTG was there for 2 years I think. And did somebody actually implement it? No. Even when hardware have USB OTG support, they just choose not to use it. Of course, you need actually work to make it happen, so why bother! With this microUSB its a lot better - you just have to stick a new jack on the device board instead of old one, can be done overnight. So I think they've seen how easely they can make additional buck on example of well known "SD-miniSD-microSD" farce. You just have to make a deal with major device manufacturers, so they will get some "bonus for supporting modern standards" (but in reality, just official form of kickback). So they will stick this microUSB into every new device made (wheither it actual benefit or not), and make appropriate marketing buzz,- how users should be happy about it. And as usual, users will have no choice but to buy it, and all new cables, accessories and other assorted stuff. So, as usual, for OEMs,- "Life is good" © Futurama Edited January 6, 2007 by Ingvarr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikeeey Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 i like the standard usb mini, because they're so common and easy. if u lose your charger or plugin its as easy as gettin a new one off your desk or drawer, or borrowing the neighbors lol. with the str strks usb... have u even seen these sold in the store? or anywhere? cuz i sure havnt. i cant just go to the mall and get one of these. finding these are about as easy as finding a usb>nokia charger. plus if u lose it, u gota go buy a new one from who knows where... and with the usb micro, its still not as common as the mini, so if u lost it u probably wouldnt have any extras. but it looks like it could break easly if somethin happened like it bending while being pluged in the phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul (MVP) Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I love miniUSB too... does we HAVE to change again? Finally, most of my gadgets (minus Zune + QTek 8500) use the same port! P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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