Mobile phones to adopt smaller "micro-USB" connector
by Darren Murph 
posted Jan 5th 2007 at 12:19AM
Just when you think another protocol change couldn't possibly surface and force you to purchase more adapters in order to operate your gadgets, it does. Sure enough, the USB Implementers Forum has recently announced that we loyal consumers will all be shelling out a few extra bucks as new mobile handsets, PDAs, and digital cameras adopt a new, smaller "micro-USB" adapter for syncing / charging. As the RAZRs of the world get thinner and thinner, so must the port in which we charge it, and while there's no apparent size specification just yet, all we know is that it'll be smaller than the current implementation, and inevitably require additional purchases in order to use. Additionally, the USB-IF stated the new standard would support USB On-The-Go, and will feature a "stainless steel shell" to reportedly yield "more than 10,000 insertion cycles" before your charging port is rendered completely inutile. No word on when to expect the ultra-diminutive port to start showing up on handsets, but look for it on the first mobile barely thicker than a credit card.[Via Mobileburn]
Filed under: Misc
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Allen Klosowski @ Jan 5th 2007 12:52AM
You are baiting me by using "insertion cycles", "diminutive port", "inutile" and "size specifications" in the same post.
I will not make penis jokes.
I will not make penis jokes.
I will not make penis jokes.
Nick @ Jan 5th 2007 12:09PM
Dustin, I'm reading it to mean we'll be shelling out the few ($30) extra bucks for new chargers. Not that this will dramatically increase the prices of phones.
MarkM @ Jan 5th 2007 6:06PM
Isn't the Chinese government in the process of mandating a similar type of universal charging port on all phones sold there?
Dustin @ Jan 6th 2007 12:06AM
This is true, but phones come with chargers; and isn't the whole idea of unifying chargers to save money in the long run? (not a different charger for my phone, camera, pmp, portable game system, etc, etc.)
ditch @ Jan 8th 2007 11:57AM
i have made it a point that all of my gadgets SHOULD have the mini-usb interface... and now this. i know this is just another attmept to milk this market for every buck it's worth. can't they just, instead, develop the current mini-usb further and come up with an even faster usb 3.0 and so on, for faster data transfer? and maybe find a way to increase the number of insertion cycles? (i haven't tried it yet, but maybe the humble no.2 pencil can help when you start losing the insertion connection) (btw, this thread is inevitably magnetic to phallic jokes... lol ^_^)