29 June 2009

Micro USB as a standard on mobile phones

Moble Manufacturers argee to use Micro USB interface to connect to new mobile phones. So what is Mirco USB? Well the answer to that was not so simple to find. One of the pictures on Wikipedia that first claimed to show a Micro USB does not look like it...

I downloaded the USB 2.0 specfication and found this picture:


There is also a micro-A plug. An USB A-type plug are often found at places that gives power (for example your computer). A B plug can most often be found at place that draw power (for example your mobile phone).

To confuse things a bit more the connectors in the USB 3.0 specifications looks "half" different. And in the USB 3.0 specification there is also a AB-plug that can take both a A and B. But the USB 3.0 specification uses more wires so it is a completely different story.

Whats the lesson here? First of all don't always trust Wikipedia! Second, the mist behind an article on a new site can take some time to disperse.

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad that mobile manufacturers agreed to use a tiny micro USB socket on all their phones. Now we can all get really pi**ed when we're going to bed and can't get the sodding plug in the hole because it's too small to see if it's the right way round without turning on the "big light" and waking up the mrs. And there's absolutely no leading edge or ergonomics to the design what-so-ever, so unless your name is Asimo, you've only got a 1 50 chance of lining it up and getting it in anyway!

    Darts, well done; thanks for the consultation! What happened to wireless/contactless charging anyway?
    Jem.

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