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New York, 5:12 AM
Thu Dec 17
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  • posts about #ucs more →

    United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard

    High Tech Cockpit Controls Unmanned Aircraft
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Mr. Damage Mr. Damage
    10/26/09

    In reply to United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard
    One obstacle, summed up in one word: Apple. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    Odin promoted this comment Mr. Damage was starred Mr. Damage was unstarred
    Image of Odin Odin
    10/26/09

    @Mr. Damage:
    Even Apple may struggle against the force of a Union. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    Odin was starred Odin was unstarred
    Image of Benguin Benguin
    10/24/09

    In reply to United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard
    I work at a mall kiosk that sells cellphone accessories and I wish this standard would be adopted here. There are so many freakin' types of chargers and it gets so annoying trying to find the correct one for somebody's random phone. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    Benguin was starred Benguin was unstarred
    Image of cbstryker cbstryker
    10/24/09

    In reply to United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard
    Wow, why is every "regulation" or "standardization" for technology not go along with what the industry is already using? We should have the main usb connector, and a mobile/small connector.

    What does every portable hard drive, computer accessory, mobile phone (that uses usb) use so far? MINIUSB, not micro. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    whiteknight89 still plays DiabloII promoted this comment cbstryker was starred cbstryker was unstarred
    Image of whiteknight89 digs DBZ whiteknight89 digs DBZ
    10/24/09

    @cbstryker: The size difference is a big (pun intended) factor for choosing microUSB over mini. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    whiteknight89 digs DBZ was starred whiteknight89 digs DBZ was unstarred
    Image of WestwoodDenizen WestwoodDenizen
    10/24/09

    @whiteknight89 still plays DiabloII: Man, that was a seriously weak pun. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    whiteknight89 still plays DiabloII promoted this comment WestwoodDenizen was starred WestwoodDenizen was unstarred
    Image of James Kinney James Kinney
    10/25/09

    @whiteknight89 still plays DiabloII:

    when cell phones are thinner than the miniusb i will believe you.

    the micro is a piece of crap!!! i hate using it it never feels correct sliding into the phone. feels cheap and like it will break.

    miniusb ftw! #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    whiteknight89 still plays DiabloII promoted this comment James Kinney was starred James Kinney was unstarred
    Image of whiteknight89 digs DBZ whiteknight89 digs DBZ
    10/27/09

    @James Kinney: Why would you want mini as a standard, when you anticipate phones thinner than mini as an eventuality?

    I think micro is a better choice, because we WILL have phones thinner than mini, and probably sooner than you or I think. The point of a standard is to stay relevant as long as possible, and picking the fatter format when "thin is in" would be a bad call.

    And I have a microUSB using phone, and my connector is working just fine, and I tend to abuse my electronics. Maybe its just my luck though. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    whiteknight89 digs DBZ was starred whiteknight89 digs DBZ was unstarred
    Image of whiteknight89 digs DBZ whiteknight89 digs DBZ
    10/27/09

    @WestwoodDenizen: I can live with that. Thanks for your input. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    whiteknight89 digs DBZ was starred whiteknight89 digs DBZ was unstarred
    Image of WestwoodDenizen WestwoodDenizen
    11/10/09

    @whiteknight89 still plays DiabloII: That was kind of a better pun, if it was intended. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    WestwoodDenizen was starred WestwoodDenizen was unstarred
    Image of Monty Monty
    10/24/09

    In reply to United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard
    Many of the phone manufacturers apparently saw this coming because we have been noticing many of the newer phones out there have already standardized on a micro USB port for their connectivity. Even better, there are converters for those using mini to change the chargers to micro for only a few bucks.

    This concept has been floated almost since the inception of mobile phones. Nokia had the standard on power adapter plugs for many years and a few other cell phone companies were using their design, despite it not being an official standard. So, kudos to the companies pushing this forward.

    Is Apple on whatever committee is considering this? I agree with the other folks here mentioning that, despite Apple's (supposed) reliance on standards, I am concerned that they might not add the micro port on the device. It seems even more unlikely that, despite it being possible, they would switch from their proprietary connector to a universal one. But, if they did - I would be sending a nice assortment of "I love you in a special sort of way" candies to Mr. Jobs. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    Monty was starred Monty was unstarred
    Image of CraigJ CraigJ
    10/24/09

    In reply to United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard
    I have no doubt that they (all the competing companies) will find a way to screw this up. I'll just stick with my iPod and my iPhone. Works in my car, all the cables are interchangeable, etc.

    The only thing this will end up helping is the phone makers, so they can sell the phone without a charger. I doubt they will lower the cost of the phone because of that, and average joe consumer will probably have to buy one with the new standard anyway, so that will be another $20 when buying a cell phone.

    I don't really buy the 51,000 ton number. Like most statistics used to support a position, I suspect that very, very optimistic calculations were used. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    Platypus Man promoted this comment CraigJ was starred CraigJ was unstarred
    Image of Platypus Man Platypus Man
    10/24/09

    @CraigJ: Yeah, that may be true, but you'll only have to spend that $20 for a new charger once. Afterwards, the next time you get a new phone, the old charger will still work with it, so unless it breaks, you don't need to buy another new charger. And if it does break, because they're all the same, it should be really easy to get a new one.

    Also, if a friend is over at your place, you could let him charge his phone there if need be, which you could only do now if you had the same phone. There are all sorts of possibilities that this brings to the table. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    Platypus Man was starred Platypus Man was unstarred
    Image of Canoehead Canoehead
    10/24/09

    In reply to United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard
    I don't even see why America has to hop on board per se - I mean, the cellular industry is pretty international, and assuming that manufacturers will want to sell as widely as possible, it would be logical for American and foreign manufacturers to adopt this standard and sell those phones into the US market, regardless of whether the US government passes a law or or adopts a regulation requiring it. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    Canoehead was starred Canoehead was unstarred
    Image of weatherman weatherman
    10/24/09

    @Canoehead: you're forgetting that there is a strong incentive for manufacturers to have a proprietary charger - they can charge a lot more for replacement devices, and even license the rights. Manufacturers may be on board with this idea now for a number of reasons (not the least of which is public pressure) but they could have all adopted a system like mini-USB years ago but chose not to in favor of being able to sell high-margin peripherals. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    weatherman was starred weatherman was unstarred
    Image of twilight-arc twilight-arc
    10/24/09

    @Canoehead: Companies will do what ever is cheapest for them. Think of power supplies that are now for the most part 240/110V. It means one production line for the whole globe. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    weatherman promoted this comment twilight-arc was starred twilight-arc was unstarred
    Image of FightingChance FightingChance
    10/25/09

    @weatherman: Ding! Weatherman wins the thread. That's 51,000 tons of profits sitting out there - those phone chargers probably cost a couple bucks to make, but sell at 6x that. You lose money on your main item, and make money on all the items that make the main item work. #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    weatherman promoted this comment FightingChance was starred FightingChance was unstarred
    Image of tatublu tatublu
    10/24/09

    In reply to United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard
    i wonder if Apple will jump on board with this when they are working on there own new charging system? #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    fleebailey33 promoted this comment tatublu was starred tatublu was unstarred
    Image of fleebailey33 fleebailey33
    10/24/09

    @tatublu: i doubt it, actually apple has pushed tons of standards, gizmodo made a post about it a while ago. i think we would see apple push the iphone adapter as a standerd before adopting micro usb... #universalchargingsolution
     Reply
    fleebailey33 was starred fleebailey33 was unstarred
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