Universal charger for phones plan

[ivebeenhigh]

hmm I could be wrong about this but i thought that in South Korea universal chargers were already standard...

 

[Crispy]

Ahhhh. I had no idea there was micro and mini. Why'd they do that then? There's hardly any difference in size
(although there is a male and female USB A there, so the lineup's not quite that crowded)

 

[paolo]

Ahhhh. I had no idea there was micro and mini. Why'd they do that then? There's hardly any difference in size
(although there is a male and female USB A there, so the lineup's not quite that crowded)

There's also a pico USB in that picture. Can you see it yet?

 

[Kanda]

So micro USB is the standard they are going for

 

[spanglechick]

Not the mini USB on the right. All one size. The other end (on the left) is either a Mains plug or USB. Still pretty universal

noo - we have cameras at work that need two different sizes of mini USB.

 

[editor]

Ahhhh. I had no idea there was micro and mini. Why'd they do that then?

Fuck knows, but it's mighty annoying.

USB 3.0 is on the way too - it fits older sockets, but you'll only get the improved speeds with the new cables/ports.
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fe..._about_usb_30_plus_first_spliced_cable_photos

So micro USB is the standard they are going for

Yep. So you can lob away all those USB 1.0, full size USB 2.0 and Mini USB cables!

Looks like Apple aren't interested in joining the universal charger party though: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/02/17/apple_absent_from_universal_phone_charger_push.html

 

[Sunray]

Apples are already of the required specification, their chargers have a USB port on them. The older one had a firewire port.

 

[Kanda]

Yep. So you can lob away all those USB 1.0, full size USB 2.0 and Mini USB cables!

Erm.. this is only for Phones... I don't think so.

 

[editor]

Apples are already of the required specification, their chargers have a USB port on them. The older one had a firewire port.

You're missing the point. An Apple charger is unlikely to work with a Nokia, or a Sony, or a Palm.

The whole point of this proposal is that one charger will work for all phones and that it will meet certain standards. According to AppleInsider, Apple don't seem interested in the idea.

http://www.gsmworld.com/newsroom/press-releases/2009/2548.htm

 

[Kanda]

You said throw all your other cables away.

No thx, I still need them for all my other peripherals.

 

[editor]

You said throw all your other cables away.

No thx, I still need them for all my other peripherals.

What do you use your USB 1.0 cables for then?

LOL.

 

[Kanda]

What do you use your USB 1.0 cables for then?

LOL.

Eh? What you going on about?

 

[Crispy]

Apples are already of the required specification, their chargers have a USB port on them. The older one had a firewire port.

uh huh.

'generic' USB wall-plugs do not work with the iphone/touch - not sure about other models
Here's why

 

[Sunray]

You've never had a phone with a miniUSB port?You're missing the point. An Apple charger is unlikely to work with a Nokia, or a Sony, or a Palm.

The whole point of this proposal is that one charger will work for all phones and that it will meet certain standards. According to AppleInsider, Apple don't seem interested in the idea.

http://www.gsmworld.com/newsroom/press-releases/2009/2548.htm

No I'm not missing the point.

The Apple power supply is a USB port. USB is a very clearly defined Intel standard. 500mA at +5v DC on the power pin. This will charge anything that takes a USB power, its even got a standard USB 1.0 port.

The iPhone requires specific resistor ladder to be applied to the data lines which signals to it that that is a psu and not a computer because if its on a computer, to get 500mA out the +ve line it has to ask the computer to switch it on.

This would need changing to support other chargers, due to this spec change for USB 2.0, which also states that it shorts the signal lines together to indicate its a PSU.

Battery Charging Specification 1.0: Released in March 2007.
Adds support for dedicated chargers (power supplies with USB connectors), host chargers (USB hosts that can act as chargers) and the No Dead Battery provision which allows devices to temporarily draw 100 mA current after they have been attached. If a USB device is connected to dedicated charger, maximum current drawn by the device may be as high as 1.8A. (Note that this document is not distributed with USB 2.0 specification package.)

I've just plugged my external battery pack which has a USB charger, into the Apple charger, its charging.

 

[editor]

The Apple power supply is a USB port.

So will it directly plug into a Nokia phone? Or a HTC? Or a Palm? Is it interchangeable with other phones? No, It's a proprietary, non standard connector - and that is the point.

It's the same story for most handsets right now, but it is wasteful and a universal charger would be a great improvement. I'm not sure why you're not getting this concept, but even this iPhone website understands the difference:

Is it Time for Apple to Switch From Dock Connector to USB?

The iPhone, like the iPod before it (well, at least since the 3rd-gen iPod, when Apple switched from FireWire), uses a proprietary connector called the dock for charging, syncing, video and audio-out, and multiple other functions. A broad port with 30 pins for many purposes, having a proprietary connector gives Apple a lot of flexibility, but also — through their licensing program — a lot of control over who can make peripherals and what can be done with them...

So, as technology marches on, as backwards compatibility is shed, and as standards like USB 2.0 (and in the future, USB 3.0) grow faster and more capable, is it time for Apple to dump the dock and go with the same port most everyone else is using (including Apple with the Mac)?

http://www.theiphoneblog.com/2009/02/15/time-apple-dock-connector-usb/

 

[Sunray]

So will it directly plug into a Nokia phone? Or a HTC? Or a Palm? Is it interchangeable with other phones? No, It's a proprietary, non standard connector - and that is the point.

It's the same story for most handsets right now, but it is wasteful and a universal charger would be a great improvement. I'm not sure why you're not getting this concept, but even this iPhone website understands the difference:

Its a USB port. In what way is that a non-standard connector?

The end that plugs into my phone is the Apple connector, but that is just a cable.

I just plugged my old Sony Ericsson K800i into it, and (no) surprise its charging from my Apple charger. So like I said Apple already have a more universal charger than anyone else.

My APC battery pack is fully charged from my Apple PSU.

 

[Crispy]

Would be more convenient to have the 'universal' bit at the phone end though. Means you only have to carry the phone, and not the cable around with you. Of course, the ipod would have to have a secondary connector for video out etc.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Ahhhh. I had no idea there was micro and mini. Why'd they do that then? There's hardly any difference in size

I discovered this the other day when I almost broke a socket trying to jam what I thought was the right cable into my card reader

They really are hard to tell apart with a quick glance, which is very annoying.

 

[Lazy Llama]

'generic' USB wall-plugs do not work with the iphone/touch - not sure about other models

Some do, some don't.

The hokey-cokey $2 one I bought from Hong Kong works fine.

 

[editor]

Would be more convenient to have the 'universal' bit at the phone end though. Means you only have to carry the phone, and not the cable around with you.

Well, exactly. That's the whole point of it. One charger will work for all phones. No proprietary cables/connectors/jacks needed.

Its a USB port. In what way is that a non-standard connector?

*bangs head and gives up.

 

[Sunray]

If you think that by introducing a new PSU with a non-detachable cable is an idea, its a bad one.

If all the new chargers were just USB ported like the Apple one, that would mean that they would not only charge new devices but also a whole range of existing USB devices.

 

[WWWeed]

They should all be this:

!!

I totality agree, Windows mobile devices have had them as standard for a while now!

The only problem with this new standard is that its not miniusb, its a new microusb standard:

NOT the existing miniusb standard which I think is pretty bloody stupid

 

[editor]

If all the new chargers were just USB ported like the Apple one, that would mean that they would not only charge new devices but also a whole range of existing USB devices.

"Hi! Can we use your Apple 'universal' charger to charge our phones?"

"Sure - but I've only got the proprietary Apple connector attached, so unless you've got a selection of USB cables handily stuffed in your pockets, you're fucked."

Does Apple's charger meet the other environmental standards laid down too?

 

[Sunray]

To make the Apple supply like a Universal one, I'd just need a standard usb to mini-usb cable? I already have one because my APC power pack has one.
Energy and materials wise its a lot better than a charger that doesn't yet exist.

 

[Crispy]

No, you'd need your phone to have a standard socket.

You can get USB cables for most modern phones, this does not turn a USB outlet into a universal charger, because you still need the proprietary cable.

 

[editor]

No, you'd need your phone to have a standard socket.

You can get USB cables for most modern phones, this does not turn a USB outlet into a universal charger, because you still need the proprietary cable.

Exactalamundo!

 

[Sunray]

No, you'd need your phone to have a standard socket.

You can get USB cables for most modern phones, this does not make a USB outlet into a universal charger, because you still need the proprietary cable.

Whats my phone got to do with it? Its not Universal PSU compatible. That was not the point I was making.

Apple's PSU on the other hand is essentially a Universal PSU. They are saying that the connector is a mini-USB, so all that would need to make the Apple supply work with all Universal charger compatible devices is a cable.

Its not the cables that the idea was there to prevent. It was there so people didn't have to include a new PSU with new devices and use existing PSU's thus reducing the number of PSU's out there and reducing costs.

Apple has been doing this for years now. They stopped including PSU's with the iPod, instead they sell the PSU as a seperate item and charge off the USB bus of a PC. The iPod would work with the proposed Universal PSU with a small adaptor, but the iPod PSU is essentially what those manufacturers are specifying as a universal psu. Just need to short the data lines together in the cable.

I think a fixed cable would be a bad idea, for the reasons I described in a previous post.

 

[Crispy]

So why have they decided on a standard phone connector instead of a standard adapter connector?

 

[Badgers]

I blame someone for all this

 

[Sunray]

So why have they decided on a standard phone connector instead of a standard adapter connector?

Is mini-usb that standard on phones?