New Micro USB Connector Could Be Standard On Cell Phones
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Richard Baguley Published on September 21, 2007 Comment on this |
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21st Sept 07 – A new agreement by an industry body could spell an end to the frustration of having to buy new chargers and cables for every cell phone. The Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP, a UK based industry body) has recommended that their members should use the new micro USB connector on their cell phones. Members of the OMTP include a number of carriers (including AT&T and T-Mobile) and manufacturers (including Nokia).The micro USB standard is new on the scene; the first cell phone we've seen that use it is the Motorola RAZR2. The plugs and sockets are smaller than the commonly used mini USB standard, which means that phones can be thinner and smaller. Fewer sockets also means smaller phones; the micro USB connector can be used for power, data and connecting headphones. What a reccomendation like this could mean is that you may not need to buy new chargers, data cables and headsets when you upgrade a cell phone; if the old and the new one both have micro USB ports, your existing chargers, cables and headsets would work on both.
Nokia have been particularly egregious in this respect; all of their phones we have reviewed recently use a 2.5-mm charging plug that isn't used by any other manufacturer. And, although their phones have mini USB posts, they can't be used for charging the device. So it is good to see that Nokia are on board with this reccomendation, with Markku Verakama, their Director of Portfolio Planning claiming that this “simple yet significant recommendation will have wide reaching benefit. With the reduction of cables needed for mobile data connectivity, we can further enhance user experiences in our devices while reducing the burden to the environment.”
The reccomendation is not binding, though; the manufacturers could continue using their own plug and cable connections, but we hope that the manufacturers stick with it and start adopting micro USB as the way to charge and connect phones. Especially as the Chinese government has mandated that all cell phones will have to use a common standard for connectors. They haven't set a deadline for this to go into force, but it will be soon, and the manufacturers will no doubt be addressing this, especially given the huge Chinese cell phone market.
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