Do you have a charger for my...? Standardized plugs coming soon
Anyone who has a smart phone knows the feeling. The battery starts dipping to below 20 per cent charge. You think you can stretch things out but the meter continues to dip as your day wears on and a charger is out of sight.
Now your battery indicator is flashing red...the phone is nearly running on the battery acid’s fumes. Any second now, that beep alerting you of your phone’s impending shut-down will stop mid-tone as the screen fades to black.
Panicking, you ask around – at work, school, a friend’s place – for a charger. Unfortunately, their Samsung plug won’t jive with your iPhone.
Wouldn’t it be nice if smartphone chargers used a standard plug?
Yes – and it appears the Europeans get it.
Starting in early 2011, new phones from those companies will use a micro USB jack for charging.
While this is only in the European Union – it’s quite likely we can expect to see the same electronics companies keeping things consistent across the pond here in Canada and the rest of the world.
Although some features change from region to region, it makes costs cheaper for them to use the same type of plug in both markets.
And for us consumers – it makes total sense. Even your friend’s iPhone charger could charge your BlackBerry, or your Nokia could juice up a Samsung phone.
If you're wondering what Apple will do with their proprietary 30-pin iPhone plugs, Mac Rumours says they might include a microUSB adapter...which I'm sure every iPhone user will carry around.
While microUSB is pretty common on many devices, I still run into phones when doing reviews that have proprietary jacks. That’s like like selling cars that need specialized fuel pumps.
Would you benefit from common chargers? How often are you scrambling to find a compatible charger?
- Maurice Cacho, MSN Tech & Gadgets
Comments
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Posted by: RICKSHAW | Jan 2, 2011 11:14:44 AM
In some cases, perhaps many, a little common sense goes a long way; it appears that that has finally happened here. Look,....its not as though one manufacturer or the other has to have their product plugged into some form of proprietary electrical power....its all power or electricity whatever you want to call it; different voltages in some countries but still electricity. Hopefully, one day, television, dvd, home electronics manufacturers will get the same message with respect to hand held controllers....please we don't need five different controllers...please just one...figure out a common communications protocol for all of them and have one controller. Put a coupon in the box for a controller..for a free one....the first one you actually need...if you don't need the controller toss the coupon in the garbage....lol now that would make sense wouldn't it :)
Posted by: hewitt P | Jan 2, 2011 11:42:51 AM
Standardization :This should be done with ALL consumer goods ,starting with CARS.Why have a bigger or smaller HOLE in the center of tires : so they can sell you a new set of (spare/winter) wheels ,next car you buy,simply throw out what you have.Same goes with light bulbs,thay are also made so that you have to replace them along with your next car.Many parts of you car are made with this purpose in mind,along with positioning them on the vehicule ,In case of even a small accident : lights ,radiator etc HAVE to be replaced,Thats why bumpers are made of plastic.Don't wait for GOVS to do anything ,they collect taxes.Which is why we do not have a reliable electric car yet.All those gasoline (etc)taxes will have to come from somewhere else,the day THEY find an acceptable way of taxing us for lost revenue things will start moving.No gears,oil,gas,radiator,A/C(as we know it) but no pollution either.Could all be solar charged/run.
Posted by: PJ | Jan 2, 2011 1:37:24 PM
Standardization will never happen in North America.It is against everything we are told from the day we are born.Find a way to screw the consumer and make tons of money doing so.This is the American way.Just look at what's happened with televisions.How many of you resisted buying the new widescreen tv's because you had vhs or dvd that was full screen?You finally relent and spend gobs of money on the new format only to find out movies and tv programs are now being done in 7 different formats.Scrwed again,you think to yourself as you watch your new high def tv with black lines to the side ,or different sized lines top and bottom,or even worse Disney's letterbox format with lines all around.Standardization Yeah sell me another fairy tale.