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micro-usb

Apple to sell Micro-USB adapter for Lightning but only in Europe

Apple is offering European customers an adapter to let Micro-USB cables talk to the new Lighting interface, but those in the U.S are so far out of luck.

Available in Apple's online store in the U.K. and other European countries, the new Lightning to Micro-USB adapter will let people charge and sync their new iPhone 5, iPod Touch, or iPod Nano.

Unveiled at the iPhone 5 event yesterday, Apple's new Lightning dock connector is much smaller and narrower than the standard 30-pin connector. It can also be plugged in either orientation. And Apple claims it's … Read more

Apple's iPhone gets Micro-USB charger adapter

Apple is finally set to release an adapter that lets people use the common Micro-USB-based charger with its iPhones.

As the company unveiled its iPhone 4S on Tuesday, it also put the iPhone Micro-USB adapter on its Apple Store websites across Europe. The adapter will ship on 14 October, as will the iPhone 4S, a souped-up version of the popular iPhone 4. However, it will sell as a paid-for extra, rather than shipping in the box with new devices.

It is now four years since major handset manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG agreed on Micro-USB as … Read more

European standards groups agree on micro-USB

Two European standardization bodies have agreed to make micro-USB the standard interface port for smartphones in Europe.

Though Apple currently uses its proprietary 30-pin dock connector for transferring data and charging its iPhone, iPad, and iPods, CEN-CENELEC and ETSI announced yesterday they have agreed that an adapter is suitable for compliance.

The commission "made available the harmonized standards needed for the manufacture of data-enabled mobile phones compatible with a new common charger. This is the most recent development in the process toward a global common mobile phone charger initiated by the European Commission."

Apple, along with mobile phone … Read more

Build muscle, charge your phone with YoGen

Outdoorsy types are sure to love mobile solar chargers, but what about those who rarely see sunlight? (No, we're not referring to "Twilight.")

Easy Energy will launch the YoGen, a mobile charger that solely relies on hand power. The pocket-size charger lets you generates energy by repeatedly pulling a ripcord, similar to the way a lawnmower is started.

The Las Vegas-based company created this product as a part of its mission to "satisfy the enormous worldwide demand for practical, compact, 'green energy producing' manpowered chargers." Easy Energy is also in the process of launching YoGen … Read more

On Call: An open letter to Sony Ericsson

Dear Sony Ericsson,

Though we've known each other for some time, this is the first time that I've written. For the most part, our relationship has been a good one. Back when AT&T was still AT&T Wireless, the Sony Ericsson T68i was one of the very first phones I ever owned (it's so old that I can't even find the CNET review). At the time, I was the envy of my friends since I had a nifty new feature called Bluetooth. What's more, I was the very first person that I … Read more

Universal phone charger OK'd

A standard for a universal phone charger was approved this week by the International Telecommunication Union, a branch of the United Nations.

The Universal Charging Solution will enable the creation of one-size-fits-all chargers that can be used on any future phone, according to the ITU.

The standard is based on input from the GSM Association, which expects the shift to eliminate 51,000 tons of redundant chargers, or 13.6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

Based on Micro-USB, the new chargers will also be energy efficient.

"Universal chargers are a common-sense solution that I look forward … Read more

Apple, others agree to universal cell phone charger standard in Europe

Apple and other big phone makers have struck a deal with the European Commission to start selling phones with universal cell phone chargers starting next year.

Under the agreement, manufacturers would start using micro-USB connections for phone chargers used for smartphones. Apple joins other big cell phone makers including LG, Motorola, Nokia, Research In Motion, Samsung and Sony Ericsson in agreeing to the new standard. Chipset makers, such as NEC, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments have also agreed to the deal.

In February the GSMA, a trade association for mobile carriers using GSM technology, said it had brokered a deal with handset makers to get the micro-USB technology into cell phone chargers by 2012. And the CTIA, the U.S. wireless trade association, backed the standard in April of this year.

The initiative has many advantages. For one it makes it much easier for consumers who no longer have to worry about losing their one and only cell phone charger. It also cuts down on waste since people can reuse their cell phone chargers when they get a new phone. Even though some cell phone manufacturers were reluctant to give up their proprietary cell phone chargers for fear that it would make it easier for customers to switch to new phones from competitors, eventually standardizing on one technology will help these manufacturers reduce costs.… Read more

Apple to stop Micro-USB from becoming standard?

Geardiary.com has a interesting post up about how more devices, especially cell phones, are using Micro-USB instead of Mini-USB, and how it's partially a ploy to get you to buy more overpriced charging adapters.

It's a good conspiracy theory that's hard to argue with, but it also seems clear that the shift to Micro-USB is about saving space in building the device.

Last week, CNET's Marguerite Reardon reported that the GSMA trade association had brokered a deal with the leading cell phone manufacturers to standardize on Micro-USB. Conspicuously missing from the list was Apple, maker of the iPhone, but the idea is that by the year 2012 (seems like a long way off, doesn't it?), virtually all cell phones--and hopefully all Bluetooth headsets--will have the same connector.

That would make life a lot easier for anybody who's ever left a charger at home and hopes to find someone with a matching charger (or go buy an overpriced one at the store).

I--and many others--hope the standardization extends to a lot of other gadgets. The Kindle 2 has shifted to Micro-USB for charging and data transfers, and it should be a no-brainer for next-gen MP3 players, digital cameras, and camcorders, plus portable game consoles (the Nintendo DS uses a weird proprietary hybrid USB charger), to make the shift. … Read more