I’ve blogged in the past about the need for standardization, especially when it comes to computer cables and power adapters. I have been feeling quite good about the progress I have been making with my personal collection of electronic gizmos. I’ve noticed that most of them have lined up behind the idea of using a mini-USB (Universal Serial Bus) port for both power and data. Now how cool is that? Someday, I might be able to carry one USB cable and a AC adapter and have it handle all of my information-age cabling needs.
Then I got a surprise: I upgraded my personal mobile phone to an LG enV3. Great, it also has a little USB connector on it, so it will be compatible with my other devices. Bzzzt. Wrong! It turns out that the enV 3 has a micro USB port which is about the same width but thinner than the mini USB. It seems that the USB Implementers Forum decided that the mini USB was just a bit too fat for slimmed down mobile phones and personal digital widgets. And the mobile phone industry has decided to standardize on this new slimmer connector.
Then I had to admit that I remember when the mobile phone guys announced this new standard. I just missed the fine point about mini vs micro. I thought we were already mini and micro enough!
I see now that the ham radio manufacturers cleverly avoided this whole mess, clinging to that industry giant, the old reliable RS-232 serial port! Their late adopter (never adopter?) behavior has saved them the agony of flipping the USB port.
On a similar note, Apple will apparently never move away from their proprietary iPod connector, so they have also shielded us from the pain and agony of using an affordable, standard connector.
I guess I need to go find a micro-USB to mini-USB adapter somewhere. Like this one.
73, Bob K0NR