Apple, Nokia, RIM And Others Make microUSB The Standard For Phone Chargers
By Chris Scott Barr
I honestly can’t remember the number of different cell phone chargers I’ve had over the years. I would imagine that it’s only slightly less than the number of phones I have owned. This is because almost every phone manufacturer has decided to develop their own proprietary connectors. While we’ve started seeing the microUSB port used for charging more lately, several manufacturers have agreed to use the microUSB port as the standard connector for all future phones in the UK.
The companies involved include Apple, Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola and RIM, each of which has promised to offer the new standard connector on their phones starting next year. The agreement only includes data-enabled phones, which means that some basic handsets may still be allowed to use a proprietary connector. The biggest question this is going to raise is how this will affect future iPhones. Apple has continued to use the same universal connector as the iPod. Will they continue to support the universal connector while adding a microUSB port, or will they remove it altogether, thus making most iPod docks useless?
Note: We have heard this before, however, now there are more companies on-board. They’re also making this happen two years earlier than previously announced.
Although IDG is still planning on holding a Apple-less Macworld Expo next year, it’s going to have to start fighting some pretty big competition for exhibitors — the CEA and iLounge.com just announced that CES 2010 will feature an iPod and iPhone-oriented iLounge Pavilion, dedicated to accessories for Apple’s handheld devices. That matches up nicely with rumors that the CEA is making a push for more Apple-focused products at next year’s show, and while we wouldn’t ever expect Apple itself to show up at CES, we can definitely see Macworld fading into irrelevance as companies jump ship for a show guaranteed to attract a ton of attention with or without a Stevie J. / Philly Shills keynote. We’ll see how it plays out over the next year — for right now we’re stoked to know that all the iPod docks at CES will be in one, focused location, allowing us to more or less ignore it just like we do the CES North Hall.
