Micro Usb - Why Hasn't It Being Used On Small Devices?

[manuleka 0]

Ok so i've been using USB-microUSB for charging devices and stuff and i was thinking about how much space will be saved if the micro USB will be utilized instead of the USB ports... imagine devices with microUSB, especially netbooks and ultrabooks...

[yordan 10]

Maybe for compatibility reasons. I unplug my printer from my desktop PC, and plug it to my laptop. If I should change the standard cable to microUSB clable, would be difficult. And which micro-usb cable? My camara does not have the same plug as my phone, which is different from my GPS one. My three cameras have three different USB cables. Same thing with my two GSM phones. Only the big cable pc-to-device is standard today.

[manuleka 0]

Maybe for compatibility reasons. I unplug my printer from my desktop PC, and plug it to my laptop. If I should change the standard cable to microUSB clable, would be difficult. And which micro-usb cable? My camara does not have the same plug as my phone, which is different from my GPS one. My three cameras have three different USB cables. Same thing with my two GSM phones. Only the big cable pc-to-device is standard today.

sorry i was referring to microUSB port... instead of the standard USB sized port. I have never seen one on a laptop before but it would be nice if microUSB can be utilized

[Logan Deathbringer 0]

I think the reason we haven't seen microUSB on laptops or computer is durability. The standard sized USB port and plug are more damage resistant than micro, also they are easier to hold and move around to different devices. Plus from a hardware replacement/repair stand point they are easier to replace, and diagnose as faulty. With a micro port they are harder to visually diagnose as faulty so the "easiest" way to find out if the problem with the port is actually the port on onboard controller is to swap out the microUSB port board and test, which is time consuming and as such a money drain.I can't say for certain that thats the reason that is why they haven't become standard or not, I'm not even sure that microUSB can handle full USB 3.0 (Super Speed USB) speeds, and if they can't that would be another reason why we haven't seen micro take over.

Edited October 31, 2012 by Logan Deathbringer (see edit history)

[manuleka 0]

I think the reason we haven't seen microUSB on laptops or computer is durability. The standard sized USB port and plug are more damage resistant than micro, also they are easier to hold and move around to different devices. Plus from a hardware replacement/repair stand point they are easier to replace, and diagnose as faulty. With a micro port they are harder to visually diagnose as faulty so the "easiest" way to find out if the problem with the port is actually the port on onboard controller is to swap out the microUSB port board and test, which is time consuming and as such a money drain.
I can't say for certain that thats the reason that is why they haven't become standard or not, I'm not even sure that microUSB can handle full USB 3.0 (Super Speed USB) speeds, and if they can't that would be another reason why we haven't seen micro take over.

good points...

I think it would probably be more to do with how the standard USB size port has been in use for a while... so there's just way too many devices on this standard its gonna be hard to change... plus your last point (USB 3.0) support could be playing a major role on it....

[Logan Deathbringer 0]

Honestly I think it has more to do with speed and the reliability of that speed then anything else. With a plug that small it's very hard to keep from having signal bleed from one connector to the other. If/when they figure out how to over come that issue I think we will see the microUSB plug more, especially with the popularity of netbooks and tablets picking up.

[manuleka 0]

Honestly I think it has more to do with speed and the reliability of that speed then anything else. With a plug that small it's very hard to keep from having signal bleed from one connector to the other. If/when they figure out how to over come that issue I think we will see the microUSB plug more, especially with the popularity of netbooks and tablets picking up.

i agree... although with mobile devices through and tablets the small microUSB port delivers enough bandwidth to be utilized for charging/data purposes...

[wutske 0]

I think the reason we haven't seen microUSB on laptops or computer is durability. The standard sized USB port and plug are more damage resistant than micro, also they are easier to hold and move around to different devices. Plus from a hardware replacement/repair stand point they are easier to replace, and diagnose as faulty. With a micro port they are harder to visually diagnose as faulty so the "easiest" way to find out if the problem with the port is actually the port on onboard controller is to swap out the microUSB port board and test, which is time consuming and as such a money drain.
I can't say for certain that thats the reason that is why they haven't become standard or not, I'm not even sure that microUSB can handle full USB 3.0 (Super Speed USB) speeds, and if they can't that would be another reason why we haven't seen micro take over.

Honestly I think it has more to do with speed and the reliability of that speed then anything else. With a plug that small it's very hard to keep from having signal bleed from one connector to the other. If/when they figure out how to over come that issue I think we will see the microUSB plug more, especially with the popularity of netbooks and tablets picking up.

I think both answers are correct. First of all, the tiny microUSB port are absolutely not capable of providing the USB3.0 transfer rates and they probably wouldn't resist the high current that USB3.0 can deliver. Since they are much smaller, they are also more fragile; think about the many times you've inserted the cable the wrong way around or think about the times you left something hanging from the USB port...

Compatibilty is also extremely important, having nothing but micro-USB ports would render all your USB-sticks useless or you'd have to buy a converter and have it all the time with you ... so maybe it's one of the next features of the MacBook Air

[yordan 10]

Since they are much smaller, they are also more fragile; think about the many times you've inserted the cable the wrong way around

I even had a PC powerdown while inserting the micro-USB on my webcam : short-circuit on the USB outlet! This was very stupid from this manufacturer, because at that moment plugging an external webcam was a very frequent action, so having a micro-usb entry allowing short-circuits was very surprising.

[wutske 0]

I even had a PC powerdown while inserting the micro-USB on my webcam : short-circuit on the USB outlet! This was very stupid from this manufacturer, because at that moment plugging an external webcam was a very frequent action, so having a micro-usb entry allowing short-circuits was very surprising.

Wow ... a short circuit caused by micro-USB connectors ? Weird ...

[Logan Deathbringer 0]

Wow ... a short circuit caused by micro-USB connectors ? Weird ...

Actually its not all that weird at all. If you look at the "pins" on the micro-USB connector you will see that there is very little space between them. As such if one gets bent even slightly a cross connection is entirely possible and actually I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often. When talking about external connecters and such the micro-USB is one of the more popular ones and its amazing, in my opinion, since its one of the easiest to damage.

[manuleka 0]

Wow ... a short circuit caused by micro-USB connectors ? Weird ...

I don't think short-circuit errors/accidents would happen often...

[Logan Deathbringer 0]

I don't think short-circuit errors/accidents would happen often...

Surprisingly enough your right, they don't. From my experiance they only really happen when the cord/connector is seriously abused. Even for their small size they are quite resiliant, however even unintenional abuse can cause damage.

[manuleka 0]

Surprisingly enough your right, they don't. From my experiance they only really happen when the cord/connector is seriously abused. Even for their small size they are quite resiliant, however even unintenional abuse can cause damage.

i think microUSB should be quite convenient implementation on these new netbooks, and laptops... will make them even lighter and thinner...

[Logan Deathbringer 0]

i think microUSB should be quite convenient implementation on these new netbooks, and laptops... will make them even lighter and thinner...

I agree that it would help make them a BIT thinnner, however the weight difference between a USB port and a micro USB port is minimal. The biggest difference would be in the visual asthetics of the device. They would allow for more USB ports however as you could put 2 micro-USB ports for every 1 standard USB port.