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Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

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41–50 of 64 posts

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#41

As others have pointed out, there's a lot to be exited about. I definitely see this as a big step forward. That said, I think the connector shape is flawed. I've seen too many micro USB connectors break off in phones because it's hard to make something that small strong enough for movement from the cable. I wish they would have chosen something closer to the lightning connector or magnetic for durability. I'd hate to…

Type C was designed to be more durable than micro-USB.

I'm sure, and there's probably a ton of other considerations that went into this design e.g. space savings in laptops, manufacturing costs, etc. I just really like not worrying about connectors breaking after replacing laptops and cellphones early because of broken power/micro-USB jacks.

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#42
post #28

Good to see the little teeth on the plug are gone, they were the main failure mode for micro-usb cables.

That was their purpose. It was either that or put the teeth in the female port, on your expensive device and impossible to replace when (not if) they broke down. Put them on the cheap and easily replacable cable was a wise design decision. http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/18552/why-was... Having no info on the mechanical properties of the Type C connector, I'm curious (and a bit skeptical) about how tha…

Yeah. On that front, it kind of seems like a step backwards unless they've done something quite different.

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its kinda limiting. That's means I have to lug a hub around with me at all times, a spare port would be nice for phone charging, usb drives, etc.

Shades of the original iMac, which ditched everything in favour of just USB.

The original iMac had more ports than the current Air (audio in/out, power, ethernet, modem, USBx2, and an expansion slot).

One port that can do power, data, or video is pretty spiffy. Using that as an excuse to only have one port on the entire machine seems a bit extreme. At least give us one on each side..

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#44
In reference to the 100W power carrying capacity:

That seems to me like a lot of power to be sending through a 0.5mm wide contact pin separated from the data pin by another 0.5mm. I see elsewhere that they have upped the voltage to 20V, which reduces the current required - is that all it takes?

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#45
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wireless charging is pretty lame in that it only works I suspect Wigig will be as popular as WiDi, another Intel wireless technology: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiDi Keep in mind how long it took Bluetooth to really take off and work reasonably well between devices (4.0 IMO): http://www.bluetooth.com/Pages/History-of-Bluetooth.aspx (Bluetooth is 15 years old). I remember having a Nokia 6600 back in 2003, with a S…

Wireless charging is pretty lame I've had a Lumia 928 for about 19 months now and I have to disagree. I haven't plugged the phone in - to anything - since I bought it. I find just thunking the phone down onto the Qi charger much more convenient than fiddling with cables. Some day we'll look back on wires in general and laugh at how primitive we were.

Likewise, I have a Lumia 920 and I use a Qi enabled cradle in my car. It makes charging my phone in my car much more convenient. Combined with Bluetooth I don't have to deal with any wires into my phone going into and out of my car (which I do at least a dozen times a day).

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#46

As others have pointed out, there's a lot to be exited about. I definitely see this as a big step forward. That said, I think the connector shape is flawed. I've seen too many micro USB connectors break off in phones because it's hard to make something that small strong enough for movement from the cable. I wish they would have chosen something closer to the lightning connector or magnetic for durability. I'd hate to…

From all accounts the connector is quite similar to a lightning connector.

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#47

Even better than USB 3.1 is Wigig and wireless charging. Broadwell does support Wigig. Where are the Wigig docking stations now?

Wigig docking stations have been out for a while on Dell. Check out the Dell D5000: http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=1...

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#48
post #28

Good to see the little teeth on the plug are gone, they were the main failure mode for micro-usb cables.

That was their purpose. It was either that or put the teeth in the female port, on your expensive device and impossible to replace when (not if) they broke down. Put them on the cheap and easily replacable cable was a wise design decision. http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/18552/why-was... Having no info on the mechanical properties of the Type C connector, I'm curious (and a bit skeptical) about how tha…

The retention spring are still on the plug, they are just internal now.

USB Type-C Spec v1.0 Section 3.2.1 / Page 32 http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#49
post #44

In reference to the 100W power carrying capacity: That seems to me like a lot of power to be sending through a 0.5mm wide contact pin separated from the data pin by another 0.5mm. I see elsewhere that they have upped the voltage to 20V, which reduces the current required - is that all it takes?

Power comes across 8 pins (4 Vbus, 4 Ground)

From the spec: "3.7.7.4 Contact Current Rating (EIA 364-70, Method 2) A current of 5.0 A shall be applied collectively to VBUS pins (i.e., pins A4, A9, B4, and B9) and 1.25 A applied to the VCONN pin (i.e., B5 of the plug connector) with the return path through the corresponding GND pins (i.e., pins A1, A12, B1, and B12). A minimum current of 0.25 A shall also be applied individually to all the other contacts. When the currents are applied to the contacts, the temperature rise shall not exceed 30 °C at any point on the USB Type-C mated plug and receptacle under test, when measured at an ambient temperature of 25 °C."

http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/

Re: Reversible USB Type C connector and 10 gigabit USB 3.1 are here

#50
post #11
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If laptops can charge via USB, international travel will be so much nicer. I got the HP Chromebook 11 for just that reason. It charges with a micro-usb port, i.e. the same cable as android phones. It's nice to not need to bother packing a charger or cable for it. It's too bad all ultrabooks don't add a micro-usb port just for this purpose (in addition to the normal charger). The current chargers are much thicker th…

Latest rumor is Apple's Air is going to have only one USB 3.1 port for everything. http://9to5mac.com/2015/01/06/macbook-air-12-inch-redesign/ No maglock power supply, no display port, just the one port.

That's clearly fake, they wouldn't ditch Thunderbolt entirely.
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