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Reports Say Apple Is Shrinking Its Docking Connector With iPhone 5
jones_supa writes "Two sources have told Reuters that Apple's new iPhone will drop the classic wide dock connector used in the company's gadgets for the best part of a decade in favor of a smaller one. The refresh will be a 19-pin connector port at the bottom instead of the previous 30-pin port 'to make room for the earphone moving to the bottom.' That would mean the new phone would not connect with the myriad of accessories playing a part in the current ecosystem of iPods, iPads and iPhones, at least without an adapter. On the upside, a smaller connector will allow for more compact product designs. Some enterprising vendors in China have already begun offering cases for the new phone, complete with earphone socket on the bottom and a 'guarantee' that the dimensions are correct." Gizmodo writer Adrian Covert says it's for your own good.
I'm sure MicroUSB and other industry-standard connectors weren't considered. For how many years now has Apple been the last holdout with proprietary connectors?
Even if they did they'd still find a way to make it proprietary with something like the charger resistor trick or the headphone recess.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Now maybe one of those thousands of companies will realize the the smart move would be a USB plug for charging combined with a bluetooth system for transmitting the music. I can't seem to find anything good for my Android phone.
Every other phone manufacturer seems okay with USB and a headphone socket. Same accessories, standard connector and charger.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
That would mean the new phone would not connect with the myriad of accessories playing a part in the current ecosystem of iPods, iPads and iPhones, at least without an adapter. On the upside ...
... on the upside the large number of people who switched from apple i-products to android in the recent past (I had a touch and a nano before I got an android phone) had no problem abandoning the current i- ecosystem, so the i- fanboys will probably successfully make the same transition.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
It's not about how big the connector is. It's how you use it!
Everything is better with chainsaws.
7" iPad and now a 19 pin connector - Tim must be doing a LOT of swimming to get that kind of apple shrinkage!
"Murderer? Well, that's a harsh word. I prefer to think of myself as a Mortality Technician."
That back piece could be a decoy to weed out leakers at Apple or it could even be a part for chinese iPhone clone. The appearance of the back plate does not look consistent with previous iDevices put out by Apple before. The speaker/microphone grills do not match in size with larger holes than I would expect and there is no benefit to having the headphone jack at the bottom if it means sacrificing symmetry and reducing the docking port. Also, the back panel having an "Apple" logo means nothing. There have been clone phone made in china before with an Apple logo and iPhone moniker. Also, the font kerning a family is wrong for "iPhone" and there are no regulatory symbols or text such as "Made in China, Designed in California".
Everything about the supposed leaked case scream "clone" to me. There were iPhone 4 "clones" released in China after the prototype was "lost" in a bar so it is entirely possible that someone leaked information about the dimensions of the new iPhone 5 to a cloner.
Apple would be giving up a vast eco-system of dock connectors on alarm clocks in homes and hotels.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
http://xkcd.com/927/
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Ironic how apple is competing through litigation arguing patent infringement and then blatantly copies the Nexus S 4G earphone location (http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-galaxy-nexus/143389-headset-jack-bottom-yea-nay.html)
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Just the excuse I needed to buy all new gear! La la la la la...
to comply with EU standards for phones?
...and before we start frothing at the mouth over all the iPad-enabled equipment destined for landfill, there are equally credible rumors that Apple will be making an adapter.
As for why - well, they've managed to stick to the same physical connector for 10 years, which is pretty good going. Maybe it wasn't possible to add USB3 in a way that didn't break compatibility with existing docks. They probably don't need composite/component analog video now, either.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
Making not-needed changes that end-up costing the loyal Apple user more money. BTW when the iPhone 5 comes-out, I hope they reduce the price on the older 4 model. I want to buy one but $550 is a steep price.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
One thing about the current connector Apple uses is that it doesn't just provide pins, it provides a structural element, allowing devices to plug in standing up. Without this, it will be a pain at least for a docking station to be built, especially ones that are engineered to support iPhones, iPods, and iPads, all of differing widths, heights, and thicknesses, but all sporting the same connector.
I hope this isn't the case, since it means that the whole accessory market, from the docking station that is a part of a new motorhome to the one that is built into a home theater system, to the dock that is part of a construction grade battery charger are all useless.
On the upside, a smaller connector will allow for more compact product designs.
The only thing that's compact is the connector and nothing else. The product shape, design and size will depend on its developer, creator, inventor..whatever. It's only an excuse to release a so called "new" product (iphone5) that will make you spend more money on gadgets and accessories. When they look at their stats, I'm pretty sure someone at apple decided to accept this change because lots of people bought iphone 4 accessories and he's thinking if people buy so many gadgets, they will surely buy lots of gadgets on the iphone5 even if we change the connector size.
Why this relentless drive for thinness at Apple? They switched to displayport because VGA/DVI ports were too thick, and now they dropped ethernet from their new retina laptops because the RJ45 connector is too thick. Every time Apple bring out a new iThing, I see the fanboys celebrate how this is the slimmest iThing yet - another 0.25mm shaved from the thickness! Really, once a phone reaches the 'fits in pocket' size, what advantage could be gained for the user in making it slimmer? It's just became some sort of Apple dogma that thinner is better and thinnest is best.
But how many people would complain about switching to micro-USB with or without the adapters (obviously they'd still complain if they don't provide the adapters).
How much a better place this world would be?
uhm...
Why were they using 30 when they only needed 19? Is some functionality going to be lost in the new connector? Are they serializing some functions that used to be parallel over the cable? Did the originally plan for some functionality they never got around to adding? Maybe just giving themselves the opportunity to remove them later and and create a market for adapters?
Long signatures suck.
Didn't all of the major news outlets believe that a teardrop LTE iPhone 5 was coming out last year? Did you all forget that?
Do you really believe Apple is going to abandon their ecosystem of dock connector accessories? Really? These reporters need to go back to school because they have become as bad as "bloggers" believing rumours and random parts that could be fake or part of a chinese knockoff designed based on the rumours about a taller iPhone.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
Watch them stop manufacturing the current connector as a way to make us all "upgrade".
Is it possible that this is a miniaturized Thunderbolt? Seems like that would offer all of the connectivity they want, although the pin count is off (by one). Just seems strange (although all-too Apple-like) to invent yet another connector that is different from everything else they use.
iPhone ...
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4
iPhone 4S
Would anyone seriously expect Gizmodo to say anything else?
Connectors are obsolete on a device that has at least three radios in it. Charging should be inductive, video should be WiFi, and audio should be Bluetooth. Then the thing would be hole-free and could be made waterproof.
Now this is what Apple should be shooting for in ruggedization.
A few years ago a man I was talking to a man who's house along with the rest of his town was flooded. He said in his case he thought got off lucky because the water only came 2 to 2.5 feet above floor level
But it turned out to be a huge issue because while the water wasn't high enough to destroy his small TV, his router, his printer, etc, etc, the water did destroy all the small adapters, transformers, etc, etc, he had plugged in. He told me it was a nightmare to try and replace individual transformer, usb connectors, etc, etc, because everybody was not only a bit different, but because inside the same company if your device was over 2 years old, standards had change or maybe they didn't even make or have for sale an older transformer with the old voltage & amperage specs.
Or sometimes he would run into the "problem" of where "sure we can get it, but it will take two months, and you can just buy a whole new thing-ama-jig for just $10 more." This in turn led to arguements with the insurance company, and so forth. He told me a new charger for his cell phone was the worst "offender" He just ended up with a new cell phone.
I remember him very clearing saying "why not just a universal standard for everything? One cable from your computer for everything and one transformer for everything?" He figured if there was ever a floor like that again, "everything is going to fall into the water by accident".
This whole idea of so many different proprietary connectors strikes me as nothing more than a fancy, expanded take on those old Depression era make work projects where men would dig ditches one day and then fill them in the next day. In the short term it makes some people money, but in a long term, on a planet with limited resources, overall a terrible waste.
Did anyone else read the actual article? It's nothing more than continued blind Apple adoration on the part of Gizmodo, and they're even willing to grasp at straws to do it.
Not only does their entire argument hinge on some vague defense of Apple "looking forward" on this issue, whatever that means, but they even make statements such as the following: "And while we don't know much about its specs for now, it wouldn't be unimaginable for it to enable faster data transfer rates."
That's right, folks. We support this because of some vague, unsubstantiated belief in possible greater technical capabilities from this move!
Give me a break. If Apple really cared about new abilities, or smaller size, there are already a myriad of non-proprietary standards they could have gone with. Let's just quit with the apologism and accept that they saw an easy opportunity to once again squeeze money from a new proprietary standard, and are taking it.
That would mean the new phone would not connect with the myriad of accessories playing a part in the current ecosystem of iPods, iPads and iPhones, at least without an adapter. On the upside, a smaller connector will allow for more compact product designs.
Summary makes it sound as if the fact that everyone has to re-buy all their accessories is a downside for Apple.
And also: OMG, News! Did you hear Apple is changing their CONNECTOR???!!!!!
The real purpose of the change is not to make it so the ear phone can be smaller. The real purpose is that with the change, all of your add-ons that used the old connector will need to be replaced instead of moved to your next device and if there is a new add-on you really want, you'll need to buy a new idevice because the connector changed. Effectively when the new dock is made standard all existing devices will become obsolete.
It's not about better design, etc. It is about generating increases in revenues.
That wouldn't be so bad, if only other manufacturers didn't try to copy them. Back when Apple made the thinnest stuff with the weakest batteries and least amount of connectivity, they were indeed mock-worthy. But lots of other manufacturers are trying to suck just as much as Apple. Much of the industry has gone insane with products that are inferior to previous generations, not just Apple.
New standards are always rough on the early adopter
Standards? What standards? Maybe if you stuck to the standards this would not have happened to you.
All electronics stores everywhere overstocked on Apple peripherals to the point that speakers connecting to non-Apple device are hard to come by. This is the payback time! My turn to walk with a gleeful grin, as millions $ worth of equipment finds its way to the dumpsters worldwide.
...on the bottom? That really doesn't make much sense, unless part of the connector shrink is removing the line level output from the connector and moving it to the headphone jack. But this would require one of those bizarre connectors like the original iPods had for wired remote functions, and that doesn't seem Apple like.
The dock connector needs to be redesigned, although one of the iDevice's strengths has been a fairly long run with a common connector.
Bite it, all you Apple zealots. Buy *another* proprietary cord for you stupid oh-so-trendy device, and throw the old one away because it's no longer 'cool' enough.
Yes, to me the Apple(tm) logo says "I'm a giant douche with too much money".
-Styopa
Do we know there won't be any adapters available?
Apple has in the past sued companies producing products with connectors that mate with its own devices. Even cutting off the end of an authentic Apple power supply and soldering it onto an external battery has triggered a lawsuit.
Can anyone explain to me how USB is not capable of sending audio or video data
Tunneling 1080p HDMI over USB is impossible. 1920x1080 pixels * 24 bits per pixel * 30 frames per second = 1.5 Gbps, which is over three times the theoretical throughput of USB 2.0. What compression were you thinking of?
You know where the other end of my iPhone's connector cable goes to? My PC's USB port, or the USB port of the wall charger.
You know where the other end of cables other than yours go to? HDMI ports.
It would be nice if they made it a Thunderbolt port.
I'm sure MicroUSB and other industry-standard connectors weren't considered
Yes, exactly. By no one. Nobody use whatever-sized-USB as a dock. No matter how many obscure standards you bring up that could be used to e.g. bring analog sound over USB, hardly anyone does even one of them. Let alone more than one of the many things the iPod Dock Connector does. Stop pretending.
I hear that Dell is shipping their computers with a longer powercord now. STOP THE PRESSES!
People who bash the new iphone do not own iphone and are not generally effected by it.
People who defend the iphone are the one who will have to pay for new accessories that they already have when they buy the new iphone.
man, I will have to find the way to draw this stuff and post on 9gag or something.
Did you hear that Pope John Paul II just died?
Psst... old news
Last Christmas my wife wanted a Kindle Fire because all her girlfriends were getting one. She is the next best thing to a technophobe, so for her, this was a HUGE step. So I buy her a Kindle. She plugs it in to the mini USB charger on her desk. Later, as she is browsing the web on her computer, she accidentally brushes too close to the Kindle and pushes upwards against the mini USB connector, lifting the Kindle up slightly, but we could both hear an audible snap as the connector failed and broke inside the Kindle.
Now, I've done this with my iPhone several times, but it never broke like that. And it wasn't the charger that broke; it was the Kindle. So I fired up my email and sent a message off to Amazon, along with pictures. They said they normally wouldn't cover it, since it was damage through negligence, but that they have had a rash of such accidents. Two weeks (and cross-shipping charges) later, my wife has a new Kindle and she treats it like handling fine china whenever it's plugged in to the mini USB charger.
As these connectors get smaller, they also get less rugged, and the damage they end up taking is usually to the device and not the charger. Apple owns the MagSafe patents. Can't they come up with a proprietary connector that uses MagSafe for the power and data transfer? I would buy the next generation of iPhone and iPad for my wife if this was the case, as her experience with the Kindle nearly shattered her already-fragile relationship with anything technological.
One thing that doesn't get mentioned that often is how annoying it is to have the current wide connecter plugged into your iDevice while your playing games/running apps for a long time in landscape mode, it really gets in the way! Sometimes you don't want to waste the battery and want to use the iPod/iPhone while it's connected for a long period of time. The smaller connector will make it easier to handle, and it's better they change it now then later.
Of course (slaps head) because that would be... bad... for, I dunno, some reason.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
The only thing proprietary about Sony's "iLink" was the name. Sony "iLink" ports were nothing but Firewire-400 using standard Firewire 4-pin and 6-pin connectors. Although Apple never chose to use the standard Firewire 4-pin connector on their computers (understandable since the 4-pin connector was intended for use on portable, self-powered accessories where it's smaller size could save valuable space like Apple's "mini-DP" ports), Apple supported the standard Fire 4-pin connector and sold cables for it: http://store.apple.com/us/product/M8706G/A.
In ~1988 I purchased my first Desktop PC, an Apple. I really liked it. In 1991, when the Power PC came out, I purchased one. NONE of the peripherals for my previous computer (except the keyboard IIRC) were compatible because the connectors were changed.
I vowed, then and there, that I would never buy an Apple product again. I have never regretted it.
Lots of existing phones manage to use the microUSB ports to do HDMI video with the appropriate adaptor.
Seriously, the only thing worse then a constant barrage of Apple iPhone speculation and rumors is REPETITIVE Apple iPhone speculation and rumors.
iPhone 5 is the worst kept secret in the industry these days. Apple has forgotten how to write (or enforce) an NDA, and they wonder why every competitor copies their product before its even released.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
Except I know for a fact that it supports more than just HDMI. It supports component video, audio.
You "know for a fact" that the new 19-pin Apple dock connector will support component video, audio? While it's true the 30-pin dock connector supports those analog technologies, so did the first-gen AppleTV but they dropped that when they redesigned it to be smaller because Apple's view is that any consumer worth caring about has already converted to devices with digital audio/video inputs.
If Apple changes the dock connector they will get rid of support for technologies they consider obsolete: Firewire and analog video. The only reason they would most probably retain the analog audio output support is due to the number of cars which depend on that. If Jobs were still running the company I wouldn't even count on them to retain analog audio output in a redesign -- he'd say they should save those pins space and let car manufacturers license Apple's AirPlay for their audio.
My Samsung Galaxy Nexus has both the micro-USB and headphone ports on the bottom next to each other, and it actually makes a whole lot of sense when you actually use it for a while.
It's great for when you mount your phone in a dash mount in your car. The micro-USB for power and headphone jack for plugging into the line-in in my car stereo drop right out the bottom so they fit nice and securely, instead of like in some phones where the USB port is in the side so fits less securely (and gets in the way of the dash mount.)
When you're carrying it around in your pocket with headphones attached, you just slip it into your pocket upside-down with the back of the phone facing outwards. When you need to switch audio tracks, it's one smooth motion to grab the phone with your whole hand cupping the back, pull the phone out and turn your hand 180 degrees to flip it upright while still holding the phone securely in your hand. You don't have to turn it around in your hand to have the screen right-side-up, or pull out the phone with two fingers and hope you don't accidentally tap something on the touchscreen. Kinda hard to visualize unless you actually try it, but now that I have a phone with headphone on the bottom I like it a lot, and hope my next phone has the same port layout.
It wouldn't be the first time Apple has pulled a stunt like this.
I don't have an iPhone, so really don't know if this would be an issue, but with this new configuration, how would one connect their headphones while the phone is docked?
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
That is exactly where my Samsung has its headphone jack. Apple copied thier design. Start up another law suit.
The public's want for Apple products has almost superseded their need for Microsoft products, what else is it going to take for Apple go their their props?? All that money wasn't made by suing people, it was earned with great product vision, marketing and execution, so shut the fuck up and create your own "Apple" if you think their so stupid and unethical.
...will soon be obsolete. Once you need to buy a new iPod or iPhone, it won't work with your existing clock/radio and you'll have to replace it. I'm sure Apple feels your pain when you have to throw out a perfectly functional piece of electronic equipment that is no longer usable with newer Apple products. But don't worry... there's plenty of room in the local landfill for your old clock/radio. I'm betting on this move to a smaller connector was at the request of the Apple aftermarket vendors who've had a hard time selling more of the iPod/iPhone clock/radio units, external speakers, etc. and who know that the Apple buying suckers will happily toss out their old-but-still-working hardware and replace it with something new but doesn't offer any advantages over the previous unit other than the being compatible with Apple's new connector. Not just stupid but f'ing stupid.
Apple's arrogance is what keeps me from owning anything with their logo on it. (Disclaimer: I have an old iPod nano that the CIO gave to everyone who completed a large project some years ago. Pity I need iTunes to use the damned thing and the only computer that'll run iTunes is used exclusively for work and I cannot install non-work software on it. Luckily, I already had a Cowon player that works perfectly well with all of the Linux systems at home.)
From the Gizmodo article:
And the benefit of this new/smaller connector for the end user is what? I can't recall the last time I read a more useless piece of Apple apologist drivel.
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
The headphone jack on the bottom is a godsend. With the headphone jack on the top, You have to put it in your pocket right side up. So when you go to pull it out of your pocket, it's upside down. With the headphone jack on the bottom, it goes in your pocket upside down and when you pull it out it's right side up! First world problems, I know... but my 30GB Zune (Yea, I own a Zune. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?) has the headphone jack on the bottom and I love it! This article just made me want the new iPhone ten times more!
It sucks having the headphone jack on top when you're using it in a dashboard mount with a cable to your car's aux in.
All my perfectly functioning peripherals are soooo 2010. And a new dock!
What's that, I need a new Mac as well? Brilliant. It's already more than two years old. Apparently, "that's like, so old, Grandpa".
Plan My Week for iPhone
I think there may be still another reason for the new 19-pin dock: because it's physically smaller, that frees up space inside the iPhone case for more circuitry--which means we could get a bigger battery, 3GPP LTE support, NFC circuitry/antenna, and other new features.
Yeah, because there is absolutely no way you can do audio or video over USB.
Even more so given MHL - full digital multimedia path carried over the same connector as USB (and thus could be dual-purpose port like the DisplayPort+ connector also able to fucntion as HDML/DVI connectors).
The solution is here. The solution is already used by other manufacturers.
But no Apple had to go their own route.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
It also contains {...} component and s-video
Yup. On a device manufactured in 2012. That's something that is really deeply needed as a first class citizen on the device.
Common. Appart from earphones, 99% of the devices which will be linked to a smartphone will probably be digital.
If you have legacy device which only accept analog signal, I think it can be acceptable that in 2012, you're required to buy a separate device.
(Either a digital-to-analog converter for the HDMI or MHL output. Or a video output chip on the OTG MicroUSB - like a DisplayLink).
USB is a step backwards. A modern replacement for the dock should ideally contain display port or HDMI video
Also known as MHL
It carry a high def digital media channel (so it's functionnaly equivalent to HDMI) and current implementation tend to use the same physical connector as microUSB so you can dual-purpose the connector.
You could also throw a microHDMI connector for compatibility with older TV which have pure HDMI connector instead of dual puprose HDMI/MHL.
And that's negleticting the fact that with just 1 chip you could carry digital audio over USB (the smartphone will just see it as a USB-Audio device connected to the OTG microUSB).
and a switchable line out / S/PDIF or similar.
Dual purpose digital/analog connector are as old as the Minidisk: Normal 3mm mini jack. Electrical connector on the sides for analog. Red-LED or photoreceptor at the bottom for digital output or input.
- plug in an electrical jack: you get an analog Mic input (or an earphone output, depending on port)
- plug in an optical jack: you get digital input (or digital output, depending on port)
(and that's just for the most obvious portable solution. Virtually any modern PC motherboard can switch its jack between analog and electric-digital on the go, and several 3rd-party sound cards have dual analog-RCA optical-minijack or even more crazy multi connectors)
So in short, by using a dual microUSB/MHL port, a micro HDMI port and a mini-jack (which is, by the way, what most *OTHER* high-end smart phone do) you can do everything that apple does, without even needing extra chips in docks.
Add-in a LED at the bottom of the mini-jack and you even get optical out.
The only problem I see is that currently the other manufacturer haven't agreed on a standard *placement* of the connector. (It's often mini-jack at the top and USB/MHL and HDMI on either side).
The ideal would be putting micro USB/MHL, mini jack and micro HDMI, in that order, at set distances, on the bottom (or on the side for landscape orientation), thus enabling matching connectors on the dock to connect to all 3 at the same time, and providing enough "hold" to the device.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
So, if you went all Apple, you'd have one charger type. You're complaining because you didn't stick with one manufacturer.
Yet every single other non-Apple manufacturer is sticking with the same connectors.
By not sticking with apple but by using multiple non-Apple manufacturer, he has (And I have too, BTW) only one charger type too: MicroUSB.
You want everyone who wants A/V to have a separate dock to drag around? Yeah, that's better.
If the connector is standard (microUSB in the partent poster's example), the dock is standard.
- a USB Audio device is still an USB Audio device, no matter who made the OTG microUSB connector to which you stick it.
- currently only DisplayLink manufactures USB DVI/VGA chips, and they are already supported by Linux (and thus android) anyway.
So just use whatever USB dock is laying around just like you would use any standard charger.
And that's without taking into account stuff like MHL
which can share the same connector as microUSB (on the smartphone side, and the same connector as HDMI on the TV side).
Or simply slapping an extra microHDMI connector.
I have all Apple stuff and everything works just like you imagine. iPhones, iPods iPads. Just leave chargers plugged in at strategic locations all the time.
Which forces you into an Apple Lock-in. You can only plug other iDevices into said chargers.
Parent poster (and I) can plug anything supporting microUSB on ours.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Audio In, Audio Out
- For analog, already done for Mic and earphones on the mini jack.
- For optical even as far as the Minidisk there have been portable device packing red LEDs at the bottom of the mini-jack to work as optical out
- Can be done over USB simply by connecting a chip which is seen as a "USB Audio" target by the phone.
- Stuff like MHL can carry full HD digital A/V over the same connector as microUSB
- Lot of high end device also feature a microHDMI connector which can also carry Audio.
Unlike USB, MHL and microHDMI don't require an extra chip in the cable.
Video Out
- USB chip producing Video Out can be connector to a microUSB connector too. (see Display Link for an example on normal USB connectors). Drivers already exist for Linux (and thus could be used for Android)
- As stated above, some modern device do MHL and HDMI which can carry digital video too.
(depending on resistor value), Dock detection
If you can't detect a dock over USB, you're doing something wrong.
In short, it's possible and already done with modern devices which have a dual microUSB/MHL connector, a microHDMI connector and a jack.
The only thing that needs to be done:
put a LED on the mini jack, and put all 3 connectors in a line at the bottom (or side for landscape) of the device, at well defined distance from each other and you have the perfect connector.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
or was very expensive because it had to do everything over USB (and required a special app) or Bluetooth.
The price tag is a little bit high.
Some other Android device have micr-HDMI port. HDMI can convey control data with very low complexity part over the I2C channel.
MHL is also supported through a dual-purpose microUSB connector and could also be simplier for handling controls.
It's not impossible to do, just not very well done until now.
Some Android devices can do analog video out via their headphone jacks. Which means if you want to charge at the same time you need two cables. And again, if you want to have off-device controls you need a full USB implementation.
Well for a new connector created in 2012 and which has to be used for a long period from now, I don't think that analog video needs to by a first class citizen.
Better to concentrate on good support for digital A/V through MHL, HDMI and the like.
Perhaps you should try again? Or not....
The end result is:
- like other people in this thread said, doing the same stuff as Apple with just a micro USB and a jack is not impossible.
- even if it is not widespread nor cheap, it's been done (which proves it's indeed doable).
and that's even without taking into acount new standards like MHL (which run over the same connector as USB) or microHDMI ports that some hi-end device have.
If you pay attention, the main problem are not the connectors it self, but the lack of standards:
- the connectors aren't placed in a standard fashion, so it's not possible to just design a dock featuring micro USB + mini Jack (+ eventually microHDMI) at matching positions.
So multiple cables are connected.
- there is not currently a standard way to handle controls. So everyone needs to slap its own full USB implementation and write an application for Android.
(Although it should be possible to advertise controls simply as a "HID device" to the OTG microUSB connector).
To go back to the whole controversy against Apple's connector, you have basically 2 options: /. is unhappy.
- just design a new proprietary connector and keep everyone using iDevice locked to you.
That's what Apple went for and that's why
- leverage existing standards, and design a useful standard on top of them:
* put a microUSB connector, but require it to be OTG (can act as host, there are still smartphones which are device-only mode)
* and/or require the connector to be also able to do MHL (this standard has been designed for digital media, use it!)
* or require a microHDMI connector (provides ditigal media, and simple serial I2C, and even ethernet for latest versions of HDMI)
* eventually require that the mini-jack can also function as an optical out (see old minidisks).
* define precise location for those, so it's possible to design a complementary jack.
* define software standards (like "controls should act as a HID device visible to the OTG microUSB" or "following simple I2C transmission can be used to communicate")
That's what all the poster on this /. page want.
If connector position is defined, and protocols are made clear, a lot of the mess will go away. Apple could be in a position to spark such a move forward.
But they won't. They don't like to play along with others.
Or even a crazier 3rd options:
-Go wireless:
Palm's touchstone has already proven that wireless charging (and magnetic docking) is a viable solution.
Bluetooth (specially recent version that can use NFC for detection/authentication and WiFi as additionnal channel for more speed) can handle a lot of stuff (including digital A/V). (For exemple, several latest generation bluetooth device can authenticate over NFC just by touching the devices, no PIN required - and some webOS tech demo used NFC to initiate data transfert simply by touching one docked tablet with a smartphone).
Sound crazy?
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Plus analog audio and video
Yup, for a standard developper in 2012, this is definitely a must have~
Let composite connection die. Most of the smartphones produced in the future are likely to interface digital devices anyway.
If peopl want to interface an analog TV set, i think it's acceptable to ask them to buy a converter.
plus a control spec so you don't have to implement a full USB host in your peripheral.
What about having the control act as a USB HID *device*, and have OTG USB on the phone which could then act as a host itself ?
Or using the I2C available on HDMI? (That requires very minimal electronis on the device side ?)
and I'm sur that the newer standard MHL (digital A/V over the same connector as microUSB) could also be used to tackle some of the problems.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]