Apple to add USB port to next-generation iPad - rumor

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  • Reply 61 of 78
    iliveriliver Posts: 299member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ecphorizer View Post


    Hey Liverlips, how do we qualify for your "ignore" list? I wanna join the petite coterie you've listed!



    HAHA- you figure it out. Read all of their 25,000 posts and tell me what they're all full of.
  • Reply 62 of 78
    matt_smatt_s Posts: 300member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rtm135 View Post


    lol you people crack me up. what would be SO bad about Apple adding a USB port to iPad? it would provide an easy way to offload data. what's the downside?



    You're on track regarding the offloading of data. Sure, it makes sense to virtually everyone on earth. Except of course, Apple.



    You're trying to delineate between devices & data and Apple cannot help you there (yet). Eventually in their epic battle with Google (still to come), Apple will be forced by the market to assist their customers with their data. But right now, Apple only cares about their devices, not your data.



    The real question is: will Apple wait to be forced into a corner to then move from being a device-centric company to a more customer data-centric company, or will they take the reins and plow their own path?



    Right now, we may all have various iPods, iPads, iPhones and laptops & desktops. While Google works to move data between these devices & sync to all, Apple works very hard to restrict the flow of data from one device to another. See iTunes & their restrictive policies if you don't understand this. When Apple introduced the 11" MBA with only 64BG of storage, it was mostly because Apple doesn't give a rat's ass about your data, and so, they don't have an application or utility that would enable a User to sync a subset of the User folder from a desktop to this mini-laptop. Like giving a Gift Card for Christmas, Apple basically tells you: "Do it Yourself."



    Eventually, this philosophy will become a losing proposition.



    Ask any Mac.com customer how much they just damn love Apple for mucking (or wiping completely) their photographs between a number of mobile-me-dot-com "upgrades." What a horrendous P of S. And shame on Apple for shafting customer's data. But Apple doesn't really care about your data, they only care about their devices.



    For Apple to survive and prosper, they will eventually be required to assist their customers - such as you and I - to be able to sync all our data between a myriad of their devices.



    It will be market forces - such as Google - that finally will force Apple to do this. And this is also why Microsoft can be viewed as being so totally incompetent, e.g., Apple allows (actually, they created it themselves) a gigantic hole in their business model to expand and fester & what used to be their chief rival cannot even recognize it in order to launch a counter attack. Pathetic.



    There WILL be a USB B-mini port on the next gen iPad. It will be for power only, and you will NOT be able to up or offload data via this physical IO.



    And it will be yet another spike Apple drives into their own coffin. If they would awake and switch to a view that their customer's data is much more important than their own devices, they would - in remarkably short order - leave Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Sony, et al, far behind and dominate the interconnected electronic landscape for years to come.



    We'll see what they do...
  • Reply 63 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by matt_s View Post


    Apple will be forced by the market to assist their customers with their data. But right now, Apple only cares about their devices, not your data...The real question is: will Apple wait to be forced into a corner to then move from being a device-centric company to a more customer data-centric company... Apple doesn't give a rat's ass about your data, and so, they don't have an application or utility that would enable a User to sync a subset of the User folder from a desktop to this mini-laptop. Like giving a Gift Card for Christmas, Apple basically tells you: "Do it Yourself."...For Apple to survive and prosper, they will eventually be required to assist their customers - such as you and I - to be able to sync all our data between a myriad of their devices....And it will be yet another spike Apple drives into their own coffin. If they would awake and switch to a view that their customer's data is much more important than their own devices, they would - in remarkably short order - leave Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Sony, et al, far behind and dominate the interconnected electronic landscape for years to come.



    Hate Apple and its strategies much? Thanks for venting your spleen here. It seems that whatever you feel about Apple and its strategies, millions and millions of satisfied users can't be wrong. I'd source that statement but not right now.
  • Reply 64 of 78
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ecphorizer

    Hey Liverlips, how do we qualify for your "ignore" list? I wanna join the petite coterie you've listed!



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iLiver View Post


    HAHA- you figure it out. Read all of their 25,000 posts and tell me what they're all full of.



    Hey, I even have a suggestion for you regarding my nic: Dreckforizer.
  • Reply 65 of 78
    matt_smatt_s Posts: 300member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ecphorizer View Post


    Hate Apple and its strategies much? Thanks for venting your spleen here. It seems that whatever you feel about Apple and its strategies, millions and millions of satisfied users can't be wrong. I'd source that statement but not right now.



    Absolutely 100% wrong. Been a Mac guy since 1988. Please note you can now get great taste in a decaffeinated coffee :-)



    We're brainstorming here, try to follow along with us because it seems like you're a Mac supporter, so your experience, input and thoughts would be valuable.



    One question for you: can you successfully & completely move and share all your data between your desktop Mac, your iPad, your iPhone and your MacBook?
  • Reply 66 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by matt_s View Post


    One question for you: can you successfully & completely move and share all your data between your desktop Mac, your iPad, your iPhone and your MacBook?



    Yep. I have a USB-powered portable hard drive where I keep files that I know I'll be using and editing and curating when I'm on the road with my MacBook. I get home and synch them up with my desktop Mac Mini. I don't have an iPad (yet) and don't need an iPhone. Been doing this since about 1988 when some outfit came out with a portable SCSI 40MB drive that I used to transport stuff between home & work. My wife also had one. They were from laCie if I recall correctly. Over the years we've had various similar hardware. Now we've got space on a host that holds such stuff for wireless syncing.
  • Reply 67 of 78
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macslut View Post


    Why do people constantly talk about USB as if it's a binary feature? I see so many comments such as, "I won't buy one until it has USB" or "without USB it's useless to me".



    While it isn't keeping me form buying right now; a USB port, if easy driver support is had, can allow one to implement a lot of cool features that would enable new uses for the iPad.

    Quote:

    A USB port on an iPad in of itself does nothing.



    Well no as we already know that the USB port on the camera connector kit can do useful things.

    Quote:

    What do you want the USB port to do?



    Connect to printers?

    Drivers would be needed.



    Well not in my case.

    Quote:

    Connect to networks?

    Drivers would be needed.



    Specialized networks for sure but ethernet wouldn't hurt either.



    Drivers are an issue no doubt but a solution is not impossible.

    Quote:

    Additionally software and the essence of the UI itself would need to be radically changed in many ways to accommodate everything we use USB for on desktops and notebooks.



    Why do you think this?

    Quote:



    I hear people all the time talking about how they want to connect cameras to bring HD video over directly to the iPad without thinking it through on exactly what that would mean (with files being larger than the storage of the iPad itself).



    Many of us have mentioned that storage is a problem on iPad. In any event I suspect you are the one not thinking it through. The ipad provides a platform for doing old stuff in new ways. That is the key.

    Quote:

    Instead of thinking "slap a USB on that sucker", how about talking about what use case you have and see if there's a better way to implement it with this new device type. For example, USB for printing isn't the way to go.



    You are sitting there making a decision when you may or may not be taking every use case into account.



    For example an iPad could make an excellent point of sale terminal with a USB port. That turns the device into a stationary machine but frankly a very capable machine that could effectively lower the cost of point of sale terminals.



    Other ideas:
    1. Use the USB port to connect to an adpater for connection to an in care computer. This to get diagnostic info. Frankly the Touch screen iPad would be prefect for tis usage.

    2. Turn the iPad in to a mircoprocessor development system and use a RS232 adapter to do that communications.

    3. IPad would make a great paltform for various roboitcs kits and programs on the market if a USB port was there to communicate with. This would give iPad a huge boost in the educational market.

    4. Industrial uses about especially in regards to connection to various industrial newtorks. Again may of these networks are accessible via USB adapters.

    5. Cameras! Cameras!, Cameras! There are all sorts of possibilities here. Agian you need to look outside of the home market into the industrial.

    6. External GPS recievers. Again this should be obvious.

    7. HAM radio. All sorts of possbilities here.

    8. Keyboards. It should be a snap to connect one to the iPad, a standard USB port would allow for this.

    In some case a USB port is the ideal solution for certain uses for the iPad. Such a port would allow for an even larger array of apps and uses for an already very versatile machine.
  • Reply 68 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    You lost me. If it?s the charger that needs to have micro-USB, and obviously a cable that can attach to micro-USB then how does Apple?s dock connector even come into the picture?



    It kind of amazes me that people still don't understand the new EU charger regulation.



    It's really quite simple. Every device that seeks to conform to this standard must include a physical micro-USB port so that a standardised charger can plug into it to charge the device.



    Let's go through it again.



    Hotels, airports etc will have chargers available to people. These chargers will have 2 ends. One end will be connected to a power source. This could be a socket in a wall (mostly), or on occasion it could be a standard USB port on a laptop or desktop. So far so good?



    The other end of the charger will be a micro-USB plug. Here is an image of a micro-USB plug (note, it is even smaller than the mini-USB plug that most folks are familiar with).







    Now is where we really need to pay attention. This micro-USB plug MUST plug into a micro-USB slot that is physically located on the device itself.



    Many phones have already started to incorporate this (to meet the new EU standard). Here is a picture of one...







    To be perfectly clear then... to meet the EU standard, the device MUST have a physical slot on the device that looks like this. Forget the Apple 30 Pin connector, it is not relevant to the discussion other than to say that the micro-USB slot will have the potential to duplicate some of its functionality.



    I have no point of view as to whether Apple will choose to conform to this EU standard with the iPad, they may or may not. (It's unclear whether Tablets would be covered under the agreement, which was made before the iPad was launched). I assume they will have little choice but to comply with the iPhone 5 however, so you should certainly expect to see the micro-USB slot physically present on the iPhone 5.
  • Reply 69 of 78
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ameldrum1 View Post


    It's really quite simple.



    I thought so, but then you posted something completely opposite from what the tech world is saying. If you have actual content to quote from the specs then do, but making smarmy posts and using Google Image to cables and devices with Micro-B (which obviously have existed for awhile) doesn?t help any argument you may have.



    Here is what the specs state.
    Quote:

    2. DC Plug Connector Specification

    The cable assembly shall terminate in a Micro-B plug. The plug shall meet the USB- IF Connector Test Requirements (http://www.usb.org/developers/compliance/connectors/), shall be compliant to the Micro-USB Cables and Connectors Specification, Rev 1.01 (Micro-USB 1.01), and shall be rated to meet all electrical specifications.

    An EPS provided with a detachable cable shall be equipped with a USB Standard-A receptacle.\tStandard detachable cable assembly, supplied for use with the EPS, shall have Standard-A and Micro-B plugs and meet the USB-IF Cable Assembly Test Requirements for Compliant Usage of Connectors and Cables in Micro-USB 1.01. (http://www.usb.org/developers/compliance/cable/).?

    Above requirement also applies to detachable cables used as adaptor i.e. where the Micro-B is replaced by a proprietary plug

    That?s all about the power supply, and that makes sense, but you?re saying that both ends of a detachable cable have to be micro-B plugs and both the power supply and smartphone have to have micro-B socket. That doesn?t make sense. It?s a foolish redundancy.



    Due to the ambiguous nature of a lot of the text I?m willing to entertain your notion that it?s both the plug and device, but you?ll have to post something that backs it up.
  • Reply 70 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ameldrum1 View Post


    Here is a picture of one...



    You go on about how much of an expert you are on Micro USB and then you show a picture that clearly is not one. You credibility is suddenly in question.



    For those interested, this is what Micro USB looks like...







    And here's another...







    And another...







    I own a device that has Micro USB... do you?
  • Reply 71 of 78
    tigertiger Posts: 20member
    Perhaps it's not USB but LightPeak which reportedly may be implemented using a USB plug.



    In any case, this seems like a sign of the impending death of the 30-pin connector that debuted on the iPod. More on my reasoning on my blog.
  • Reply 72 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post




    I own a device that has Micro USB... do you?



    Nope, i don't own any Micro USB devices. And yep, i just grabbed the pic from Google images (the same as you did). Apologies for grabbing the wrong one. My eyes are not so good these days! A lot of these small slots look similar with my old glasses :-)
  • Reply 73 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Here is what the specs state.
    That?s all about the power supply, and that makes sense, but you?re saying that both ends of a detachable cable have to be micro-B plugs and both the power supply and smartphone have to have micro-B socket. That doesn?t make sense. It?s a foolish redundancy.



    Jeepers Solipsism, for a seemingly intelligent guy, you really surprise me sometimes. Read the text you quoted - it's there in black & white, and it's really not complicated. I'm not sure how you managed to misunderstand my post - i really tried to make it ridiculously clear but obviously failed. Let me try again...



    Firstly, no, there won't be any cables that both end in micro-USB plugs. I'm really not sure where you got this from.



    Let's start with the phone this time. The phone MUST have a micro-USB receptacle. It will look like this... (this is hopefully the simple part to understand)







    Ok, now let's move to what plugs into the phone. This will be a cable. The "B" end of this cable, (the bit that plugs into the phone) will of course be Micro-USB and look like this. You must be with me so far?







    Now, let's see what is at the other end of that same cable pictured above. There are 2 options for this, and maybe this is where you are getting confused?

    1. it will often simply end in the "brick" (or "EPS") per this Blackberry charger. Simple right?







    or, alternatively



    2. it will be what the European standard refers to as a "an EPS with a detachable cable". This is per the current Apple iPhone chargers where the cable can actually be detached from the brick. In this instance the "A" end of the cable (ie, not the end that plugs into the phone) must be USB-Standard A (as per the current Apple syncing/charging cables). You are obviously familiar with this, but for completeness sake, it looks like this. (To reiterate, micro-B on the "B" end, Standard A on the "A" end.)







    The "A" end of the cable will then plug into the EPS. For this reason, the EPS "shall be equipped with a USB Standard-A receptacle". Which will look like this...







    It's really fricking straightforward. For some reason people on this forum can't seem to get their head around the fact that for Apple to conform to this standard, they will have to add another port to our beloved, minimalist phones (and perhaps iPads).



    (Note also, I have no idea whether Apple will choose to conform to this standard for any of their devices or not, I'm simply trying (really hard) to make it clear what will be required should they wish to conform to the standard.)
  • Reply 74 of 78
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ameldrum1 View Post


    Jeepers Solipsism, for a seemingly intelligent guy, you really surprise me sometimes. Read the text you quoted - it's there in black & white, and it's really not complicated. I'm not sure how you managed to misunderstand my post - i really tried to make it ridiculously clear but obviously failed. Let me try again?



    [?]



    It's really fricking straightforward. For some reason people on this forum can't seem to get their head around the fact that for Apple to conform to this standard, they will have to add another port to our beloved, minimalist phones (and perhaps iPads).



    Ignoring your smarmy comments and still saying that I?m willing to entertain the notion that you are correct you?ve still failed to prove it.



    You?re still grabbing images of USB plugs from Google and not actually using the USB-IF site to backup your argument. You?re failing to acknowledge that many other sites are saying that Apple doesn?t need to do what you say they need to do and that they could include a simple coupler in future iPhones to address the issue.



    Now, I can see how adding a coupler doesn?t reduce waste the way the adding a Micro-B port to a device can, but that?s not the point, the point is you haven?t proved your case. It?s not what you know, it?s what you can prove.
  • Reply 75 of 78
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ameldrum1 View Post




    It's really fricking straightforward. For some reason people on this forum can't seem to get their head around the fact that for Apple to conform to this standard, they will have to add another port to our beloved, minimalist phones (and perhaps iPads).



    (Note also, I have no idea whether Apple will choose to conform to this standard for any of their devices or not, I'm simply trying (really hard) to make it clear what will be required should they wish to conform to the standard.)



    It is really fricking simple. Re-read:



    "Above requirement also applies to detachable cables used as adaptor i.e. where the Micro-B is replaced by a proprietary plug"



    The A side is what the Apple chargers already provide. The B side can be replaced by an adaptor with a proprietary plug. I wonder what fricking proprietary plug Apple might use?



    At most Apple will provide a docking to microUSB adapter in the EU market if the current adapter meets the EPS specs. It'll probably looks like a smaller version of the Camera Connection Kit with male dock connector one side and female microUSB-B on the other.



    Mostly this is to avoid more chargers in landfills so the spec is mostly focused on standardizing the wall wort part. The preference is probably to have most chargers be USB-A and not have an attached cable since you probably have one for sync anyway.
  • Reply 76 of 78
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ameldrum1 View Post


    It kind of amazes me that people still don't understand the new EU charger regulation.



    It's really quite simple. Every device that seeks to conform to this standard must include a physical micro-USB port so that a standardised charger can plug into it to charge the device.



    Let's go through it again.



    Hotels, airports etc will have chargers available to people. These chargers will have 2 ends. One end will be connected to a power source. This could be a socket in a wall (mostly), or on occasion it could be a standard USB port on a laptop or desktop. So far so good?



    The other end of the charger will be a micro-USB plug. Here is an image of a micro-USB plug (note, it is even smaller than the mini-USB plug that most folks are familiar with).



    Now is where we really need to pay attention. This micro-USB plug MUST plug into a micro-USB slot that is physically located on the device itself.



    Many phones have already started to incorporate this (to meet the new EU standard). Here is a picture of one...





    To be perfectly clear then... to meet the EU standard, the device MUST have a physical slot on the device that looks like this. Forget the Apple 30 Pin connector, it is not relevant to the discussion other than to say that the micro-USB slot will have the potential to duplicate some of its functionality.



    I have no point of view as to whether Apple will choose to conform to this EU standard with the iPad, they may or may not. (It's unclear whether Tablets would be covered under the agreement, which was made before the iPad was launched). I assume they will have little choice but to comply with the iPhone 5 however, so you should certainly expect to see the micro-USB slot physically present on the iPhone 5.



    Agreed, you don't understand the new standard. It does NOT require a micro USB connector on the phone. That's quite clear. But most phone manufacturers don't have a proprietary connector to do additional functions as Apple does. All they need to do is to change theirs to this micro size. Apple doesn't need to do this. There are a lot of articles about this. I linked to the first one I found. It will correct your misconception



    http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/new...phone-adapter/
  • Reply 77 of 78
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ameldrum1 View Post


    Jeepers Solipsism, for a seemingly intelligent guy, you really surprise me sometimes. Read the text you quoted - it's there in black & white, and it's really not complicated. I'm not sure how you managed to misunderstand my post - i really tried to make it ridiculously clear but obviously failed. Let me try again...



    Firstly, no, there won't be any cables that both end in micro-USB plugs. I'm really not sure where you got this from.



    Let's start with the phone this time. The phone MUST have a micro-USB receptacle. It will look like this... (this is hopefully the simple part to understand)







    Ok, now let's move to what plugs into the phone. This will be a cable. The "B" end of this cable, (the bit that plugs into the phone) will of course be Micro-USB and look like this. You must be with me so far?







    Now, let's see what is at the other end of that same cable pictured above. There are 2 options for this, and maybe this is where you are getting confused?

    1. it will often simply end in the "brick" (or "EPS") per this Blackberry charger. Simple right?







    or, alternatively



    2. it will be what the European standard refers to as a "an EPS with a detachable cable". This is per the current Apple iPhone chargers where the cable can actually be detached from the brick. In this instance the "A" end of the cable (ie, not the end that plugs into the phone) must be USB-Standard A (as per the current Apple syncing/charging cables). You are obviously familiar with this, but for completeness sake, it looks like this. (To reiterate, micro-B on the "B" end, Standard A on the "A" end.)







    The "A" end of the cable will then plug into the EPS. For this reason, the EPS "shall be equipped with a USB Standard-A receptacle". Which will look like this...







    It's really fricking straightforward. For some reason people on this forum can't seem to get their head around the fact that for Apple to conform to this standard, they will have to add another port to our beloved, minimalist phones (and perhaps iPads).



    (Note also, I have no idea whether Apple will choose to conform to this standard for any of their devices or not, I'm simply trying (really hard) to make it clear what will be required should they wish to conform to the standard.)



    You can post all you want, and continue to confuse the issue, but you're still wrong. Why don't you Google "micro USB recharger requirements Apple", and see what you come up with? You'd be surprised.
  • Reply 78 of 78
    rtm135rtm135 Posts: 310member
    that was seriously the stupidest reply i've ever read on here. notice you couldn't refute a SINGLE point he made, because everything he said is (unfortunately) true at the moment.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ecphorizer View Post


    Hate Apple and its strategies much? Thanks for venting your spleen here. It seems that whatever you feel about Apple and its strategies, millions and millions of satisfied users can't be wrong. I'd source that statement but not right now.



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