It's not a Symbian model, but it's just come to our attention that the recently released Nokia 8600 Luna intriguingly has just one external socket: a microUSB port. The Luna's sales package includes a microUSB-to-USB cable and a charger with a microUSB connector, which implies that Nokia has finally come round to supporting proper 100% USB charging as opposed to their previous USB-to-charging-jack cable. Is this the end of the Nokia-specific charger?
Read on in the full article.
I think the Motorola Z8 bananaphone uses it.
I think I saw it on the upcoming Nokia N81 as well.
The best thing about micro USB is that devices can connect with each other more easily.
For example, you could hook up an external hard drive.
I dont like it for audio, though. I would prefer not using an adapter and phones having 3.5 mm jacks.
I hope so. I recently returned to Nokia after 3 years with Win Mob phones and have loads of USB chargers around. And being able to charge while syncing at the same time is a major convenience.
According to the mobile-review article about the 8600, it does charge while you're exchanging data with your PC, so it's definitely a full USB charging system.
"The best thing about micro USB is that devices can connect with each other more easily."
...and also that you can use any microUSB charger or any PC with a USB port, no need to have a Nokia-only charger with you.
"For example, you could hook up an external hard drive."
I wonder if that's possible with phones... It would certainly be interesting if you could, there'd be lots of storage and multimedia possibilities.
"I dont like it for audio, though. I would prefer not using an adapter and phones having 3.5 mm jacks."
Yeah, I agree, it's annoying to have to carry adapters with you. I suppose the problem is that phones are getting thinner and smaller, but 3.5mm jacks are apparently very large components, so the phone makers don't really like them.
A2DP does solve that problem though, no need for any jack at all.
To stop enthusiasm: If you have a look at the N81 spy pics, you can clearly see the hole for a standard charger plug. Sorry guys!
"To stop enthusiasm: If you have a look at the N81 spy pics, you can clearly see the hole for a standard charger plug. Sorry guys!"
Ah, shame... 😞
However, that doesn't necessarily mean that USB charging isn't on the way in future models. It's possible that the N81 was in development before the 8600. The 8600 is a much simpler gadget, its main feature is its smoked glass casing rather than the phone hardware itself.
Whenever it happens though, I suspect it'll take a year or even two to transition completely. That's how long it took to switch to the new thinner charging plug, or to abandon pop ports.
In my case, it is quite the opposite. I have very little hardware with mini or micro USB ports (and nothing that I can recall which charges from USB), and am quite often not around any desktop or laptop with a USB port. I find a large part of the beauty of my Symbian-powered smartphone is the lack of a need for a PC!
For me, the standard Nokia charger *is* the ubiquitous charger (with the CA-44 for the E61, of course; or the newer wall and car chargers with the mini plug, all of which I have). I cannot count how many Nokia wall and car chargers I have a this point. 😉
Of course, the best solution of all is to use an external universal charger with adjustable contacts to charge the drained battery standalone, with another charged battery swapped into the phone...this is the solution I use at least 95% of the time. The only time I plug a charger directly into the phone is if I am already on an important call (or in the middle of an important data connection) and the battery runs low. That is for the E61; I usually do use the standard chargers on the 6190 and 6800 (or 2600, or...) with my other SIMs. The same standard chargers also charge my Nokia BT headset.
FWIW, I don't use any PIM type apps on the desktop; the E61 is the center of my contacts universe, with the PC serving merely to back up the device occasionally. This is accomplished most cleanly by Bluetooth anyway, so USB syncing does not really matter.
Anyway, Nokia, please keep standard coaxial charging jacks! And I also happen to like the Pop-Port...
"I have very little hardware with mini or micro USB ports (and nothing that I can recall which charges from USB), and am quite often not around any desktop or laptop with a USB port. I find a large part of the beauty of my Symbian-powered smartphone is the lack of a need for a PC!"
I think you misunderstand the situation. You don't have to own a PC in order to charge a phone by USB, it still works by mains sockets too. 😊
The charger I linked to in the news item plugs one end into a phone's USB port, and the other end into normal mains sockets (this is a pic of the European continental model):
http://europe.nokia.com/MEDIA_BANK_100/R6Accessories/A/AC-6/ac-6_312x312.jpg
It's exactly the same charger as before, but it has a USB-shaped bit that plugs into the phone. The important point is that instead of using this charger, you now have the second option of using a USB cable instead. It means those who want to use a PC can, but there's no obligation.
All they've really done is combine the phone's charging socket and the USB socket. You can still charge the phone by normal methods but instead of plugging the phone end into a power socket, it goes in the USB socket.
Once all portable devices do this, and there's no reason why they won't, you'll be able to use any charger from any device to charge any other device. Even Nokia's ubiquitous chargers can't match that level of convenience. You'll only ever need to have one charger for all your devices, no matter who manufactures them. And if you do have access to a PC, you won't need a charger at all, just the USB cable.
Actually, I fully understand. I do have a car lighter socket charger with a USB jack which I got for one of the old PDAs in my collection. It came with various tips for different PDA models, but the other end is a USB plug.
Oddly enough, just a few days ago I found a portable radio with a crank generator on clearance sale, which happens to have a USB jack for cellphone charging. It includes a cable with adapters for four different phone brands, including the older Nokia standard type. It has an internal DC-DC converter which steps up the 3.6 volt NiMH battery (which is charged by the crank generator) to a measured 6 volts for the phone. Takes a lot of cranking, but it is another option to charge the E61! 😉 Potentially dangerous if an unknowing person plugs a normal 5 volt USB device into it by accident though...
My point is that I am not particularly fond of USB connectors (on the phone end specifically), and wanted to make the point that at least someone does not yet find them to be ubiquitous. Even if they can match the incredible robustness of the standard Nokia plug (though the new mini one might not be quite as much so, which is one reason why I charge the E61 battery externally, to be absolutely sure that the connector does not get damaged; it also does not expose the E61 to the heat of the charging circuitry, potential power surges, etc...perhaps I am paranoid!), the USB connector is still larger. Admittedly, the elimination of the Pop-Port would leave room for one; witness the difference between the E61 and E62. So the E62 doesn't require a Pop-Port to 3.5 mm stereo adapter or a proprietary Pop-Port stereo headset; it instead requires a proprietary 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm adapter, or a different proprietary headset...still not sure about that one.
Interestingly, I knew someone several years ago who bought a Nokia phone specifically because it used a coaxial charger jack, rather than the bizarre multipin contrivances popular on Motorolas, Samsungs, and the like. 😉
Yes, I understand the point of a truly universal charger (and didn't I hear recently that China is mandating just that?). A good idea in many respects; I just happen to like the existing Nokia method. A USB jack would be kind of large on my BT headset...
Now what would be cool would be a universal device charger which could also charge my portable two-way radio equipment, which uses batteries with similar amp-hour capacities to the larger phone batteries, but at twice the voltage. The standard wall charger for those is about 3 times the size and weight of the entire E61! Its output ratings would equate in power to almost 3 USB ports as well... 😉 It could be done, but would obviously take much longer to charge...this is true even of the E61 charging from USB (or some of the lower voltage wall chargers). If the charger were not a PC, it could run higher voltage and current to charge faster (like the Nokia ACP-12 series), but then there is the danger if calling it 'universal' of hooking anything to it with a USB port, and some such devices are not tolerant of more than 5 volts. If the 'universal' charger were capped at the actual standard USB level of 5 volts, then devices with decent sized batteries will all charge slowly, at least compared to the Nokia chargers which we already have. Doesn't quite sound like an optimal solution to me yet...
krisse wrote:
I wonder if that's possible with phones... It would certainly be interesting if you could, there'd be lots of storage and multimedia possibilities.
Its part of the new capabilities of micro-USB.
"Its part of the new capabilities of micro-USB."
I'm sure microUSB can do it, but you never know how these technologies are actually implemented by manufacturers.
