Is USB really USB or not (ie does it save a consumer money or not)?

[Emily]

If I switch to all-USB devices, does that save me money & save the world on
waste or not?

My philosophy is to have the SAME charger for all hand-held electronic
devices. That would, in my opinion, cut down on waste by (I guess) billions
of tons and costs in billions of dollars over a ten-year period (I'm
guessing on the amounts).

The way it cuts down on waste is that people can KEEP their old chargers
and reuse them on all their devices. After a while, equipment won't even
come with a charger because everyone will have so many they'll sell them on
Ebay. Old devices could still be used even if the original charger is lost
because any USB charger will work (in theory).

Likewise with saving on cost. Instead of buying a ridiculously expensive
charger for any new device, we could all use our existing chargers and
automotive and computer adapters to charge our devices. Since the chargers
are all the same (in theory), then they would be cheap due to competitive
pressurs (and they'd have more functionality like lights and meters and
other nice things). After a while, manufacturers wouldn't even supply a
charger with a device because everyone would have had enough.

Even safety would be involved as you'd never have a dead cell phone because
USB chargers would be standard in automobiles, for example.

Having said that I love USB for all these reasons, I find it disconcerting
that USB is not USB it seems.

Here are four devices and their respective chargers that I own today.

DEVICE = Blackberry 8700 SUPPLY = TCPRIM2ULSSN 5.0vdc 750mA
DEVICE = Motorola V195 SUPPLY = PSM5037B 5.9vdc 375mA
DEVICE = Motorola RAZR SUPPLY = DCH3-05US-0300 5.0vdc 550mA
DEVICE = Motorola Earbud SUPPLY = FMP5185B 5.2vdc 450mA

It it true that USB is NOT USB?

That is, can I "assume" if I hook the Motorola V195's USB power
supply (5.9vdc 375mA) to the Blackberry 8700 device, that the Blackberry
will be getting more voltage than it 'expected' and that the current
delivered will be much less than expected (even more so due to the higher
voltage than expected)?

Emily

 

[Rod Speed]

If I switch to all-USB devices, does that save me money

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what yu have already.

& save the world on waste or not?
Nope.

My philosophy is to have the SAME charger
for all hand-held electronic devices.

Taint gunna happen with the most power hungry devices like laptops any time soon.

That would, in my opinion, cut down on waste by (I guess)
billions of tons and costs in billions of dollars over a ten-year
period (I'm guessing on the amounts).

Guess again.

The way it cuts down on waste is that people can KEEP their
old chargers and reuse them on all their devices. After a while,
equipment won't even come with a charger because everyone
will have so many they'll sell them on Ebay. Old devices could
still be used even if the original charger is lost because any
USB charger will work (in theory).

Pity about the chasm between your silly theory and reality.

Likewise with saving on cost. Instead of buying a
ridiculously expensive charger for any new device,

Most cost peanuts.

we could all use our existing chargers and automotive
and computer adapters to charge our devices.

Then there's the real world...

Since the chargers are all the same (in theory),

Stupid 'theory'

then they would be cheap due to competitive pressurs

They're already cheap for the lower power devices.

(and they'd have more functionality like
lights and meters and other nice things).

Plenty of much nicer things.

After a while, manufacturers wouldn't even supply a charger
with a device because everyone would have had enough.

Wont happen any time soon with laptops.

Even safety would be involved as you'd never have a dead cell phone
because USB chargers would be standard in automobiles, for example.

You wont be charging cars with USB chargers any decade soon.

Having said that I love USB for all these reasons,
I find it disconcerting that USB is not USB it seems.

Here are four devices and their respective chargers that I own today.

DEVICE = Blackberry 8700 SUPPLY = TCPRIM2ULSSN 5.0vdc 750mA
DEVICE = Motorola V195 SUPPLY = PSM5037B 5.9vdc 375mA
DEVICE = Motorola RAZR SUPPLY = DCH3-05US-0300 5.0vdc 550mA
DEVICE = Motorola Earbud SUPPLY = FMP5185B 5.2vdc 450mA

It it true that USB is NOT USB?

Nope, just another of your silly little pig ignorant fantasys.

That is, can I "assume" if I hook the Motorola
V195's USB power supply (5.9vdc 375mA)

It aint a USB power supply.

to the Blackberry 8700 device, that the Blackberry will
be getting more voltage than it 'expected' and that the
current delivered will be much less than expected (even
more so due to the higher voltage than expected)?

Fraid not. And USB wont deliver 750mA anyway.

 

[Don K]

If I switch to all-USB devices, does that save me money & save the world on
waste or not?

It's wasteful if you're replacing functioning equipment just for the sake
of getting that USB connection. A better strategy would be to migrate
to USB-compatible devices only when you have a real reason to upgrade
the equipment.

Who knows how long the ubiquitous USB connector will be around?
The only thing that is certain is that something else will replace it.

Don

 

[John B. Coarsey, PE]

If I switch to all-USB devices, does that save me money & save the world on
waste or not?

My philosophy is to have the SAME charger for all hand-held electronic
devices. That would, in my opinion, cut down on waste by (I guess) billions
of tons and costs in billions of dollars over a ten-year period (I'm
guessing on the amounts).

The way it cuts down on waste is that people can KEEP their old chargers
and reuse them on all their devices. After a while, equipment won't even
come with a charger because everyone will have so many they'll sell them on
Ebay. Old devices could still be used even if the original charger is lost
because any USB charger will work (in theory).

Likewise with saving on cost. Instead of buying a ridiculously expensive
charger for any new device, we could all use our existing chargers and
automotive and computer adapters to charge our devices. Since the chargers
are all the same (in theory), then they would be cheap due to competitive
pressurs (and they'd have more functionality like lights and meters and
other nice things). After a while, manufacturers wouldn't even supply a
charger with a device because everyone would have had enough.

Even safety would be involved as you'd never have a dead cell phone because
USB chargers would be standard in automobiles, for example.

Having said that I love USB for all these reasons, I find it disconcerting
that USB is not USB it seems.

Here are four devices and their respective chargers that I own today.

DEVICE = Blackberry 8700 SUPPLY = TCPRIM2ULSSN 5.0vdc 750mA
DEVICE = Motorola V195 SUPPLY = PSM5037B 5.9vdc 375mA
DEVICE = Motorola RAZR SUPPLY = DCH3-05US-0300 5.0vdc 550mA
DEVICE = Motorola Earbud SUPPLY = FMP5185B 5.2vdc 450mA

It it true that USB is NOT USB?

That is, can I "assume" if I hook the Motorola V195's USB power
supply (5.9vdc 375mA) to the Blackberry 8700 device, that the Blackberry
will be getting more voltage than it 'expected' and that the current
delivered will be much less than expected (even more so due to the higher
voltage than expected)?

Emily

Dear Emily,
The USB standard refers to the computer end. You can use a USB powered
device on USB ports from different computers. The actual wall charger made
for a particular device may or may not be designed to mimic the exact USB
standard. Since a manufacturer is designing a matched combination they may
use a little higher voltage to get the device to charge faster from the
wall. Since they designed the device and the charger they have figured all
this out. On the other hand another manufacturer may build a device that
will not tolerate a higher voltage. Both of these devices will work fine
connected to a computer USB port but may not work properly when connected to
different chargers. Hope this helps.

 

[Mike Hall - MS MVP Windows Shell/User]

Emily

The chargers are not USB.. a USB device is USB by virtue of the way that it
connects to the host computer, not to the power supply unit..

 

[smlunatick]

USB is not only for charging!!! USB stands for Univeral Serial Bus and
is a method of allow a PC to communicate (aka talk) to devices. It
simplfies the method of connecting devices to your PC. Do not only
replace devices because of the charging method.

 

[Rod Speed]

It's wasteful if you're replacing functioning equipment just for the
sake of getting that USB connection. A better strategy would be to migrate to USB-compatible
devices only when you have a real reason to upgrade the equipment.

Who knows how long the ubiquitous USB connector will be around?
The only thing that is certain is that something else will replace it.

Doubt that is going to be any time soon.

If you work on that basis, you wouldnt buy anything, ever.

 

[Rod Speed]

USB is not only for charging!!!

Wrong, plenty of the small stuff like mp3 players charge using that.

Just because its so common now.

USB stands for Univeral Serial Bus and is a method
of allow a PC to communicate (aka talk) to devices.
It simplfies the method of connecting devices to your PC.

Its more than just that.

Do not only replace devices because of the charging method.

Makes a lot of sense in some situations, most obviously if you
are moving around a lot and want to have just one charger etc.

 

[timeOday]

Dear Emily,
The USB standard refers to the computer end. You can use a USB powered
device on USB ports from different computers. The actual wall charger made
for a particular device may or may not be designed to mimic the exact USB
standard. Since a manufacturer is designing a matched combination they may
use a little higher voltage to get the device to charge faster from the
wall. Since they designed the device and the charger they have figured all
this out. On the other hand another manufacturer may build a device that
will not tolerate a higher voltage. Both of these devices will work fine
connected to a computer USB port but may not work properly when connected to
different chargers. Hope this helps.

I would be VERY interested to hear if somebody harmed a device by
plugging it in via USB to a charger from another brand, or even if it
failed to charge (unless it was an "unpowered" port). I doubt a device
capable of doing damage could be licensed as "USB" in the first place.
It's well known that not all USB ports can supply the same amount of
current, and all the chargers listed are within a volt of each other.
That's nothing to worry about in my book; any normal battery will vary
by more than that over its lifetime.

Personally I love USB; my GPS, camera, mp3 player, and PDA all connect
with the same cable and it really reduces clutter. I have never found
incompatibilities to be a problem and I wouldn't hesitate to charge any
USB device with anything that offers a powered USB port.

 

[timeOday]

You wont be charging cars with USB chargers any decade soon.

Oh please. Tell me with a straight face you aren't intentionally
mis-interpreting what she said.

 

[Rod Speed]

Rod Speed wrote

Oh please.

Oh **** off.

Tell me with a straight face you aren't intentionally mis-interpreting what she said.

Says he after carefully deleting the context.

Wota terminal ****wit.

 

[DanS]

Its more than just that.

No more, that's exactly what it is.

 

[Rod Speed]

No more, that's exactly what it is.

The world's moved on. It is indeed more than just that,
its also commonly used for charging the lower power
devices like mp3 players and ipods, and for powering
all sorts of low power devices as well.

 

[DanS]

The world's moved on. It is indeed more than just that,
its also commonly used for charging the lower power
devices like mp3 players and ipods, and for powering
all sorts of low power devices as well.

So there are devices with a USB conection for charging and do not
communicate to anything over said USB ?

 

[Rod Speed]

So there are devices with a USB conection for charging
and do not communicate to anything over said USB ?

Yep, heaps of them, and heaps more that
just use it for power and not for data at all.
Most commonly used with laptops, but quite
a few now intended for desktops as well.

 

[David Vair]

So there are devices with a USB conection for charging and do not
communicate to anything over said USB ?

Yes I have a fan unit for my laptop that plugs into the USB port to power the 2 fans. Windows
doesn't even know its there.

 

[Rod Speed]

Yes I have a fan unit for my laptop that plugs into the USB port to power the 2 fans. Windows
doesn't even know its there.

Yeah, thats what I meant. Plenty of LED lights etc too.

Quite a few of the lower power devices like mp3 players use USB for
charging, so you dont have to far around with a separate charger for them.
Much easier to charge them that way, you dont have to hunt up a charger
and rather frugal since you dont need to supply one in the first place.