Now They're Just Rubbing It In Our Faces

from the plug-it-in-plug-it-in dept

We've noted several times how South Korea is one of the clear leaders, along with Japan, in mobile technology. Now, though, they're just being showoffs, as the country's three mobile operators have decided that all their phones should have standardized sync and charge ports. No more hunting down new chargers and cables when people there get a new phone, no more searching for compatible headsets and other accessories. Forget this 3G stuff, standard charger ports is the way to go.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    archie 134, 13 Dec 2005 @ 1:01pm

    standard ports

    america will never get standard sync or standard charge ports on mobile phones the way south Korea has. There is too much profit available when you must purchase all this stuff new with every product change. If this were not true we would have had standarized ports long ago

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    drawerFull, 13 Dec 2005 @ 1:01pm

    Why stop at cell phones?

    Why stop at cell phones? I have drawers full of chargers. We have landfills full of perfectly good chargers. I realize that different devices have different requirements. I'm not an electrical engineer, but it seems like some basic standard circuitry could be developed that would allow devices to request certain power specs (6 volt DC, 12 volt AC, etc.). At very least we could have standardized connectors for different power configurations. There are probably a lot of vendors who would like to skip including an adapter with every device they sell. Wider adoption could be encouraged by outlawing the bundling of adapters with devices.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Asche, 13 Dec 2005 @ 1:01pm

    Standard Power

    While making a standard port is a good idea, it is great for transferrability of items in theory, BUT, we have not standardized on power. US uses 120V 60 Hz, while Europe uses 220V 50 Hz, the more efficient power is that used by aircraft... 400 HZ in varying voltages. The advantages are in efficiency, 1 Amp at 1V DC requires a much larger conductor than 1A @ 115V, higher frequency means smoother power output when rectified to DC. Frequency also affects how far the power can travel with a certain amount of loss... 115 V DC cannot travel a block without serious loss. this is why we use AC. Thank You Nikola Tesla!!! While standardizing cables is good in theory, it also limits innovation, and speed increase... think the difference in CAT3 Vs CAT5e... Serial or Parallel and USB, or FireWire? standard connectors will be a good idea if they are allowed to have flexibility to adapt over time... Power is not as critical... personal items like Cell Phones? use a different port type based on the charging voltage. data, a standard PLUS an advanced port would be nice.. USB for charging and light data, fiber port for heavy transfers!!!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Mousky, 13 Dec 2005 @ 1:17pm

    An idea that makes sense.

    What a god send that would be. If they can get the PDA makers to agree to a standard, that would even be better. No more fumbling or searching for the right cable or charger. Wow standards helping an industry. Go figure.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    MissingFrame, 13 Dec 2005 @ 1:31pm

    No Subject Given

    What's even a better idea is if each phone cable connection is tied to the carrier ... then T-Mobile could make even MORE MONEY!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Prescott, 13 Dec 2005 @ 3:30pm

    As Napolean Dynamite would say...

    Jealous!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 13 Dec 2005 @ 3:56pm

    No Subject Given

    isnt that, "lucky"?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Akuma, 13 Dec 2005 @ 6:33pm

    Helping end user

    Helping the end user, maybe.. helping the industry - not really. They're moving towards a more competitive market and away from having any monopoly power (by differentiation). I mean, in the long run it eliminates dead weight and work towards equalizing market power between them, but no particular company (for example the one with the highest sales) will also benefit from increased sales from add on components. Now the syncing - that's hot

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    dorpus, 13 Dec 2005 @ 8:24pm

    Yeah but it'll cause scoliosis

    While South Korea boasts of being the most internet-connected society in the world, research by Koryo University, which examined 6,333 pupils in grades 5-8, concluded that 1 out of 10 schoolchildren suffer from scoliosis. 11.2% of middle schoolers and 8.0% of grade schoolers suffered scoliosis, while girls (12.9%) were more than twice as likely to suffer as boys (5.7%).

    The causes of scoliosis are not well understood; risk factors include sitting too long, poor posture, or female hormonal changes.

    http://japanese.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2005/12/13/20051213000047.html

    The 2ch crowd is having a field day with this, saying that it's because Koreans eat too much kimchi, their twisted character, their twisted view of history, their inferior genes, etc.

    http://news18.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/news4plus/1134463983/

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    dorpus, 13 Dec 2005 @ 9:20pm

    Will it make Bank Accounts Popular?

    In Japan, where bank accounts are too modern a concept for most people, people walk around carrying huge bundles of cash. A woman in Osaka carried $10,000 of life savings in her purse every day, and as she was riding her bicycle, a stranger lifted the purse out of her front basket and ran off with it.

    The woman's life has thus been destroyed, she will lose her house and identity, so she will have to commit suicide now.

    http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/2005_12/t2005121406.html

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    SysAdmin, 14 Dec 2005 @ 2:17pm

    About time someone thought of doing it ...

    Imagine, being able to buy a cell phone (or other device!!) and not having to throw out the other charger you already had! Imagine the land fill space that would be saved!! (only slightly sarcastic).

    Seriously, it not a bad idea. All the devices basicly use the same battery technology. Same basic charge rate.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.