Types of Mobile Phone USB Connectors: A Complete Guide

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Can you imagine a day without your smartphone? That is a day none of us wants to come face to face with. Our mobile phones are precious and they mean the world to us. And this fact comes with valid reason.

With the world taken up in a mad frenzy of going digital in every aspect possible, the mobile technology compresses it all into these pocket-friendly devices that we can carry around with us. In short, it brings us technology on the go.

But the usage of mobile phones gains complete effectiveness when it is accompanied by a USB. USB is short for Universal Serial Bus that standardizes the communication between computer peripherals and personal computers or laptops. They are used for two things:

  • To establish an interaction between the two devices they are connected to
  • To supply electric power

There exist various types of USB connectors specific to the peripheral devices they are used for. This is where mobile phone USB chargers come in.

The mobile phone USB connectors are also classified in a few types. In this article, we are going to discuss about the two primary types of mobile phone USB connectors and their respective uses.

  1. USB A – Mini B

This is one of the pretty basic USB connectors around and they have been in use since quite some time now. The A connector is connected to the device that the receptacle draws power from. In this case, it is the personal computer or the laptop. And that leaves us with the ‘B’ part, which, as you can already understand, is used to connect to the peripheral devices, which in this case, is your mobile phone.

These standard USB connectors have four pins, the uses of which are as follows:

  • Two pins are used for transmitting data to and from the devices in concern here.
  • The other two pins are for supplying electric power.

If you take a closer look at this type of USB connector, you will find that the pins for supplying electric are longer than the pins for transmission of data. Wondering why it is so? The answer will be evident as soon you connect your mobile phone to your personal computer or your laptop. These longer pins ensure that the power supply is tended to as soon as the mobile phone is connected to the computer or the laptop. Therefore, the phone starts charging even before you receive a notification for data transmission, when you connect it to your personal computer or laptop.

The Mini B connector is all the more effective because it can be soldered easily without facing too much trouble. And it is also this useful property of getting fitted into small spaces.

  1. USB A – Micro B

Nowadays, this is the most common type of USB connector used for mobile phones. So if you are using a smartphone, chances are that you are also using this type of USB connector along with it. As you can already figure out by the name, the micro USB connector is much smaller and thinner that the mini USB connector.

In addition, the micro USB connector is specifically designed for rough use. It is also comes with the exceptional feature of 10000 connect and disconnect cycles. This makes it all the more useful. Wondering why the number of cycles is so large? This is because the number of mating cycles for a mobile phone is much greater than devices like printers or scanners and the likes.

The easy portability of these devices has earned it the name, USB on the Go, in short, USB OTG.

There are various other types of USB connectors available in the market, but the ones mentioned above have been designed specifically for smartphones. The overwhelming popularity of the micro USB is slowly outwitting the usage of the mini USB. This is all the more evident in the fact that nowadays most smartphones come with the micro USB type, instead of the mini USB connector. This is because the micro USB connector packs quite a punch in its design and usage.

 

Author: Satyajit Seal is an expert writer with 7 years of experience in content writing. He creates interesting and thought provoking content on a variety of niches. In the above content he shared a complete guide on various types of mobile phone USB connectors.

 

Satyajit Seal
Satyajit Seal has over 6 years of experience as a freelance content writer. He is a web enthusiast who loves to explore various niches in his content, which he composes for different blogs. In his writeups, he touches upon different topics, such as health, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, and so on. He tries to include something unique in each content, which the readers find interesting. He is a lover of modern arts, painting and wildlife by nature.