The regulation is still only a draft law and must be approved by Europe's council of ministers. However, that body has already given its informal backing to the law, suggesting it will win final approval.
European member states will have until 2016 to translate the regulation into national laws and manufacturers will then have 12 months to switch to the new design
The reason for this regulation is both to help consumers and to cut down on electronic waste (51,000 tonnes annually)."
(Score: 1) by cesarb on Saturday March 15 2014, @06:52PM
I believe the micro-USB standard was designed so that the fragile parts are all on the cable, so it breaks instead of the socket on the device. This way, you only have to replace the (cheap) cable instead of having to fix the (expensive) device.
From what I have heard, the old mini-USB variants were weaker; they were rated for a smaller number of insertions. Which is why they were replaced. My (anecdotal) experience confirms it: the only device where I had to wiggle the cable to get a working connection was an older mini-USB one.
(Score: 1) by ArghBlarg on Thursday March 20 2014, @03:04PM
Really? That's what has usually happened to my cables.. they will end up with a pin (usually the rightmost one) flattened, so the cable will only work on some phones or tablets if you wiggle or push gently on the cable while inserted. If what you mean is that the device's plug is less likely to be damaged, sure, that seems to be my experience as well (which is good I guess). But I just find it annoying that the cables themselves die so easily from a backwards insertion.