Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Reversible micro USB cable — update


MicFlip micro USB to USB A cable — both ends reversible
Credit: Winnergear/IndieGoGo

Update — producers of MicFlip reversible USB cables have advised IndieGoGo supporters that they have been unable to source reversible USB A connectors which perform reliably over the thousands of plug/unplug operations they are likely to be exposed to in normal use. Based on the photographs I have seen, reversible USB A plugs must be subject to strong flexing each time they are plugged in. An email to supporters reads in part:

"We have some bad news about the Type-A plug. At the moment we are still trying to figure out how to make it work as it seems that no matter how we plug it after a while the connectivity is lost ..."

MicFlip cables will be supplied with reversible micro USB & conventional USB A plugs.

Problems making reliable reversible USB plugs may be related to the failure-to-appear of the rumoured reversible USB A to Lightning cable from Apple.

Producers of MicFlip have also undertaken to supply cables with reversible USB A & micro USB plugs when a reliable USB A connector becomes available. Price will be in the $3 to $5 range for existing supporters.

Any USB A plug can be converted to reversible with one of these adapters:

Straight
http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Universal-Reversible-UR024-000/dp/B00EYCF40Q

Right angle
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KAYTHEG/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1/184-6744116-2105069?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=1EZ1CH86Z8RETSE6R53R&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1944687602&pf_rd_i=B00EYCF40Q

More about MicFlip, plus some alternatives at:

http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/reversible-micro-usb-cable.html / reversible Micro-USB cable that is long overdue for Android handset users braided nylon gold plated connectors aluminium housing plug durable tangle free Kickstarter IndieGoGo crowd funded funding product delivery backers product quality durability pilot production run Micro-Flip cables passed reliability durability tests withstand withstanding 10,000 plugging cycles demand production mass quantities funding goal deliver product backers quality control manufacturer quality USB cables industrial quality control process USB cables USB 2 USB 3.0 3.1 charge sync synch /