Micro-USB vs. Apple’s 30-Pin Dock Port

I mentioned on this week’s The Talk Show that one of the little things that’s struck me while using a Nexus S over the last few weeks is that the Micro-USB port is much smaller, and aesthetically more elegant, than the proprietary 30-pin adapter port on Apple’s iPods and iOS devices. Usually it’s the Apple technology that’s “smaller and more elegant”. So why has Apple stuck with the 30-pin port? For one thing, it does more than USB: it transmits video and stereo audio. How long does Apple stick with this? The iOS-based Apple TV 2 has a Micro-USB port, but doesn’t need video or audio to go out over that port because it also has HDMI.

★ Wednesday, 5 January 2011