USB Connectors : Type A vs Type B vs Type C



Most computer users are familiar with Universal Serial Bus (USB), which has become the most commonly used way to connect peripheral devices to a computer. Your mouse, printer, digital camera, scanner, and other devices probably all connect to your computer via a USB port. Many memory storage devices, such as portable hard drives, flash drives, and memory card readers, also connect to a computer via USB.
USB connectors make it possible to connect a device to your computer using USB. A long cable is used to connect the device to your computer. Usually, the connectors on each end of the cable are quite different, making it necessary to know which of them goes to your computer and which gets plugged into the device.

The standard USB connector you’re most familiar with is USB Type-A. Even as we’ve moved from USB 1 to USB 2 and on to modern USB 3 devices, that connector has stayed the same. It’s as massive as ever, and it only plugs in one way (which is obviously never the way you try to plug it in the first time). But as devices became smaller and thinner, those massive USB ports just didn’t fit. This gave rise to lots of other USB connector shapes like the “micro” and “mini” connectors.

Most USB cables have two types of connectors, one on each end. A type A connector is on the end that plugs into your computer. These are wide and flat, with a plastic piece inside that prevents the user from plugging them in upside down. Most users are familiar with the type A USB ports on their computers, as virtually every peripheral device on the market these days uses them. For instance, printers, scanners, and digital cameras all connect to computers via a USB cable. USB drives, which are small, mobile data storage devices, usually have type A connectors on one end, which plug directly into the USB ports on a computer.

The other of the most common types of these connectors is a little more square in shape, although there is a notch taken out of two of the corners to make sure that the user inserts it correctly. This is known as a type B USB connector, and usually plugs into the peripheral device. For instance, most printers and scanners have ports for type B connectors.

Other types of USB connectors are becoming increasingly more common. Most newer cell phones and digital cameras use a type a Mini-B connector, which is shaped like a type B connector, except smaller. These are especially useful for small devices that do not have the space for a full-size USB port. In fact, many cell phones, digital cameras, and PDAs come with a USB cable that has a type A connector on one end, and a Mini-B connector on the other end.
There are also Mini-A connectors. These are usually used for On-The-Go (OTG) devices that need to connect to one another, rather than to a computer. Like the Mini-B USB connectors, Mini-A was developed because the devices were too small to offer a full-size type A port.


Micro USB is a miniaturized(small) version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface developed for connecting compact and mobile devices such as smartphones, MP3 players, GPS devices, photo printers and digital cameras. They are of three types namely Type A, Type B, micro USB 3.0 (for more speed).


This awkward collection of differently-shaped connectors for different-size devices is finally coming to a close. USB Type-C offers a new connector standard that’s very small. It’s about a third the size of an old USB Type-A plug. This is a single connector standard that every device should be able to use. USB-C provides plenty to like. It’s reversible, so you’ll no longer have to flip the connector around a minimum of three times looking for the correct orientation. :p

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is an Operating system?

Image
                                  An operating system is a program designed to run other programs on a computer. A computer’s operating system is its most important program. It is considered the backbone of a computer, managing both software and hardware resources. Operating systems are responsible for everything from the control and allocation of memory to recognizing input from external devices and transmitting output to computer displays. They also manage files on computer hard drives and control peripherals, like printers and scanners.                                          The operating system of a large computer system has even more work to do. Such operating systems monitor different programs and users, making sure everything runs smoothly, without interference, despite the fact that numerous devices and programs are used simultaneously. An operating system also has a vital role to play in security. Its job includes preventing unauthorized users fr
Read more

What is NTSC and PAL ?

Image
 Most countries in North and South America, including the US and Canada, utilize the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) format, while Europe, Australia and parts of Asia use a competing format called Phase Alternating Line (PAL). The major distinction between these two formats is the rate at which a broadcast is displayed on a TV screen: NTSC displays at 30 frames per second (fps), while PAL provides 25 fps. Each format also uses a different number of lines on an old analog TV display when showing the signal, creating two different resolutions. The widespread adoption of High-Definition Televisions (HDTVs) by many consumers has not eliminated this difference, however, since older broadcasting methods have influenced digital signal playback. Primary Difference The differences between these formats really start with the electrical power system behind the transmissions viewed on a TV. In the US and countries like Canada and Mexico, electrical p
Read more

What is Dual Core Technology?

Image
  Dual core technology refers to two individual microprocessors on a single die cast chip. This is essentially two computer processing units (CPUs) in one. The advantage of a this type of chip is that tasks can be carried out in parallel streams, decreasing processing time. This is referred to as thread-level parallelism (TLP) .TLP is also possible on motherboards that can accommodate two separate CPU dies. When TLP is accomplished in a single CPU through dual core technology, it is called chip-level multiprocessing (CLM) . In CPUs with more than one core, each microprocessor generally has its own on-board cache, known as Level 1 (L1) cache. L1 cache significantly improves system performance, because it is much faster to access on-chip cache than to use random access memory (RAM). L1 cache is accessed at microprocessor speeds. Dual core chips also commonly feature secondary shared cache on the CPU, known as Level 2 (L2) cache. Motherboards may also have a cache chi
Read more