Apple Proposes New Multifunction Input Ports, Could Merge SD Card Slot and USB Port

[Junipr]

Can't innovate anymore my ass...

 

[whooleytoo]

Honestly, I don't see much point in this unless you could use them at the same time (which seems improbable). There's not really a problem with dedicated ports, why try to fix it?

Because different people have different needs? They seem to be suggesting you could provide ports that would accommodate different plug types as well.

So, ship a computer with 2 USB & 2 TB ports, and some will complain they need more USB but never use TB, others only need 1 USB port but 3 TB. But if you ship a computer with 4 combined USB/TB ports, you have a huge amount of flexibility.

 

[geronimo789]

I love that port on the Windows PC's I've seen them on. However, they aren't marketed correctly. Every average user I show it to and tell them what it can do feel it looks to strange to use (weird, I know). I tell them, at least, they have 1 more USB port, and that makes them happy. eSata for the average user? Yea right. If you're using eSata you're not an average user, imo. I try to explain that it can charge even with the laptop closed and sleeping, but again, many just didn't know they *couldn't* do that to begin with.

I agree completely. But this is true for a lot of things. They take existing ideas, improve on them sometimes, and then market them like crazy.

I always did wonder why eSata never took off properly. Maybe it's the fact that there were never any cables included with the disks that supported it ? It is a lot faster than USB ever was

 

[ValSalva]

Interesting idea. There is just no way of telling which of the many Apple patents will end up in future products. At this point if anyone at Apple has a unique idea it gets patented (or they try).

 

[willcapellaro]

Honestly, I don't see much point in this unless you could use them at the same time (which seems improbable). There's not really a problem with dedicated ports, why try to fix it?

They are threading the needle. People will complain if they take away either USB port or SD slot. People will complain if they include them and they don't ever use them, because they take up space and make for a bigger and heavier device. Put them both together and people will complain that they want to use them both at the same time.

If they do this, they are betting that the third population of complainers is less than either of the other two.

 

[tonytiger13]

What would be really useful is a single port that combined:

USB (all flavors)
SDCard
iPod30PinConnector
Thunderbolt

This would provide excellent backward compatibility. It's a shame each time they upgrade the connector to have to throw away your external devices (e.g., BMW car).

Apple could do a LOT better at legacy support.

They could do a lot MORE but it wouldn't be better. It'd be helpful if third parties or Apple created adapters, when I occasionally need to hook up legacy devices. But really, USB tends to be that "adapter".

 

[guzhogi]

My question about this is: how thin do we really want/need things to become?

Merge the lightning port with an SD card slot for the iPhone/iPad and then we'll talk.

I'd like an SD card reader in my iOS devices.

One thing I'd be curious about: replace the lightning port with thunderbolt. I'd be curious how fast transfers would be.

 

[spencers]

Now if only Apple would jump on the eSATA/USB combo port like Dell does on their notebooks

 

[Stuke00]

Call me crazy, but do that many people still really use SD cards? For a company that has a history of removing 'legacy technology' from products (floppy drives, optical drives, Firewire, ethernet), it doesn't seem like them to create a new connector that incorporates SD.

I'm sure all the photography folks on here will disagree with me, but I'm just curious to see how many average users use them.

Sure they do. Lots of things still use SD cards. It isn't old technology as compared to the floppy drive when it was removed.

 

[Mak47]

This isn't innovation! Why don't they make those ports bigger! I want a 7.723" USB port or I'm switching!

 

[Skika]

My question about this is: how thin do we really want/need things to become?



I'd like an SD card reader in my iOS devices.

One thing I'd be curious about: replace the lightning port with thunderbolt. I'd be curious how fast transfers would be.

0% faster.

 

[Kissaragi]

Thats pretty cool. Guess it probably wont make it into any products with wifi being built into more and more things.

 

[blabliblu]

I hope to god you can use both at the same time otherwise it's not only a stupid but also greedy idea

 

[TyPod]

Very impressive engineering. I wonder how much thickness this would add to the port, if at all?

 

[litmag01]

Merge the lightning port with an SD card slot for the iPhone/iPad and then we'll talk.

Cool idea. Do you think that would work though with bus limitations and the speed of the processor? It seems like it would max out well before lightning benchmarks.

 

[geronimo789]

I saw a few questions regarding the issue of thickness, i'm pretty certain it will add nothing to the thickness of the default usb port:

 

[APlotdevice]

Call me crazy, but do that many people still really use SD cards? For a company that has a history of removing 'legacy technology' from products (floppy drives, optical drives, Firewire, ethernet), it doesn't seem like them to create a new connector that incorporates SD.

I'm sure all the photography folks on here will disagree with me, but I'm just curious to see how many average users use them.

I think it's safe to say that the SD card slot gets far more attention than the Thunderbolt port. Heck, there's probably more demand for SD than there is for USB 3.0.

 

[Eidorian]

Nothing too original. It has been done with eSATA/USB.

 

[oneMadRssn]

I liked this idea better: http://9to5mac.com/2011/03/11/obses...=Feed: 9to5mac/feed (9 to 5 Mac - short feed)

 

[APlotdevice]

I saw a few questions regarding the issue of thickness, i'm pretty certain it will add nothing to the thickness of the default usb port:

Image

If you look closely at the diagram, you will see that the USB pins are facing the same direction as the SD slot. So it should only add width to the existing opening.

 

[Glassed Silver]

Thanks to Thunderbolt taking of so fast (warning: sarcasm!) all my USB ports are used, even after the USB 7-port hub.

So, no thanks!

Glassed Silver:mac

 

[jrlcopy]

I'm glad other companies have already been combining ports for a few years, so luckily Apple probably won't get this patent.

Some examples:

Sony combines Thunderbolt and USB 3:
http://notebooks.com/2011/05/18/son...0-combo-port-to-life-with-ultimate-mobile-pc/

eSata + USB (2008):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESATAp

 

[RightMACatU]

Cool... now Apple will be able to sell a new proprietary USD cable for only $49.99.

Forget SD cards, make it microSD

 

[stiligFox]

Call me crazy, but do that many people still really use SD cards? For a company that has a history of removing 'legacy technology' from products (floppy drives, optical drives, Firewire, ethernet), it doesn't seem like them to create a new connector that incorporates SD.

I'm sure all the photography folks on here will disagree with me, but I'm just curious to see how many average users use them.

There's still a lot of great uses for SD cards...

Everything I use it for:
General slim thumb drive (good for mailing files)
Canon DSLR
Point n shoot
DSi
3DS
Wii
Arduino
Top secret file storage (you can fit a SD/microSD anywhere, inside a model car, taped to the bottom of a door, anywhere really)

For what they do, they do a good job at it!

 

[mig0]

This is an interesting idea but I don't see how it really improves much, unless apple goes the route of increasing the number of usb ports available on their devices, so if you never use SD cards, bonus there's an extra USB port.

I think what'd be more useful would be a microsd card reader built in... no need for adapters.