Adding to the recent leaks regarding Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 5, 4GB of high-speed LP-DDR4 RAM has been confirmed by a “reliable insider”. This seems eminently possible and if true, makes the rumoured device very powerful on paper.
Samsung recently filed a US patent (No. 20150192989) for capacitive touch-buttons on the side frame of a smartphone. In its patent application, it shows buttons that can be scripted to perform different functions for different apps—for instance, turning on/off flash for your camera, or changing gears in a racing game.
Indiegogo and other such crowdfunding websites are home to a large number of ambitious projects, hoping to pique consumer-investor curiosity and turn dreams into entrepreneurial ventures. Not all such projects are feasible, nor all such projects funded. But some projects do stand out of the crowd.
We’ve featured one before. And now, we’re featuring another project that made us take a second look. This is the MicFlip.
Overlooking the cringeworthy YouTube ad, MicFlip is a rather interesting take on the first world problem of plugging in the cable the wrong way.
As the Indiegogo project page states, MicFlip is the world’s first fully reversible USB-A to Micro-USB cable. Featuring “an ultra-strong braided nylon lead, a robust aluminum shell and gold-plated plugs to prevent corrosion”, the MicFlip tries to improve upon traditional cables by giving us what we need: reversibility on existing products.
So far, all the Android smartphone flagships that have been released, have come along with the familiar micro USB port. On the other end of the spectrum (or cable, as you may), USB Type A ports have been the de-facto way of how “host” devices have communicated with smartphones and other accessories. Such is their ubiquity, that there is a good chance that you, as a reader on XDA Developers, may be in possession of at least two USB (A) to Micro USB cables.
The annoying part of both USB Type A as well as micro USB is that both have a fixed orientation of the port, in the sense that you can not mindlessly plug in a cable and have it fit correctly, without any damage. MicFlip aims to fix this, as it allows reversibility on both ends of the cable.
The Indiegogo project page does not detail the exact mechanism of how this is achieved. However, taking a guess from one of the product images, this reversibility may have been achieved by thinning the plastic tongue inside the plug and allowing the electrical contacts to be present on either side of the tongue. The tongue may operate on a hinge-like mechanism, thereby allowing “reversibility” in connecting the plug into the usb receptacles.
As a plus point, the MicFlip also uses braided nylon for the cable, giving extra durability to the cable. Not a standing point in its entirety, but such durability would be a decent addition to a product that aims to provide convenience.
The project has already raised 528% ($31,698) of its $6,000 funding goal within 5 days, so there is no doubt that the MicFlip is indeed a product needed by many. Shipping is expected to start in August, with the official deadline being September 1st, 2015. The product will retail for $20 after its campaign, but you can early bird pre-order one for $15 now.
MicFlip as a product is an innovative way to tackle a problem which was one of the reasons that eventually led to the development of USB Type C. It makes the tinfoil hat totting conspiracy theorists in us to think of USB Type C as a way of achieving planned obsolescence in today’s money oriented world.
What do you think of the MicFlip? Do you believe it is a neater solution than USB Type C, as far as reversibility is concerned? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Read on for related coverage:
The Android M Developer Preview 2 is now available. That and much more news is covered by Jordan when he reviews all the important stories from this week. Included in this week’s news is the announcement of a new mobile VR headset that’s gaining attention and be sure to check out the article talking about what we know about the OnePlus 2 so far. That’s not all that’s covered in today’s video!
Jordan talks about the other videos released this week on XDA TV. XDA TV Producer TK released an Xposed Tuesday video covering ProtectedApps. Then TK gave use a beginners lesson on flashing a custom ROM. Also, TK gave us an app review of Solid Explorer. Pull up a chair and check out this video.
Be sure to check out other great XDA TV Videos
Check out Jordan’s YouTube Channel and Jordan’s Gaming YouTube Channel
In an interview with NY TIMES, Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president of products and head of Android, spoke at length about how Google products were meant to help provide balance, however they may be reaching a point of social unacceptability. Do we have a problem with overuse?
While the Fire Phone had good specifications, its software crippled the phone. Luckily, XDA Senior Member ggow has brought CyanogenMod11 to bring the phone closer to stock Android on a KitKat build. The installation requires Safestrap v4, and the ROM is said to be stable despite some small camera inconviences.
XDA Senior Member ace132 shared with us his Pristine icon pack, which offers you beautiful flat icons compliant with Material Design guidelines. It is still under development, but it it has 89 icons, is supported by many launchers and CM Theme Chooser, and it comes with several Material wallpapers. It’s free for XDA users as well!
