USB Power Tips
- Even though USB ports use similar connectors on the computer side, there are a few differences between USB 1.1 compliant ports and USB 2.0 compliant ports.
A USB 1.1 compliant port is capable of data transfer at a rate of 12 Mbit/second, whereas a USB 2.0 port can transfer data at 480 Mbit per second. Because of this faster transfer rate, USB 2.0-capable devices require more power to operate. Therefore, when charging a device using a USB port, the device will charge at a faster rate from a USB 2.0 port than it will using a USB 1.1 port. - Most commonly, USB cables utilize a USB male "A" connector at one end to connect to a computer or AC adaptor. However, there are several USB connectors that connect to the device end of the USB cable, many of which are used as "power tips" for charging or powering a device.
A very common connection for charging cell phones and other small USB devices is the USB male Mini "B" connector. This connector is trapezoid shaped, and plugs into a small USB port on the device. This connector is also commonly used as a data cable from devices such as digital cameras.
Since a USB connection can be used as both a charger and a data transfer connection, it is possible to conduct exchanges of data between computer and device and charge the device at the same time. - For some cell phones, such as the Blackberry 7200 series, a car charger can be used to recharge the battery in a cell phone. Since USB is a widely accepted standard, you can also use such a charger to charge any other USB device that the USB output plug fits into, such as a GPS device or MP3 player.
