The story of the "standard" and "authentication mark" that I want to tell people who want to say "any of the smartphone chargers are the same?"

　Today, with the widespread popularity of smartphones and tablets, I think many people will carry portable battery and cables that are useful in times of battery shortages. So, what standard do you use to choose that battery and cable?

　There are a variety of options, such as capacity, function, price, or something to imitate your favorite character. Maybe some of them are not particularly particular about "any one is fine as long as you use it." The author also thinks that "no matter which one you choose is the same".

　But from an expert's point of view, they are very different. This time, we asked the caddy president Nine Ghost Longze, who is in charge of independent line PC and smartphone peripherals, about the selection of various chargers and cables represented by portable battery, as well as the esoteric stories of the unknown industry. Full of useful knowledge that is known without loss, please be sure to read it!

The current situation of general sales of products that "violate specifications"

-- didn't there be a lot of portable battery and cable? And from expensive to cheap, what on earth should a mechanical sound nerd like himself buy?

Nine ghosts: I see. By the way, how have you chosen so far?

-- Um. It is probably that the manufacturers who have heard of it are more at ease, and so on. Then buy a cheap one if it's broken and then buy it.

Nine ghosts: there is certainly a need to buy with this one-off feeling. But if you want to feel at ease, there are more reliable ways to choose than using the manufacturer's name.

What do you mean?

Mr. Nine Ghost: select the product with the "USB-IF Certification completed" logo.

-- Ah, no. Huh?

Nine ghosts: there are groups that determine the specifications of USB drives. This is a product that acknowledges that "it can be used well" and "done according to specifications".

It sounds common to do well according to the standard and to make good use of it.

Nine ghosts: but I didn't expect it to be so. There is a machine that can be easily checked. Do you want to check if there is any cable?

Nine ghosts: it is the number of needles, whether to resist or not to enter, there are all kinds of detailed regulations according to the difference between things. Because this is a USB3.1 high-speed cable, full wiring must be carried out. To put it simply, the part of the lamp that must emit light is determined by the cable, but there is no light at about 2 o'clock in this place where it is supposed to shine. That is to say, strictly speaking, it is a product that violates the specification.

-is there a place where neither of them can work?

Mr. Nine Ghost: but so far there is nothing special about using this cable, is it? Of course, because it is issued as a commodity, action inspection should be carried out within the company. It is not a generalization, but it is not a product made correctly in accordance with the specifications.

-- but is it really possible to "make good use of it".... no, no, no. So why faithfully produce specifications or accept certification?

Mr. Nine Ghost: because Gopa is a third-party manufacturer. For example, if you buy a computer, you will follow a pure AC adapter. At the extreme, this is an adapter made for PC, so there is no problem as long as you use PC. Because it's pure, please don't use it on anything else, so it's fine.

　But for our products, it may be used on PC, mobile phones, or LCD monitors. It is also possible to connect to a variety of products from different manufacturers. In this case, I think the most important thing is compatibility, that is, proof that all products can be safely used because they are made according to specifications. Therefore, Gopa's products pay great attention to the IF certification mark.

-- so it is. How many products with certification marks in the world?

Mr. Nine Ghost: not much yet. Because it takes a lot of money and effort. Passing IF certification is not mandatory, so you can reduce costs and provide cheap products by avoiding it. Because it is the idea of every manufacturer, I wonder where customers can feel the benefits.

-- I don't know! There are already many consumers who do not know that there is such a certification mark, right?

Mr. Nine Ghost: yes. Therefore, I hope that media like cat will carry out enlightenment activities, which is also the theme of this report (laughter).

The revolution caused by "USB Type-C revolution" and "PD"

Although we know that there are many products without certification marks, it doesn't seem to be a big problem. And why is that?

Nine ghosts: first of all, it is better to explain that Gopa is also the main commodity of "USB Type-C distribution" and "USB PD". Do you know?

I'm sorry, I work for a company called Eddie Media, but I don't know!

Mr. Nine Ghost: well, first of all, "Type-C connector" is a new specification for USB connectors.

Ah, a flash drive that can be plugged up and down. Although there is a saying that the reverse side of the flash drive is always wrong, but because it has been lifted, everyone is very happy.

Mr. Nine Ghost: yes. In addition to "can be used on both sides", it also improves convenience in a variety of ways. For example, there are various forms of USB so far.

-- indeed. Mobile phones, game consoles and digital cameras don't know which connector is what.

Nine ghosts: you need your own cable every time. It's so inconvenient. It's not good for the environment. There is no good thing.

Then again, why did it become so subtle?

Mr. Nine Ghost: due to the progress of technology, the equipment is becoming more and more miniaturized, so there are new connectors driven by the necessary. Because the equipment is thinner and the connector is thinner. This time the Type-C has been unified after all the areas have been restored.

-- Thank you so much for the user.!

Nine ghosts: so I think there is no doubt that USB will all become Type-C ghost in the future. By the way, the number of "USB2.0" and "USB3.1" is the difference in communication speed, and "Type-B" and "Type-C connection" is the shape of the connector. There are also things like "USB2.0 's Type-C", so if you want to know if you can simply use that cable, you can judge it in the form of a connector.

Thank you for the beginner's explanation.

Mr. Nine Ghost: "PD" is called power transmission. This is the new specification of USB power supply.

Is it the so-called "fast charging"?

Mr. Nine Ghost: yes. Until now, the charger only flows a certain amount of power through the cable, and there are microcomputers in the PD that can adjust the power flow. For example, when connecting a mobile phone, I received a request from the phone, "if you are hungry, give me a lot of power", and then adjust to me, "if this cable can flow so much electricity, it can bring a lot of things."

I always feel that the package says "quickly recharge", which should be very soon. So that's the mechanism.

Nine ghosts: a combination of PD and Type-C ghost that can exchange data while charging. For example, in the case of PC and monitor, so far, connect "PC and power" and "monitor and power" respectively, and then connect PC and monitor with HDMI cable to "reflect the image of PC on the monitor". This only requires "the PC connected to the power supply and the monitor are connected with USB" to be able to use all of them.

I see. Is it okay to use the monitor and the computer without turning on the power supply separately?

Nine ghosts: in short, as long as you bring an AC adapter and a laptop, you can use a cable or recharge with an LCD, tablet and digital camera from there.

Isn't it convenient!

Nine ghosts: here's the thing. So I went back to the first question, but these technologies are not something that has emerged in recent years, and they are not very widespread. There are not many PC that support PD and USB3.1, and mobile phones are not Type-C phones. Therefore, even for products that are not made in accordance with the specifications, there are very few cases of "failure to use". Is there any problem that there is no superficial part?

-- so it is.

Mr. Nine Ghost: in this sense, the darkness of this industry is very deep. And the use of everyone thinks that "now there is that kind of thing", the producer has not yet achieved that level, so there is no part made according to the specifications.

　On the contrary, if it is something that has been used for many years like USB2.0, both the factory and the manufacturer have the knowledge and experience to make it when they can correctly grasp the "must do this" rule. The problem is also very difficult to occur, and now "whether USB2.0 can obtain IF certification" will hardly become a topic in the industry.

So will there be a lot of unnoticed problems if new specifications such as Type-C tools and PD become popular from now on?

Mr. Nine Ghost: it's possible, so Gopa should make specifications as faithfully as possible. If there is a problem with making something at half price, the images of Type-C colors and PD will get worse, which may hinder the popularity. It's rare to think that this is a great technology, so all we can do is try our best to do it, and that's the corporate philosophy.

I didn't expect batteries and cables to have such an esoteric world.

Mr. Nine Ghost: I have always been an enthusiast of computer peripherals. In the early days of USB, there were a lot of things that could not move normally. Everyone went to Akihabara and said, "that external CD-ROM with that cable is the most stable!" "on the contrary, neither that nor that moved. Please be careful! "I'm doing something like this. At that time, it felt that computers were still frenzied tools, so to some extent, such things were allowed, but now it is a natural time for users to "buy and use".

I think so. People who have no knowledge like me can also use it.

Nine ghosts: PD and Type-C ghost have also undergone great changes in the decades-old history of USB. So far, as long as the power is on, but if the microcomputer goes inside, both the factory and the manufacturer have to do something new, so it's very hard. The same is true for people who are familiar with it to some extent, so I want you to remember that "things with certification marks will be more secure."

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