"Also, the pins are so small that no current plug/connector manufacturer allows the 2A needed for iPad charging"
So, right now, all usb cables will suck when charing, nice.
Also, lighting is way easier to plug and eject, microusb is just horrible
When was the last time you looked at your headphone jack when you plug it in? It's probably second nature and you always get it right on the first try. Most microusb plugs have different "sheaths" so you can't remember the "feel" of the plug and insert it without looking at it.
The regular usb plugs are the worst offenders, they look identical on top & bottom. The only way to tell if it's the right orientation or not is to attempt to plug it in. If it doesn't go in, you flip the plug over and try again. It's a minor hassle, but it's something that could have been designed better.
- The top has the USB symbol that is embossed enough to feel it without looking.
- The top of the metal sheath has "hooks" or other indendations that are both plainly visible and can be felt with a finger tip.
- The top of the metal sheet has sharper corners, while the rounded bottom corner are easy to both feel and see.
This is across probably half a dozen different brands of microUSB cables - I have sets of cables permanently in charges in 4 rooms at home, at work and a few cables in my bag.
They're all different for me, so YMMV. I still stand by my argument that bi-directional insertion cables are still easier to use than usb. I don't have to "feel" any part of the cable when I plug in my audio jack.
Anyone you talk to will have attempted to plug in a microusb the wrong way at least once, and had to flip the cable to retry. I've yet to talk to anyone who plugged in their audio cable improperly -- there's just no way to improperly do it! That's the difference between good design and bad design. These are basic elements of design that reduces the user's need to think when using the device. For example, a door with a pushbar means that one should push the door to open -- a user would not examine the door frame to decide if they should pull on the pushbar or not; it's obvious!
I despise micro USB and feel sorry for my brethren in the EU. It's great there's a universal charging standard, but it sucks that they chose the crappy micro USB format.
If you go by the spec all USB plugs should have the USB 'trident' logo on the top side of the plug. The overwhelming majority do - not that this will help you, because whilst it sorts out the problem of the plug orientation the socket still remains an unknown.
My basic argument is that cable connector design hasn't changed in 30 years. Back when people used 9-pin serial cables, they still dealt with this problem the same way. There's room for innovation here, but nobody is taking a bite.
And some manufacturers, like WD put their stupid logo on top.
Even better is how Logitech did it, with a huge bumb on the top. I'm seriously tempted to order a bunch of these[1] and throw out all of my other microUSB cables.
[1]: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Logitech-Micro-USB-Cable-/2...
I'm inclined to think the latter, as if I put my display on top brightness and play any games that uses my phones GPU, I get warnings that my charger delivers less current than needed to charge if I "only" use my 1A rated chargers.