JP/18/ZATNI1
JP/18/ZATNI1
USB 'OTG': Let's do away with the PC
Zatni Arbi
Contributor/Jakarta
I got an interesting gift during one of my recent trips: A 40 GB
external USB hard disk.
That was a heck of storage capacity for me, as I do not
usually store video and music files. For comparison, My IBM
ThinkPad T40 has a mere 30 GB hard disk. Even the hard disk on my
Synology Network-Attached Storage (NAS) DiskStation is 20 GB, and
so far I have used only 5.15 GB of the total storage capacity to
backup all my data files.
I am sure you have seen these mini storage devices, as they
have been around for a couple of years. The one I got was a
Consus 2.5 Smart Disk. Inside, there is a 2.5-inch hard disk made
by Samsung.
The power is drawn from the host computer through the USB
cable. If it does not get enough power from one USB port, you can
connect it to two USB ports at the same time using an included Y-
cable.
The device has the intelligence to start and shut down each
time the Y-cable is plugged or unplugged. If two USB ports still
cannot supply the necessary power to spin the hard disk, I can
use an AC adaptor.
There is no button on the Consus enclosure. I have to use
Windows Explorer to copy, back up and delete files on the Samsung
hard disk. It means that this device, despite its large data
storage capacity and practicality, will require a desktop PC or a
notebook.
Wouldn't it be nice if there were buttons and menus, for
example, to backup photo files straight from a digital camera, or
to copy music files from an MP3 player?
It turned out that the USB developers have thought of that,
too. Why not? USB is now a standard feature of every new notebook
or desktop PC on the market. The USB ports enable you to connect
potentially hundreds of peripherals to your computer, including a
keyboard, mouse, TV tuner, printer and scanner.
They have enabled computer makers such as AsusTech and Shuttle
to design really tiny computer boxes, because now you no longer
need six to eight internal expansion slots. AOpen, another Taiwan
company, has even designed a mini PC computer even smaller than
the news-making, US$ 500 Apple Mini.
Called "USB On-The-Go" orOTG", it is a supplement to the USB
2.0 standard. Its development started in 2001, and now the USB
OTG-compliant devices have begun to trickle.
One of the main benefits of the USB standard is that you can
get rid of proprietary peripherals. For example, on my shelf I
still have an IBM WorkPad C3-which is actually a Palm Pilot III
PDA. I bought a Palm keyboard for it so that I could type notes
without bringing a notebook to the seminar room.
At that time, the collapsible keyboard was very cool, and I
became the center of attention each time I used it with the
WorkPad. Today, as I am no longer using the WorkPad anymore --
the Palm keyboard has also become part of my gadgets collection.
Thanks to the general USB standard, I can just use any USB
keyboard with any USB-compliant PDA. If I get myself a new PDA, I
will still be able to use the same keyboard. It does not have to
end up sitting on my shelf.
Now, the main benefit of USB OTG is that it allows tiny USB
gadgets such as a mini hard disk to take on some host functions.
For example, a small hard disk can be used to directly copy image
files from your digital camera (see the article on 3PM Photo
Manager).
Usually, one end of the USB cable has the mini-USB jack so
that it can be used with tiny devices such as a pocket camera, a
smartphone or a PDA. Another important feature is that a USB OTG-
compliant device consumes very little power.
Like my Consus/Samsung 2.5-inch external hard disk, the device
may rely on the power supplied by the host computer. In most
other mobile devices, it may rely on an internal rechargeable
battery.
What would the USB OTG standard bring us in the future? I
would not be surprised if soon you can once again leave your
notebook at home. You can connect our powerful PDA or smartphone
to a USB hub, and connect all the other peripherals including a
full-size keyboard, a mouse, an external hard disk, a pair of USB
speakers, a Webcam and even a flexible and foldable monitor to
the hub.
The idea should sound very attractive, because the USB
peripherals are not proprietary and can still be used even after
you upgrade your PDA. Backing up data from PDAs and smartphones
will be much easier, as you will no longer require a PC or a
notebook. Just connect the USB OTG backup hard disk, press a
button, choose a menu item, press another button and it is all
done.
Don't you think mobile computing will be more fun then?
Besides, PDA makers will love this as well, as it may revamp
their currently dwindling sales.