> This was already the case in the US and there is no government mandate for it to be that way.
Hah, in 2009? It really, really wasn't. I bought an off-the-shelf flip phone in 2010 that still used some godawful proprietary connector.
One of my roommates had a phone that used mini-USB, but it was the wrong end (mini-A instead of mini-B), which is a lot like buying an MP3 player and finding a 3.5mm prong sticking out of it instead of a socket. I absolutely do credit government intervention in China and the EU with forcing manufacturers to clean up their act.
Hah, in 2009? It really, really wasn't. I bought an off-the-shelf flip phone in 2010 that still used some godawful proprietary connector.
One of my roommates had a phone that used mini-USB, but it was the wrong end (mini-A instead of mini-B), which is a lot like buying an MP3 player and finding a 3.5mm prong sticking out of it instead of a socket. I absolutely do credit government intervention in China and the EU with forcing manufacturers to clean up their act.