New USB standard, no more hassle with 'upside down' plugs

The next USB plugs -- ubiquitous on smartphones, computers and other devices -- will finally be reversible, a group creating the next USB standard says. The new connector, called Type-C, will be around the size of a current Micro USB plug but, like Apple's Lightning connector, will finally be reversible, The Verge reported Wednesday. No more fumbling to figure out right side up from upside down when charging a phone or laptop. The Type-C will "meet evolving design trends in terms of size and usability," USB 3.0 Promoter Group chairman Brad Saunders said in a statement. ""Users will no longer need to be concerned with plug orientation/cable direction." Different USB connectors in use today make it difficult to always have the right cable for a camera, external hard drive, phone, printer or thumb drive, but the Type-C is designed to bring those all together win a single, all-purpose connector and USB port. "This new industry standards-based thin connector, delivering data, power and video, is the only connector one will need across all devices," Alex Peleg, vice president of Intel's Platform Engineering Group, said in a statement. The Type-C connector would make its debut in mid-2014, the industry group said.