Your next phone could have USB Type-C (and that's a good thing)
These powerful, reversible charging ports are all the rage, and are coming to a phone near you. Here's everything you need to know as new USB-C phones trickle out.
There's a tiny-but-terrific change coming to phoneland. It's one of those things that gadgetheads geek out over that's seemingly insignificant to 99 percent of the population*, but we should talk about it right now anyway because one day you'll look at your phone and think, "Hey, what's this thing?"
It's called USB Type-C, or USB-C, and you can learn a lot more about it here. That's right, that's the little port at the bottom of the phone that you mostly use for plugging in your charger. The bottom line is that the USB protocol for phones and for a whole lot of other devices, like tablets and computers, is changing -- for the better.
(P.S. The shape of the plug that your non-iPhone phone has now is called USB-B and the one your computer has is called USB-A. Apple's is called the Lightning port and it's totally different and proprietary and it won't work with USB-C.)
The promise
USB-C is cool for a bunch of reasons. First, it's reversible, which means that unlike the Micro-USB plug you use now, you can stick in a USB-C cable any which way and it doesn't matter because either side is "up." No more fumbling and swearing under your breath when you can't get the connector in just-so.
In addition to that, USB-C (which describes the plug's shape) supports the USB 3.1 standard, which describes some stuff you can do besides simply charging your own phone. For example, you'll be able to quickly transfer data and videos through the cable. The standard can also help your phone (or tablet or laptop) power other gadgets in a pinch.
Finally, the fact that device-makers along the entire electronics spectrum are also implementing USB-C means that your handset can potentially share charging cords with other devices, too -- always a bonus.
But wait, there's more
So, before we go on, just nod if you understand that a phone can have the USB-C port for charging, but it still might not immediately support the nifty features with USB 3.1. That'll all happen eventually, because these things always do as part of industry growth, and if your phone has the USB-C plug, you'll be prepared to take full advantage when it does.
In order to bask in USB-C's full USB 3.1 effect, the operating system really does make a difference because the software has to be coded to work with all those extra features other than plain-old charging. This Chinese company called Letv whose three phones run on Android 5.0 Lollipop right now? Sure, they can use the USB-C charger as a charger, but Google says they won't be able to share power with other devices until Android M, its next-gen operating system, arrives.
That's because Google developers still have to write that code into Android. The good news is that Google did get up on stage at its flashy big annual I/O developer conference in May and say that it'll support for USB-C connections (specifically, those USB 3.1 goodies), so we know that's coming pretty soon.
According to Google, it'll work like this: their software will present a menu when you plug in the cable to let you choose the kind of connection you're making (for example, charging) and if you want to use the cord to power another device.
(Microsoft says "While we don't comment on future products, Microsoft is an active participant and contributor in the development of the Type-C specification through the USB 3.0 Promoter group," and BlackBerry says "We use USB 2.0 on currentBlackBerry 10 smartphones and we can't comment on future products.")
Mo' cables, mo' problems
So until then, if your phone has USB-C without all the extra good stuff, you now have to change cables for pretty much no reason or advantage. And while the smallness of the thing is great and space-saving for laptops, that Micro-USB port your phone already has is pretty small anyway, so that particular change isn't really a big deal.
There's also that awkward period of 6 to 18 months where your gadgets could all use different cables, which is a pain to mentally sort out, and which can be a real hassle if suddenly you need to buy a bunch of $20 cables to make sure you can keep using all your stuff together. For example, you might need to pick up a separate USB-C-to-USB-A cable to make sure your new phone still plugs into your old laptop.
Coming to flagships first
Still, overall, this is a Good Thing to happen to the electronics industry, and USB-C is already on a handful of devices, including a MacBook (that's right, Apple computers will use Type-C, but the phones don't), a Chromebook, the Nokia N1 tablet and those three phones in the Letv Le Superphone family. The OnePlus 2will probably have it, too, we think (but don't yet know) that the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 could have it, and so on, out into pretty much all future flagship phones (except Apple, of course).
Starting out with flagships is exactly what the pundits expect. For example, Carolina Milanesi, Chief of Research and Head of US Business at Kantar Worldpanel, points out that in the beginning, faced with lower supply, electronics-makers will need to judiciously place the connector in the devices that benefit most from supplying cutting-edge tech -- in other words, your highest-profile phones.
After that, and as the parts become cheaper over time, look for the midrange and entry-level handsets to start getting Type-C, too. Since PCs use Type-C as well, "We should see price points come down fast enough to make it viable throughout the [phone-maker's] portfolio," Milanesi said.
Stephen Baker, a vice president of industry analysis at the NPD Group, agrees, adding that "it will take place over a few years, as it will in PCs, where we expect to see lots of USB-C PCs starting to show up in Q4."
Holiday boom
Even though it'll take awhile before every phone and non-phone gets USB-C and all its USB 3.1 powers, phone-makers are going to prepare themselves by building momentum fast, and likely in time for the holiday crush.
"We expect to see more of a proliferation on the PC side going into holiday season," said Trevor Hirsch, product development manager at Belkin, which is best known for making cases, cables, routers and power packs. Mobile devices should also pick up "in the fall nearing towards Holiday."
Of course, while holiday sales will be huge, device makers all have different cycles for updating their phones, and I doubt they'll fast-track their roadmap just to take advantage of USB-C. So if the phone you're looking at usually launches its next iteration in summer, my guess is that it won't get USB-C until then, or maybe the year after.
Now what?
So now you've just let me throw a lot of stuff about this new standard in your direction, and I thank you for that. In addition to now being able to impress your family and friends with your extensive knowledge of this fairly minor (but still really cool) aspect of your future phone, you yourself are at the forefront of this quiet USB revolution.
When your new non-iPhone comes with USB-C, as it will inevitably will, you'll know exactly what to do, how you might have to prepare with more cables, and that even if it doesn't support USB 3.1 features right now, you'll get those in the future, and it'll be better for everyone.
Oh, and just one more thing. When you do buy anything with the new USB standard, just make sure you get the certified one with the USB logo on it. That guarantees that those cables and accessories you're buying have been tested against the standard protocol, and will work safely and reliably.
*Not based on actual data.
Updated at July 27 at 6:30pm PT with Microsoft's comment.
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For startups in Vietnam, independence has its challenges
Road Trip 2015: The second half of a two-part series about Vietnam's startup scene takes a deeper look at some rare success stories and how the country is fostering -- and hindering -- its homegrown tech community.
HO CHI MINH CITY and HANOI, Vietnam -- I was lost. But at least it wasn't just me. My taxi driver seemed just as befuddled.
I was searching for NCT Corp., one of the largest streaming music providers in Vietnam. The company's offices are in District 10, a part of Ho Chi Minh with few foreign visitors and with confusing -- at least to me -- address markers. My driver circled the area for about 20 minutes before we finally gave up and called for help.
It turned out, all I needed to do was look up. NCT is located on the seventh, and top, floor of the HAGL Building, which towers over the neighborhood.
NCT, a streaming music service akin to Spotify, is one of the rare tech success stories in Vietnam. It boasts 10 million active users each month and is valued at more than $20 million (By comparison, Spotify has 75 million active monthly users and is valued at $8.5 billion.). And while Vietnam's government debates the level of influence it should have on fostering startups, NCT is an example of a company that has been able to succeed on its own.
NCT is also a company emblematic of where Vietnam wants to go. The country is trying to transition from serving as the world's new outsourcing hub to a center where it creates products that change the way people live, while also helping the national economy. But companies operating in Vietnam face a number of challenges, including some from their own country. Bureaucracy and corruption are common pitfalls, and it's difficult to obtain funding. While the government is attempting to bolster the efforts of startups, it's unclear whether those attempts will bear fruit. As such, many have opted to go it alone.
The ability of companies -- like NCT, online gaming giant VNG and app Flappy Bird -- to thrive in Vietnam, in spite of the challenges, shows it's possible. The hope is that they won't be the only ones.
"This [Vietnamese tech] market has great potential -- not one Flappy Bird, but a lot of Flappy Birds," NCT CEO Nhan The Luan said through an interpreter.
Making music -- and money
When Luan started the company in 2009, it was a quasi-Napster clone, allowing people to upload and share whatever they wanted with their friends. But it soon shifted to licensing music from major labels like Universal Music Group and Sony Music and offering a streaming service called Nhac Cua Tui ("My Music" in Vietnamese). It now charges about $2 per month for users to stream music on mobile devices -- less than the $3 monthly fee for Apple Music.
Each room in the office has a different look and feel. One -- with blue doors and shutters, a white picket fence and a murals of trees amid a Mediterranean-like seaside town -- gives the impression that you're outside. The "relax room" has comfy couches and stone mosaic walls that encourage you to sit and rest. The space where the licensing business resides -- NCT has exclusive rights to about 40 percent of Vietnamese music and then licenses it to other companies -- looks more like a typical business office, with large wooden cabinets. Along one wall hangs a black-and-white painting of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Luan's office is situated in a corner, with a large window offering an impressive view of the city below.
"We want to win this market long term in Vietnam," Luan said.
It's not an idle boast. NCT has flourished over the years by targeting its home market, seeing its base double from a year ago.
But doing business in Vietnam can still be tough. In some ways, the Vietnamese government's policies benefit foreign companies more than those built and run in Vietnam. Under Vietnamese law, if users can leave comments on a website, a Vietnam-based company must obtain a social networking license. Getting a license can be difficult and time consuming -- and foreign companies don't need the same licenses. NCT has had to register as a social media network, but Facebook, the world's biggest social media network, has not. NCT also has a second license, for information sharing.
In NCT's early days, two full-time employees dealt with the government. As NCT grew and became more established, it learned the system and figured out which officials to seek out. While it still has in-house lawyers, it no longer has full-time employees focused on navigating the Vietnamese regulatory system. That doesn't mean it's hearing from the government any less often.
"We always have notice of visits from the government," Luan said as he showed me the latest letter to arrive from the ministry. "You have to show them all the reports of the operations, everything. It's a long list."
"Before, [I] would lose sleep over it. Now it's part of a routine," he added.
Restricted freedoms
Vietnam can be a difficult place to operate for other reasons. Corruption remains a serious issue. According to a report from Transparency International, only 52 of the globe's 175 tracked countries are considered more corrupt than Vietnam.
Free speech and Internet freedoms are still curtailed as well. Vietnam may not be as oppressive as China -- you can access Facebook and Google here -- but it's not "open" when compared with the liberties that US citizens and companies enjoy.
If there's a government policy banning any sort of online content, Vietnam-based companies must completely shut it down. But Vietnam doesn't block YouTube or Facebook like China does, so the content is still available for Vietnamese viewers in those locations.
"So where do the users go?" Luan said. "They go to where they can have it."
Startups, meanwhile, run the risk of being shuttered for doing anything that offends the government. In mid-October, the Ministry of Information and Communications shut down Haivl, Vietnam's version of the popular comedic websites The Onion or 9GAG, after the media noted that it had received $1.5 million in funding from 24H Online Advertising, a high amount for a Vietnamese startup.
Since 2012, the site had allowed people to upload humorous pictures, videos and articles, and it operated unimpeded by the Vietnamese federal government. Less than two weeks after the funding news came out, the Ministry of Information and Communications decided the company had "severely" breached laws on digital content on the Internet.
Building a community
The Hanoi offices of Topica, a startup that offers English and university courses online, bring to mind the phrase "organized chaos." About 400 men and women in their 20s and 30s are crammed into the office, sitting on metal folding chairs along narrow white tables. Dart boards with pictures of CEO Pham Minh Tuan and other executives are scattered around the offices, and the white walls are decorated with posters of quotes from famous thinkers such as Steve Jobs ("Stay hungry, stay foolish") and Thomas Edison ("I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that won't work").
There's even a cardboard cutout of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg along with the quote, "Move fast, break things," in the space designated for the Topica Hub -- an open area in the company's offices where entrepreneurs can host their own events in the evenings.
Topica came out of a Vietnamese university project funded in part by Bill Gates in 2006. In 2008, it spun off of the university and got funding from IDG Ventures Vietnam and Japan's CyberAgent Ventures. Topica has more than 21,000 students taking its university courses online, which are offered through partnerships with seven schools.
"We are the leading online education company in Southeast Asia, and we plan to maintain this lead in the next five years," said Tuan, who has an MBA from NYU's Stern Business School and is a former McKinsey consultant.
Topica, while a startup itself, is trying to fill a gap in the Vietnamese tech world -- the lack of an ecosystem. Along with the Topica Hub, it also operates the Topica Founder Institute, a franchisee of the US-based Founder Institute accelerator, which fosters early-stage startups into more mature businesses. The 25 graduates of the Topica accelerator over the past three years have raised $10 million in funding so far. The biggest success story is Appota, which helps mobile developers distribute applications and games. The company last year secured a second round of funding from Japanese and Singaporean investors.
Topica's next project, called the EdTech Lab, will feature virtual reality devices, drones, robots and other new technologies that Vietnamese entrepreneurs can't easily access on their own. Developers, selected from a group of applicants, will have access to the lab for three to four months to create their proposals for new educational uses, like using drones to monitor test takers.
In the few short years Topica has helped other startups, it has seen interest in tech soar.
"I used to go to a lot of student competitions for startups and they used to be all quiet and not so much interest from the public," Tuan said. "From last year, I started seeing a big difference, like it was a music show or a celebrity show. Students are looking up to startups and they're fighting for tickets to shows like that."
One foot in Vietnam, the other in the US
Wearables device maker Misfit may not have any fancy virtual reality devices or drones, but it has one key asset: a chief executive who can straddle both Vietnamese and American cultures. Sonny Vu moved to the US from Vietnam when he was six but maintained close ties to the country. So when he founded Misfit, he started it in both countries at the same time.
By the end of the year, about half of Misfit's employees -- expected to total about 265 -- will be based in Vietnam, working on logistics, algorithms and other items for its wearables, including its Link app. No manufacturing is done in the country, and Misfit doesn't actually sell any products here, either.
But having so many of its employees in Vietnam gives Misfit an edge, Vu said. It's able to hire from the top talent in the country -- often people returning to Vietnam from study or work abroad -- and is able to operate more cheaply than if it had a bigger presence in the US.
"What we've done is optimized our hiring to be in places where we have unfair competitive advantages," Vu said. "So in Vietnam, we have an unfair advantage here. Why? Because we're just the coolest company to work for."
Rockit Online, a company that teaches English and other classes over the Internet, got $500,000 last year from Silicon Valley-based venture capital firms Formation 8 and Learn Capital. It has both Vietnamese and American founders, and its CEO, Dao Thu Hien, has a long background in the US, including a stint in New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's offices. She started her other company -- Golden Path, which helps Vietnamese students prepare for studying abroad -- in New York before returning to Vietnam in 2012.
"The appetite for funding a new startup is low among the local investors," Hien said. "That means a lot of entrepreneurs will need to tap into the international market. Being a company from Vietnam, with Vietnam being not a major economy in the world, it's challenging to get the attention from investors in the US or Europe."
Many of Vietnam's successful startups have founders who have foreign connections or spent time overseas. Out of 27 of the most successful tech startups from Vietnam, nearly half of them have founders who worked or studied abroad, according to a study conducted by Topica.
But it's the people who've spent their entire lives in Vietnam who are increasingly starting companies such as NCT. That can make it harder to break out overseas -- if they even want to. In many cases, the new startups are focused squarely on Vietnam and Southeast Asia, with plans to move to China or the US "maybe someday."
"The US is a tough market ... [and] for a foreign company to enter China, it's going to be tough," Luan said. NCT has explored the Chinese market but so far has no plans to open up shop there. And when it comes to streaming music, there isn't much room for newcomers in the US.
"Our plan for the foreseeable future is still local," Luan said.
Click here to read the first segment of CNET's two-part tour of startups in Vietnam.
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