USB

Synaptics is a name known to many in the industry as a company specializing in interface controllers, like laptop touchpads and mobile touchscreens. Lately, it has also been raising its profile in the biometrics markets, making such technology more accessible to device manufacturers and, therefore, users. Last February it announced a fingerprint sensor small enough to fit under a smartphone volume button. At Computex last week, it unveiled a fingerprint USB module that can give any desktop or laptop better security features.

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SanDisk has launched a new flash drive specifically for computers with the USB Type-C port integrated. This new USB port makes it easy to plug your drive in because it can be connected to the PC with either side up thanks to the reversible design. The flash drive has a retractable connector design to keep the connector safe when carried in a pocket.

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Today we're having a look at Qualcomm's own Quick Charge 3.0 as used in two new AUKEY products: the Amp Type-C 5-Port Charging Station and the QC 3.0 Dual-Port Car Charger. If you're in search of a set of USB-C compatible charging devices for your next-generation Android devices - HTC 10 and LG G5 included - these pieces of equipment are ready to roll. We've got our hands on both this week to give them the once-over for our many Quick Charge 3.0 devices, all part of the new wave.

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Google's Benson Leung called out the LG G5 and the HTC 10 this past due to their USB-C cords, both of which break official USB-C spec rules. Why? Qualcomm's Quick Charge technology. The cords do not fit the standard specifications for USB Type-C (or USB-C, however you want to say it) as set by the USB Implementers Forum. Today we've got a detailed set of answers from Qualcomm on why they're not worried about fitting this spec as defended by Leung - and why you shouldn't either.

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Late last year, Google engineer Benson Leung, part of the team that worked on the Pixel C, went on a crusade to scour Amazon for USB Type-C cables and test them for safety. The results were discouraging, even leading to the irreparable damage of one of Leung's computers. Taking note of the dire situation, the USB 3.0 Promoter Group, who developed the standard, are now proposing a new USB Type-C Authentication protocol that will protect such devices from the dangerous effects of poorly and incorrectly designed, as well as insecure, Type-C accessories such as cables and chargers.

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Lexar has introduced its new Professional XQD 2.0 USB 3.0 Reader, and it’ll start shipping it later this month. The reader is aimed at videographers and photographers with professional-level requirements, enabling them to transfer 4K-resolution and RAW images at high speeds using SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology. The reader, as its name suggests, works with XQD 2.0 cards.

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Apple's first USB-C MacBook release included a cord which had a bit of a hardware flaw - one that the company is now in the process of fixing. For those of you that've purchased a MacBook in the past several years, there's one simple way of figuring out whether or not you MAY be affected. If your power cord is a MagSafe connector (magnetic, as the name implies), you do not need to worry. From there, if you're a USB-C sort of user, there's one more check.

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As of this week, Apple has issued a warning for owners and users of a certain set of Apple-brand AC wall plug adapters around the world. While there's likely no immediate danger to you and yours, Apple isn't taking any chances with this program, suggesting that "in very rare cases, the two prong Apple AC wall plug adapters designed for use in Continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Argentina and Brazil may break and create a risk of electrical shock if touched."

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With the Acer H7, Acer is jumping in on the USB-C party with what may be the first USB Type-C monitor to be released to the public for sale. What we're doing today is having a peek at what its panel looks like. Here at CES 2016, we're having a peek at this monitor as it's connected to both USB-C and HDMI cables - for power and video. What's great about this monitor is that, while it works with USB-C for video, you can also roll with a slightly more universal (for now) bit of video connector.

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This week Samsung has revealed a brand new external SSD made for portability and future-proofing your data. The body of this portable piece of storage is a dark gray and silver, and inside you'll roll with the same controllers and flash used in Samsung's 2.5-inch SATA SSDs. This is the successor to the Portable SSD T1 (with a 3, as strange as that may be), and the biggest changes are a switch to USB-C (instead of USB 3 Type B), and a switch from plastic to metal.

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This week we're having a look at some devices and technologies that you may well be using for the first time. If not because you got a brand new smartphone for the holidays, then because you're at your Grandparents' house fiddling with the gear you don't often pay as close attention to otherwise. What we're having a peek at today is using a USB-C cord with your Android device. Specifically, what we're looking at, is what happens when you connect one Android device with USB-C to another (that also uses USB-C.)

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Benson Leung is on a crusade. As one of the engineers at Google who have worked on the new Pixel C, he has made it his mission to educate the tech world, and consumers especially, about the benefits of USB Type-C, but more importantly the dangers of buying cables and adapters that are not exactly standards compliant. He has taken it upon himself to leave comments and reviews on Amazon product pages for such accessories and is now advising his followers on Google+ and elsewhere to avoid OnePlus' similar products for the same reasons.

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