Hi.
The USB port should be useable for more than charging, but how is it done ?
Examples: connecting a thumb drive to transfer pictures;
connecting an external hard drive;
connecting an infrared emitter to command devices;
connecting a PC to load files or programs;
attach a real GPS to the phone;
attach a receiver dongle;
attach a automotive diagnostic tool;
probes;
a dongle to transmit as walkie-talkie;
hundreds of gadgets...
Why is there so little in the subject of interconnecting, being smart phones so powerful in computing capabilities ?

 

Usually I think the smart phone designers limit the ability of the connections in firmware so you have to abide by their terms. I is not necessarily a hardware limitation.

 

I't saves drivers think about how many drivers would need to be made or modules.
just one line of phone.
you have 1000 or more phones
Then even the same chip sets are mixed and matched.
This is not nowhere close to a computer where you have basically 2 cpu makers now
and the try to make it close to the same so there not as much work making it work.

The smart phone using arm there are a bunch of ways to setup hardware
I just got a A10 Allwinner there are 100's of this same chip used in phones tablets you name it.
but to use USB across them would be nightmare

Then there is the life span on a cell phone maybe a year before hardware changes.
I have some stuff that worked on some brands of smart phones the software dosen't work on newer phones or some at all

 

Hi.
The USB port should be useable for more than charging, but how is it done ?
Examples: connecting a thumb drive to transfer pictures;
connecting an external hard drive;
connecting an infrared emitter to command devices;
connecting a PC to load files or programs;
attach a real GPS to the phone;
attach a receiver dongle;
attach a automotive diagnostic tool;
probes;
a dongle to transmit as walkie-talkie;
hundreds of gadgets...
Why is there so little in the subject of interconnecting, being smart phones so powerful in computing capabilities ?

Having designed/built and coded this sort of thing, here's the real answer. The phone maker never designed their side of the USB as the Master. It is always the Slave. As such, very few people have enough knowledge in terms of code, electronics skill, and the ability to pay USB licensing fees, to create devices that act as a Master, making the phone a slave. Some manufacturers offer documented methods for this-- but in the end, when you actually go through all of the information, they require you to place their O/S on your device-- so it's just a means of them spreading what is actually a really crappy O/S around. They don't actually make it easy for anyone to do what you're wanting to do. It can be done, but it's possibly way over your head.

This may seem like a insificant difference, but it isn't. A Master device has to have a lot more code and do a lot more maintenance tasks because it is responsible for managing the USB network of devices it's hosting.

And no, you're not the first entity interested in this. Several years ago, I developed a website for the Canadian government, putting out feelers to any organization in Canada that could do this sort of thing, particularly in the medical field. As I recall they only received 6 respondents.