A great step for audiophiles, BUT

will the inclusion of a 3.5 mm jack, stunt the reduction of phone sizes?. Will it eliminate the need for a mini usb sync connector? This standard is the preferred connector for peeps that use their mobile phone as a mp3 player, what if you don;t want that, the cost of the accessories alone, allows the manufacturer to Hike the prices!

If this standard replaces the default connection for sync as well, I would find it worthwhile. Syncing like the iPod Nano, first gen through the 3.5 headphone jack!

Peter, I would not expect this to change anything except how your headphones connect to your device. You can still expect to find a miniUSB, which is the accepted standard for sync/charge or micro USB which is the upcoming standard. But no, this is a response to all of the people who want to use their phones for music and have to use an obnoxiously large adaptor to do so. It is a great step for anyone who wants to connect a standard pair of headphones to their phone, and it can’t come soon enough.

I dont know what adaptors everyone’s talking about – the adaptor I use is tiny. My HTC Touch didn’t come with one, but you can get one on ebay for <4USD including shipping.

Doug: There's no standard for sync or charge. The EU only required that the devices be chargable via micro usb, this was not adopted by HTC. Further, the vendors are allowed to use their proprietary plug and include an adaptor to microusb.

China on the other hand has adopted Mini-USB. Given that HTC have such a large market there, they'll probably keep using it for a while.

James, most HTC (and some other Windows Mobile manufacturers) have chosen not to build a 3.5 mm headphone jack onto the device. Which makes little sense given the emphasis they try to place on the multimedia aspects of the devices. Instead, they give you an adaptor (every Windows Mobile 5 and 6 device I have used included one, though I have not used every Windows Mobile 5 and 6 device out there). They are generally pretty bulky and not easy to use. I know that PPC Techs has an adaptor which is very nice as well. But the point is that this is really all just very innecessary. There is really no reason for the not to include a headphone jack on these devices. It adds virtually no bulk, and a significant amount of conveneience. So, I am glad to see this coming from HTC.,

And you are correct that there is no officially accepted standard. But indistry-wide, the mini-USB protocol (and now a growing micor-USB camp) is viewed as the universal connection. It has not been adapted by every OEM/manufacturer, which is a shame.

dgoldring: Have you opened a modern phone recently? They’re packed full, and there’s some incredibly creative engineering to fit everything into that size. Relative to the size of most things on those PCBs, a 3.5mm jack and the additional circuitry is huge (hence nokia using those funny 2.5mm jacks for a while).

As for the industry ‘viewing’ it as a standard… talk is cheap, implementation isn’t. I’m skeptical that vendors will drop their cosy proprietary plugs any time soon – at best we’ll see them ship adaptors to either mini/micro usb.

James, I have not cracked open any of devices. And I am not going to try to tell you that I have any kind of electrical engineering credentials. I will say that the fact that the iPhone and Palm Pre have managed to incorporate this simple connection without significantly impacting the size or weight of the device speaks volumes.

And I agree with you on the mini-and micro-USB. Talk is cheap. And far too many device manufacturers have ignored this preference. Which is a real shame. A broad universal standard should be adopted. I can’t tell you how many times I come up with an unlabeled proprietary cable with no clue which device it matches.,..or I have to go fishing through a sea of cables to find the one which fits the device I am trying to sync or charge.