Reversible USB Charging Cable Works With Your Current Phone, Beats USB-C to the Punch

Daniel Bean
·Assistant Editor
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MicFlip/Indiegogo

The solution to USB cable irritation is on its way. It’s called USB Type-C, and unlike every awkward USB version before, it can be plugged in any way you like — right-side up, upside down, whatever. Of course, since only a few devices so far have been released with USB-C ports, adoption may take a while.

So, as a Band-Aid fix for your charger plug-in fumbling, here comes MicFlip.

Spotted by Gizmodo, MicFlip is “the world’s first” reversible micro USB cable, and it will work with most every Android or Windows smartphone released in the last handful of years.

The point of the cable is to bring simple USB-C plugability of the future to current micro-USB smartphones, which are of course on track to become extinct. Still, seeing as the company’s Indiegogo page indicates that orders will be shipping next month, we don’t see why this $15 cable, which will instantly “fix” your brand new Galaxy S6′s charging port, isn’t worth paying for.

Another startup looking to bring universality to the smartphone USB is Micro-Flip. Though its reversible USB cable is set to ship a month later than MicFlip’s, a pledge for one on its Kickstarter page (also priced at $15) will also get you an adapter that turns any micro-USB plug into a reversible one.

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Micro-Flip/Kickstarter

The crowdfunding campaign for MicFlip has pulled in over $75,000, surpassing its funding target more than 10 times over, while Micro-Flip has so far raised more than $17,000 — beating its own goal by over 2,000 bucks.

With USB-C compatibility surely coming to most new smartphones moving forward (possibly including the iPhone), we can’t say that these startups look to have much staying power. But again, that shouldn’t stop you from snagging one of their cables and making the remaining time you have with your current phone more pleasant.

Email me at danbean@yahoo-inc.com. Follow me on Twitter at danielwbean.

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