Epic Touch...USB Port on the Bottom?

[Ryan P.]

Could somebody explain to me what the logic is to having the micro USB
port on the BOTTOM of the phone?

Seems like its a good way to have extra stress placed on the port
because most people don't have their charging source BEHIND them, so the
cables will always be being pulled down and back.

I'd love to get the phone... But the prospect of multiple returns due
to a broken USB port is annoying.

[Todd Allcock]

Post by Ryan P.
Could somebody explain to me what the logic is to having the micro
USB port on the BOTTOM of the phone?

So it won't be in the way if you hold the phone while it's plugged in?

To be like everyone else? Of the ten smartphones I've had with mini or
micro USB ports, nine were on the bottom, while one, my Sony Xperia X1,
had it on the side.

(My wife's two work-issued Blackberrys had side ports. Maybe it's a
Blackberry thing?)

Even before mini/micro USB, when phones used proprietary connectors, most
if not all of my smartphones, dumbphones, and PDAs had their charge
and/or sync ports on the bottom.

Every iPhone and iPod also has its sync/charge connector on the bottom.

Bottom ports are also far more convenient (necessary) for optional charge
stands/cradles.

Post by Ryan P.
Seems like its a good way to have extra stress placed on the port
because most people don't have their charging source BEHIND them, so
the cables will always be being pulled down and back.

Depends where you sit, I guess, or if you use it at the extreme end of
the cord's range. With enough slack, nothing should be "pulling"
anything with any significant amount of force.

Every time I use a device when plugged in, regardless of where
the port is, the cable is stressing the port a littler, even if just by
its own
weight.

Post by Ryan P.
I'd love to get the phone... But the prospect of multiple returns due
to a broken USB port is annoying.

I think you're creating a theoretical problem in your mind that doesn't
exist in real life.


To play devil's advocate, if this was that much of a problem
historically, wouldn't the manufacturers, who want to deal with broken
phones during the warranty period even less than you do, have stopped
doing this long ago?

I've had phones with bottom USB ports since 2005, and devices with
proprietary bottom serial/USB ports since the late 90s. None of my nine
bottom-port phones broke at the port, except my HTC Wizard, whose USB
port broke loose after a 6-ft drop onto a concrete tile floor. Hard to
blame the jack placement for that one!

If the port placement is your only issue with the device, it sounds like
a winner!

[Ryan P.]

Post by Todd Allcock
To play devil's advocate, if this was that much of a problem
historically, wouldn't the manufacturers, who want to deal with broken
phones during the warranty period even less than you do, have stopped
doing this long ago?
I've had phones with bottom USB ports since 2005, and devices with
proprietary bottom serial/USB ports since the late 90s. None of my nine
bottom-port phones broke at the port, except my HTC Wizard, whose USB
port broke loose after a 6-ft drop onto a concrete tile floor. Hard to
blame the jack placement for that one!
If the port placement is your only issue with the device, it sounds like
a winner!

Oh, with the exception, possibly, of the next Nexus, the Epic Touch
seems to be the best thing out there. Samsung sucks at software
updates, but their phones are about the easiest to customize for
developers (assuming a willingness to risk voiding a warranty!).

I'm just thinking of the way I use my phone, and the way I charge it.
I do most things in portrait, not landscape. So if I want to keep my
phone charging in the car, for example, now I'm forced to keep it
landscape (for GPS, for example).

A minor quibble, to be sure... But still a quibble. :) Perhaps I was
just spoiled by my Moment in being able to set it down in the console of
my car while it was charging and still be able to keep it in portrait mode.

[Ryan P.]

Post by Todd Allcock

Post by Ryan P.
Could somebody explain to me what the logic is to having the micro
USB port on the BOTTOM of the phone?

So it won't be in the way if you hold the phone while it's plugged in?

Actually, I find that the cable is very much in the way whenever I'm
holding the phone in landscape mode, as is required by a lot of apps
these days. Its almost impossible to hold it like you would a normal
game pad (just as a visual example). With my Samsung Moment, holding it
sideways left the cord hanging out of the top left corner, out of the way.

I'm going to have to go on a hunt and try to see if a plug exists that
has two 90 degree bends.

Ever hear of such a thing?

Post by Todd Allcock
If the port placement is your only issue with the device, it sounds like
a winner!

There are a couple of other design issues that are mildly annoying (no
camera button, and I miss the track pad), but it really is a beast of a
phone.

There are one or two software bugs that I REALLY hope Samsung
addresses (like their sound codec crashing games randomly), but nothing
horrible.

And, for $129 with free activation, its a helluva phone. :)