Why are headphone jacks for computers and handsets different diameters than cellphones?

[Judy Miller]

It always seems I have the wrong diameter headphone jack when I need one.

Since adapters exist, why do they make headphone jacks different
diameters anyway?

Is there a functional difference?

[Percival P. Cassidy]

I'd guess that the larger, the more durable, but the size of the device
often limits the size of the connector that can be used.

But some devices may produce only mono sound, while others produce
stereo sound. Again, different connectors are appropriate -- not
different sizes but with either two or three contact points.

Perce

[N_Cook]

and more contacts for a boom mic

[dave]

Smart Phones have compatible connectors for normal earphones. Cellphones
were never really designed with multimedia in mind. I'd get a better mobe.

[Oren]

On Tue, 18 Feb 2014 09:48:17 +0000 (UTC), Judy Miller
<jmi...@not.gmail.com> wrote:

>Since adapters exist, why do they make headphone jacks different
>diameters anyway?

Money.

[cl...@snyder.on.ca]

And cellphones often have mono headset and microphone on thesame tiny
plug - you don't want to be able to just willy-nilly plug in a set of
sterio headphones with the 1/8" plug. Might be different impedence
too.

[micky]

On Tue, 18 Feb 2014 09:48:17 +0000 (UTC), Judy Miller
<jmi...@not.gmail.com> wrote:

>It always seems I have the wrong diameter headphone jack when I need one.

They started with big ones, 100 years ago. 1/4" As things have gotten
smaller, the big plugs were too big for the little devices.

>Since adapters exist, why do they make headphone jacks different
>diameters anyway?

I have loads of adapters, but only for temporary use until I get the
right product. Adapters are a pain -- they stick out -- and a little
cell phone or Sandisk MP3 player won't have the power to drive the 2 or
2.5" speakers in a large set of headphones. Even if it did have the
power, it would run the battery down too fast.

>Is there a functional difference?

No, except that some headsets need a microphone, and others are
monoaural or stereo, maybe with no microphone. For talking on the
phone, there could be two earpieces but they would have the same sound,
no stereo.

[Caulki...@work.com]

On Tue, 18 Feb 2014 09:48:17 +0000 (UTC), Judy Miller
<jmi...@not.gmail.com> wrote:

Why would anyone want to use a headphone on a computer?

[Michael A. Terrell]

Why would anyone need a 'caulking gunn' for anything?

Some people are online while other people are sleeping A headset with
a boom mic allows you to use Skype or other functions without making so
much noise.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

[DerbyDad03]

To listen to stuff.

[dave]

To hear the audio on media files?

[Kaz Kylheku]

On 2014-02-18, Judy Miller <jmi...@not.gmail.com> wrote:
> It always seems I have the wrong diameter headphone jack when I need one.
>
> Since adapters exist, why do they make headphone jacks different
> diameters anyway?

Cell phones used to have 2.5 mm plugs, because cell phones used to be tiny.

Early AMPS (analog mobile phone service) cell phones in the 1980's were
essentially suitcases, and were called "car phones". By the early 1990's, cell
phones had shrunk to the point that they looked like household cordless phones.
A race was on for phones to be smaller and smaller. The smaller the phone the
more "status" it showed. Within about a decade, by the 2000's, phones became
ridiculously tiny. These tiny phones used 2.5 mm headphone jacks to save
space. Every cubic millimeter counts in a compact design.

The trend now is for phones to be larger, because they are now essentially
small tablet computers, and the screen size matters. Nobody wants to use
a 1.5 by 2 inch screen.

These modern smartphones tend to have the usual 3.5 mm (or 1/8") jacks that you
also see on computers.

I.e. long story short; your phone is probably outdated.

[Kaz Kylheku]

["Followup-To:" header set to sci.electronics.repair.]

Laptop in an an area where others are disturbed by your game or movie?
Library? Airplane? Cafe?

Get out much?

[Kaz Kylheku]

Night time listening on your desktop PC? Or at work in cubicle land: cranking
some tunes, without disturbing coworkers in the next cube?

Don't have a job either?

No wait, I know, you're a billionaire.

You're always in a private space where you can crank whatever you want out of
speakers (and even if people there don't like it, they pretend to). You fly in
your own private jet when you travel. If you do go to a public library, it's to
make some six figure donation, so they close it for a day for your private use
and you can crank music there. A mile of estate separates you from your
closest neighbors, and if you want to listen to something at night, you can go
to a room in the house that is ten doors away from the bedrooms where people
are sleeping.

Yeah, why the hell would anyone need headphones with a computer; it's simply
unimaginable.

[et...@whidbey.com]

Years ago I was in the main library in Bellevue WA which is in the
ritzy part of town. There were a few teenage girls hanging out and one
had a phone on a chain around her neck. It was a tiny Motorola flip
phone that at the time was $1500.00 US. She was certainly showing her
status wearing her phone like an ornament.
ERic

---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com

[Caulki...@work.com]

My desktop computer is connected to my stereo. My MP3s and videos
sound great. I have all those annoying "computer sounds", like beeps
and alerts that MS has in their OSs, disabled. I dont want or need
that crap. In fact I normally have the stereo shut off, except when I
an listening to music or videos. What irritates me, are websites that
have sound, and suddenly my nerves would get shattered by some
unexpected sound, which is why I leave the stereo off during web
browsing.

[Caulki...@work.com]

On Thu, 20 Feb 2014 01:15:43 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
<mike.t...@earthlink.net> wrote:

>
> Why would anyone need a 'caulking gunn' for anything?

For sucking caulk :)

[Kaz Kylheku]

You can get a kick out of people's Youtube instruction videos on how to apply
sealants, where the guy says "cock" about fifty times.

"By the time you get through this video, you will know all about
cock and what to do with it."

"That's all the prep work; now it's time to get out the cock and
put it into the crack."

*slap forehead*

To reduce embarrassment, pronounce it as if it were a portmanteau of the words
"call" and "hulk". Make sure the "L" sound is heard.

[Michael A. Terrell]

Suck whatever you want. :(