MHL 3.0 does 4K video output, 10W charging and data transfer over a single cable (video) ift.tt/1dhqJQi You may have already followed the announcement of Sonys Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z2 Tablet last week, but did you know that they are also the first mobile devices to feature MHL 3.0? For those who havent caught up, this standard allows 4K video output -- over a bandwidth of 6 Gbps -- from a micro-USB port, while giving back up to 10W of power to keep your phone or tablet juiced up. Better yet, you also get a dedicated 75 Mbps channel for data transfer, as opposed to just 1 Mbps in earlier versions, which is only enough for HID input (like keyboard, touchscreen, mouse and even gesture control). Its still snail pace compared to the likes of USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt, but at least you can now transfer files to and from your mobile device over the same cable. Besides, its possible to achieve a higher transfer rate of up to 600 Mbps using special connectors, such as USB 3.0s 10-pin configuration. At MWC last week, Silicon Image demoed MHL 3.0 -- powered by its SiI8620 transmitter chip -- working between an Xperia Z2 and a Sony 4K TV, with the bonus capability of navigating through the phone using the TVs remote. The company also showed off file transfer between a USB drive and a Snapdragon 800 development board over MHL 3.0, though products (likely monitors, set-top boxes and docks) that support this feature wont be out until later this year. For now, you can check out our demo video after the break. %Gallery-slideshow182765% Filed under: Cellphones, HD, Mobile, Sony Comments
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 23:22:30 +0000