Dock Connector: Shedding pins by the minute

Having just got used to the confirmation that the forthcoming iPhone would have a new 19-pin connector, and then hearing careless talk of a 16-pin device, we are now being asked to shed even more pins in favour of a new eight-pin connector. Where is this all going to end and how many pins do we really need? We seem to be getting remarkably close to the USB Micro connector that everyone else, prodded by the European Union, has accepted as a standard. A standard, universal port would solve a lot of problems from the consumer’s point of view.