What are serial interfaces and why are they important?
Serial interfaces typically reduce the number of pins, wires, or printed circuit conductors used to carry a signal. In a simple example, instead of a parallel interface simultaneously sending a bit of data thru 8 different pins, a serial interface could send the same 8 bits, consecutively, thru a single wire. This reduction in signal paths can be critical to mobile device design constraints, such as moving signals thru a flexible connector used in the hinge of a flip-phone. Such flexible connectors are often very limited in the number of wires/signals they can carry, so using serial interfaces allows more components on one side of the hinge to be connected to other components on the opposite side of the hinge. Other features typically found in serial interfaces, such as differential signaling, bring many benefits to other mobile device design challenges like electro-magnetic noise and interference. Hence, there is a trend toward serial interfaces in many areas of electronics .
