For what it's worth, I've had several mini USB ports fail on me, even on devices that aren't frequently plugged in/unplugged all the time. In fact, on one device, the variable cable strain was enough to trigger the port failure.
I haven't had a micro USB port fail on me yet.
But anyways, I was merely curious about the reasoning for selecting mini USB. I don't think any extra pins are used, but maybe mini USB is cheaper to implement? Who knows. Since the manufacturer is monitoring this thread, I was hoping they would have said something.
also more likely to have someone try and insert it the wrong way around and mash it in the process
I find it hard to believe this is a concern since this would only happen once in most cases (the USB port will be fine, even if you push hard, unless you're The Hulk), and if a person can't pay attention to details like that while installing a dash cam in their vehicle, they probably shouldn't be installing any hardware to begin with.
Actually it's not. At least based on the one laptop I've used that had type c for its power connection. It felt about the same as plugging in a regular USB type a (what most people probably think of as a standard port -what comes on a thumb drive or the other end of a phone's charger cable). There was no click as it finished plugging in but it also didn't feel like it would just fall out either. Plus type c is about twice as big as a micro b connector (the standard plug on an Android phone).
The Type-C port definitely feels much tighter on Nexus devices when using high quality/OEM cables. Some of the cheaper non-compliant cables do seem to be a little looser, but they aren't following spec to begin with.