Third-party accessory makers held up by Apple's new Lightning connector rules

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 62

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post



    If there is a reason for the cables to cost $29, all they have to do is explain why, and the anger will dissipate. If there is a reason why 3rd parties can't mass produce them, tell us.


    Last time I checked, Apple was charging $19 for the Lightning to USB cable.

  • Reply 22 of 62
    stompystompy Posts: 408member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Seankill View Post


    that would work fine, but most people (including I) seem to prefer a stand alone car charger without having to buy a highly priced cable from apple 


     



    What's a stand alone car charger? An adapter that comes with a cable?

  • Reply 23 of 62


    This "Apple is a failure" because my specialty item or this or that application peculiarity / defect is 'annoying' crap is getting old.  Here's some news for all of you complainers; if you want the world to be perfect, give it up now.  It ain't going to happen.  Don't buy the latest and greatest tech toy if you are not willing to suffer through the start-up phase of the process.  Any noob tech person knows not to move ahead with any new technology or software before fully vetting the same - especially if its connected to something that may be mission critical.   All of your toys will eventually be available and then some.  Same with iOS.  Don't upgrade if Maps is critical to your daily life.  Other than new iPhone 5 owners, NO ONE has to upgrade. Guess how many of my friends, colleagues, and contacts who are running iOS6 are complaining about the new Maps?  Zero. None. Nada!   Stop all of the incessant whining, troll poop slinging and foot stomping.   There's nothing to see here.  Move along....

     

  • Reply 24 of 62
    lerxtlerxt Posts: 186member
    Are people really defending Apple for charging a fortune for a cable? These thing should cost a few bucks. They will cost a few bucks in the next month or two and all that effort to sabotage the accessory market will be for nothing.
  • Reply 25 of 62
    mwhitecomwhiteco Posts: 112member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lerxt View Post



    Are people really defending Apple for charging a fortune for a cable? These thing should cost a few bucks. They will cost a few bucks in the next month or two and all that effort to sabotage the accessory market will be for nothing.




    Are you kidding me the chip alone cost more than that get a clue.

  • Reply 26 of 62
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by mwhiteco View Post

    Are you kidding me the chip alone cost more than that…


     


    I somehow doubt this. 

  • Reply 27 of 62
    vaelianvaelian Posts: 446member
    I've been expressing my opinion on the whole Lightning Connector thing since before the iPhone 5 launched, so I guess it's pretty well known at this point. Whenever I see threads like this it makes realize more and more how misguided Apple is getting without Jobs at the wheel. It's not that I dislike Cook, quite opposite, I actually like the guy, but he lacks Jobs' determination. He wouldn't even need to be a visionary to be a worthy replacement to Jobs; all he needed was Jobs' perfectionism!
  • Reply 28 of 62
    oflifeoflife Posts: 120member
    As more and more people say to me (unsolicited), the iPhone 5 marks the beginning of the end for Apple as a major player - unless they start to be more thoughtful. Their product range is a complete mess, from Thunderbolt to Pages, where there is no consistency or fluidity between their own or industry standards.

    A contrast to the open and therefore more flexible less costly alternatives.
  • Reply 29 of 62
    macgizmomacgizmo Posts: 102member
    Oh dear Lord, please shut the hell up about this already - My rant about Lightning cables: http://bit.ly/Qt266c
  • Reply 30 of 62
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    gazoobee wrote: »
    Actually this is all known stuff.  

    - The cable is $30 because of the chip.
    - the chip is there to identify the accessory as "genuine"
    - 3rd parties *can* mass produce them (by buying a licence to do so)

    The chip is to determine which way the plug is inserted since it can be plugged in either way.
  • Reply 31 of 62
    vaelianvaelian Posts: 446member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    gazoobee wrote: »
    Actually this is all known stuff.  

    - The cable is $30 because of the chip.
    - the chip is there to identify the accessory as "genuine"
    - 3rd parties *can* mass produce them (by buying a licence to do so)

    The chip is to determine which way the plug is inserted since it can be plugged in either way.

    You don't need a chip for that, you can use the power pins to tell whether the connector is facing the same way on both ends by probing the flow of current with a diode. That really IS child's play, I used to play with analog electronics when I was 6, so I'm not even exaggerating...
  • Reply 32 of 62

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post



    The big problem here is that we are all stuck wondering what the deal is on the cables because Apple won't tell us. If there is a reason for the cables to cost $29, all they have to do is explain why, and the anger will dissipate. If there is a reason why 3rd parties can't mass produce them, tell us. If there's a reason the chip is there aside from reversing the pins, tell us. This whole Apple secrecy thing gets quite old sometimes.


     


    It can be frustrating at times.  Funny, every tech site had pictures of iPhone 5 parts and specs prior to launch, yet the no one knew the cable specs outside of the number of pins.  I guess the "doubling-down" on security was meant for the cables.

  • Reply 33 of 62

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lerxt View Post



    Are people really defending Apple for charging a fortune for a cable? These thing should cost a few bucks. They will cost a few bucks in the next month or two and all that effort to sabotage the accessory market will be for nothing.


     


    I am not defending them, but come on, this is nothing new.  Apple original accessories have always been around these prices.  It's not like their previous cables and dongles have been cheap.  People are just upset that they can't get their cheaper third-party accessories yet.

  • Reply 34 of 62

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by rsdofny View Post


    The way the company is handling the launch is not up to Apple's standard.  While the company is selling millions of new phones, they forget about the cases, the charging cables, and adapters for accessories.  None of those are available. Now, they want to nickel and dime the accessory makers.  That is not a good way to do business if they are pissing their customers off.



     


    As this is a move to a completely new connector format, it is expected there would be some bumps in the road, but it's only temporary.  This connector will be used in Apple devices for years to come, so once the factories are up and running with the chip specs, this should't be an issue for a long time.  Give them some time.  As someone else mentioned, just use the cable that came with the phone for a little while.  It is not like they just sold you a phone and left you hanging without something to charge it with.

  • Reply 35 of 62


    I just want a dock!


    Shouldn't be too hard, just an 8 pin passthrough like the older dock - no need for the microchip...

  • Reply 36 of 62
    It's an active cable, FFS! The pins on it change function depending on what it negotiates with the phone. Apple doesn't want some half-baked cable negotiating to put high amperage charging power on a pin that was supposed to have some sensitive signal, blowing out the phone with no evidence to the store personnel what caused the problem, having that person trade in the phone on warrantee, then do it AGAIN, not even realizing that it was their crappy cable!

    No, I don't blame Apple at all for making this hard, only that they didn't have two separate decryption keys, one for their own cables and others for everyone else. In that way, if the phone came in for warrantee repair on the port and had been used with a non-Apple cable, they would be able to tell without raising the prices on everything to afford all the repairs.
  • Reply 37 of 62

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Vaelian View Post





    You don't need a chip for that, you can use the power pins to tell whether the connector is facing the same way on both ends by probing the flow of current with a diode. That really IS child's play, I used to play with analog electronics when I was 6, so I'm not even exaggerating...


    You are thinking inside the box.  Why do you think all these pins have a specific, full-time function?  What makes you think that with the right chip, a Thunderbolt cable could not be made?

  • Reply 38 of 62


    Originally Posted by orangesauce View Post

    You are thinking inside the box.  Why do you think all these pins have a specific, full-time function?  What makes you think that with the right chip, a Thunderbolt cable could not be made?


     


    Not gonna fly with him. He only deals in things that exist.




    You know, like the possibility of Dock Connector supporting USB 3 and Thunderbolt.

  • Reply 39 of 62

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    Actually this is all known stuff.  


     


    - The cable is $30 because of the chip.


    - the chip is there to identify the accessory as "genuine"


    - 3rd parties *can* mass produce them (by buying a licence to do so)



    Really? Where did you 'know' all this from?!

  • Reply 40 of 62

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post





    The chip is to determine which way the plug is inserted since it can be plugged in either way.


    If so, it should probably cost ¢50, no?

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