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Apple Says "No" To Releasing New Dock Connector Specs
sl4shd0rk writes "According to sources, Apple hasn't offered any specs to developers for the new '9-pin Connector' to be used on the next version of the iPhone. Apple has also said it may use 'licensing agreements and threats of lawsuits' to prevent third-party adapters from hitting the market through at least 2012. There have been suggestions that this tactic is to allow Apple time to leverage competition and reap in revenues of $100 million for every 10 million Dock Connector Adapters it sells for $10. It remains unclear whether Apple will allow third-party developers to release competing alternatives after 2012."
Innovative and good technology company. I wish they just got Xcode on the same level as Visual Studio, as the latter is just fantastic.
Apple hasn't said a damn thing. Just speculation.
It's a shame that they do not have a universal connector. Something that would work on any damn phone, like a simple usb. But oh well... it's apple!
It may be that they are walking straight into EU regulations with that kind of policy. Vertical monopolies in the supply chain is one of those few things the EU gets extremely aggro about, to the benefit of the market and consumers.
4 days after release the Chinese will be selling the things on ebay for 4 bucks a pop anyhow, as long as you can wait 2 weeks for it to ship from Honk Kong.
Apple has never been a fan of cheap. Their products carry the undercurrent message "I can afford this", much like sports cars, suvs, rolexes and the like. They don't want everybody to provide cheap accessories to their products, because it diminishes the brand value.
Manufacture for $.10; sell for $10; sue anyone who copies. Mm...
Poor old Apple is in a very difficult financial position right now. The big kids keep picking on him and stealing his designs and everything. I bet he really needs that $100 million.
No, Apple hasn't said anything about licensing. In fact, Apple couldn't possibly have said anything in public about the connector, because it hasn't even been officially announced yet! The submitter is a troll.
How can they prevent someone from reverse engineering the pinout based on published specs, examining whatever 9 pin adapter comes with the new phone, and trial and error? I don't it would be legal to take apart an Apple adapter and copy it, but if they can figure out how to make an adapter by other means using a cleanroom methodology without ever looking at the official adapter, and come up with their own connector design that fits the phone connector, can Apple stop them?
My comment Subject says it all. Apple used to have a cachet. Not just because of Steve Jobs, but for a certain ethic and care about the interface. Well, it was all Xerox Parc and F'n Bill Gates. They are now, behold, CORPORATE, and monopoly driven, and doomed for the gates of hell.
I don't have an iphone.
Accessory manufacturers (particularly case manufacturers) burnt all their bridges with Apple long ago. Since around when the iphone 3gs came out, nobody has gotten any advance notice of new hardware because of all the leaks.
Even now, many of the apple rumors come from case manufacturers who are attempting to bribe employees at the manufacturer for information.
Right now Apple has only even hinted that there may be an iphone 5, and if they are going to deprecate a decade of accessories with a new connector they want to do it on their own terms. There is no way Applw have confirmed or denied the dock connector except perhaps in controlled leaks to the media. Nobody making alarm clock docks is gonna know a damn thing until the rest of us do on the 12th.
Remember - they have a duty to maximise shareholder profit at all costs. So:
1. Design an incompatible, proprietary interface. and sell it with an eye-watering markup
2. Go after anyone who has the temerity to work out how to replicate the functionality of said interface and sell it to the public, and sue them into the ground.
3. ***
4. PROFIT!!!
Sleazy bastards, eh?
(And as we have seen in past weeks, stage 1 also works well with "Design and patent an oblong with rounded corners"...)
the article says - " Some developers fear that Apple will corner the market for both the adapters and cables, much as it did with MagSafe connectors for MacBook laptops, using licensing agreements and threats of lawsuits to prevent less expensive third-party solutions from coming to market.".
The summary goes on to state that apple said that
Apple has always been this way. In terms of vendor lock-in neither Microsoft nor even Sony could hold a candle to Apple, be it PPC architecture without USB ports, Firewire instead of USB, Displayport instead of DVI/HDMI etc. In every case they could have chosen the widely accepted and used standard, but they didn't in order to limit the choice for their gullible customers and charge extra for it. Newest example of this is the new iPhone connector that in terms of size and functionality resembles an MHL enabled Micro-USB plug.
In fact Apple circumvented the EU directive that tried to standardize cell phone connectors to use Micro-USB by creating a simple adapter. They stake out land that was common ground before and threaten to shoot anyone who tries to enter.
The only thing that changed over time is that now people are even more gullible than before and Apple now is the top dog.
1. Design new proprietary connector
2. Threaten to sue others making said proprietary connector
3. Manufacture connectors for cheap
4. Sell connectors at high markup
5. ??????????
6. PROFIT!!!!!!!!!!!
Just sayin'
Buy a (relatively cheap) Lumia and you can use the industry standard for wireless charging and also NFC + open data transfer standards (bluetooth to the speaker systems for instance). Buy a (relatively expensive) iPhone and you'll be stuck with even more expensive accessories, with god knows what means of communicating with them.
Excuse me while I say WTF???? People are fighting mad over an iPhone 5 that no one has admitted exists so far??? I might as well say the iPhone 6 will support Firewire 1600. Prove me wrong! Time people get a life!
I've been trying to find some good schematics for an ipod dock to analog audio in connector for those compact hifi boxes, has anyone been successful in buying or building one him- or herself? All I'd need is to feed analog audio into the system, no fancy play controls and the like. Thanks!
Ever wondered whats wrong with the world? http://www.ishmael.org/
Apple melts down. End of story.
The video isn't terrible sharp, but googling for better pictures, the new connector looks very much like micro-USB. Might it be that Apple is doing the right thing here?
Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
Is it just me or are we getting damn tired of hearing about apple and it's typical BS?
A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
My impression was that Apple had signed up to use micro-USB (for power at least)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_External_Power_Supply
I can but hope that at least them messing about again will cause people to re-examine whether they want to purchase another large chunk of kit with a proprietary connector.
I mean I didn't mind when the ipod first appeared and it was just a cable - but bolting the damn things onto items costing £100s? Everybody else seems to have caught onto the idea. I've spent many gleeful minutes when looking in long-unopened cupboards, gleefully binning the piles of proprietary PSUs and leads I've accumulated over the years. Still at least with Apple stuff you can normally recognize what it's for, my absolute hate were the generic black PSUs that didn't even indicate what you'd be unable to charge/sync if you dared bin it.
And then there's the defunct Palm Pre 3 - with inductive charging and Bluetooth, the only time you ever need to plug anything in is for a system reinstall. That, to my mind, is the way it should be. The ideal mobile device does not require any connectors at all.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
The impending connector ripoff reminds me of those bloody worthless white earbuds.
They don't last more than a few months for me. I'm on my fifth pair. And they charge me 25 fucking pounds for each replacement. And they sound terrible.
The white earbuds and cables are a nasty, shitty Apple ripoff designed purely to screw their customers. And it looks like they're about to get a lot better at it -- the iPhone has a terrible battery life, so I needed three charging cables. Guess who's going to have to spring for new cables if (and now it's a BIG 'if'), they upgrade?
Penises.
What is it about ageing white conservatives and their fixation on other people's iPads?
According to retarded right wing thinking, if you own a $600 iDevice, you're rich, and therefore if you sympathise with liberal political causes, you're a hypocrite. These same idiots think that having an income of $120k a year is "rich" too, not realizing just how rich "rich" actually is.
Probably the same morons who think that if we just didn't buy that iPad, we'd be rich too. Sad.
If there was a need to, it would be easy to re-purpose the connector. Have a switch internally that can change the connectors form USB over to the analogue outs. Then when it detects that cable is plugged in (could be as simple as a notch on the connector or the like) it switches it.
That way if you really felt the need you could maintain connections for legacy equipment that doesn't so USB, and still have it on one connector.
Of course I think it would be easier to just do what most cellphones do: Have an analogue sound I/O port. My cellphone has a 4-pole jack that can hook to to an external mic/headphones, or any other analogue connector, should you wish.
Prior to Apple going "thermonuclear", it was just some good-natured ribbing. You like shiny white plastic? Good for you.
Now, it's different. It's kill or be killed.
And yeah, protesting corporate excess while contributing to the crazy gross margins of Apple is highly ironic (though totally lost on the protesters who still think they're sticking it to "the man" by buying iStuff).
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
This alleged new connector is not shipping on any current Apple products. If such a thing exists, any vendors providing them to Apple, or preparing compatible products will have signed an NDA. In other words, anyone who KNOWS has a strong financial incentive to STFU.
This company sure knows how to be a bully.
DONT MAKE STUFF or we'll SUE YOU and take YOUR MONEY
A giant anti-trust lawsuit!
It's real; seen it myself.
N E V E R buy Apple. Between this and the UUID problem. Very Sad.
Would it be possible for the 9 pin apple connector to hold an adaptor that is flush with the phone and take a micro-usb? I thought there was some EU directive that wanted phones to all have a micro-usb connector?
Patent lawyers are on tenterhooks waiting to find out
If apple made a change it had damn well better be a magsafe connector. If it's still a craptastic plug like the current 30 pin their engineers need to be beaten with socks that have doorknobs in them until they cant stand anymore....
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
This is clearly apparent from all the videos of leaked models.
Time to counter-sue?
I think iphone 5 may be less than iphone 4s
http://fatlossidiotsreviews.blogspot.com/
I do own an iPhone, but only because I got it used & cheap from a friend and I'm outside contract. The only other iDevice I have is a 40GB hard disk iPod from 2003, the one with the firewire/1394...
The thing is that this idea of a connector that will fit in from either direction is actually very simplistic, yet has not been done from a mainstream point of view yet. I can't tell you how many times I've had a half second of frustration over "oops wrong way" when hooking up the cable. This happens with iDevices and with USB.
All the other vendors, rather than have to balls to apply this very simply concept, have focused on matching mini-USB or whatever other standards are out there... that's great and I'm happy that works for them and keeps their BOM costs low... but Apple is not so focused on BOM that they ignore an obvious improvement in usability!
I have no clue what will be available at the connector, but I'm guessing that analog audio will be there? That greatly simplifies what needs to be present in speaker docks... yes boo hoo your old dock will no longer work, but have you not learned that this is the nature of things? If it's a decent dock then there will an adapter developed for it.
Anyone whining about car chargers---seriously? I've been using a USB to iPod cable as my "charging" cable for years, as long as whatever comes with the iPhone has USB on the other side that's basically all I need... Do you hear me whining about all the 1394 to iPod cables I have? Or my Apple branded power bricks w/ 1394 connectors on them? No of course not because when they swapped from 1394 to USB people weren't being whiny bitches about it.
The people who may be fucked, and I have a degree of sympathy for, are those who have cars with built in iPod specific cables. I'd like to think that Apple has some intelligent solution planned, perhaps a short dongle that will allow you to convert between old and new connectors. They know there are a gazillion of these out there and I have a hard time believing that they are simply throwing their hands up in the air and saying "Too bad!", particularly when they may be able to get a slice of every dongle made to convert, and where NOT having a method to convert invites two things: 1) Sticking it out with older iDevice, 2) Switching brands since you have to switch around a bunch of accessories anyway...
Shhh, Apple does not want anyone to know yet that the new 9-pin connector is all part of a plan to introduce uber-cool, retro stylings. The connector will be DB-9.
Apple has also said it may use 'licensing agreements and threats of lawsuits' to prevent third-party adapters from hitting the market through at least 2012.
No, they didn't say that. Apple has not said anything (this is an unreleased product), let alone that they will use agreements and lawsuits to stop something. Is all of this stuff really true? Perhaps, but right now it's all "anonymous and unverifiable sources say the following hearsay", and attributing malice to statements Apple never made is silly.
Apple being selfish assholes who won't play nice with anyone else, even 3rd party companies who support them? Not news. It's sad to hear they won't be dropping that idiotic connector they use on their stuff and move to a standard connector like the rest of the world. That big ass connector they use seems like it's more prone to breaking compared to a standard connector like micro usb. I know I broke like 2 of them (granted not exactly the same, but they too were much longer than standard like this one is supposed to be) when I had the old black and white screen, hard drive based white ipod with the touch circle(not clickable) on the front. Last Apple thing I bought too. It broke as well not long after it's warranty was up, figures >... screen completely died.
anyways.
But I think If it wasn't already clear before with them suing everyone they could think of, that this..., this should show people how fucked up this company is. Google loves people who help with android and help create great devices (hopefully OPEN / UNLOCKED... *cough* verizon *cough*) Hell they might even help with design or finding a manufacturer for you. Not Apple. They sue even the companies that support them. so sad.
I've been saying no to Apple phones and tablets for quite some time now. Proprietary ports and all that comes with them being one of the reasons why. I'm glad we still agree that they do not want me as a customer.
Meanwhile, to anyone who whishes to enjoy their tablet with an USB port, may I suggest the recent additions to the overall tabletspace, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10" and 7" (both very nice) or the new Google Nexus 7, also very nice, very cheap, very fast and ... Tadaa! ... also with a micro USB port. I personally am still enjoying my HTC Flyer very much and can asure you that the 7" form factor is a very neat one indeed. More than one would expect before using it every day.
My 2 cents.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
I happen to like the old big and bulky apple connector as it seems to be way less prone to failure than micro-usb. I have seen people have to buy new cell phones as they've managed to destroy the charging port on their phone due to loose fitting charging cables leading to wedging the plug at an angle to get it to charge.
How many times did Apple say no? Is Apple, Shia LaBeouf?
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Gotta love articles based purely on speculation and random guesses.
I am a MFI (accessory developer). In order to get this status, you need to go through a lengthy approval process. None of the MFI partners get access to this stuff, which sucks.
Working with Apple is like getting fucked in the ass every day.
That's comparing the two hatchback versions. Fuel economy is 5 L/100km in the first case, 8 L/100km in the second.
Um wait a minute, isn't this just pure capitalism? I mean, they are designing the product to sell, and they will design it to include the ability to charge the units. As far as I see this, it's a part of their product. I'm not a big fan of Apple stuff, but this just sounds like good business logic to me.
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
You're not very perceptive... It's not about how much money is being spent on the iPad and therefore how rich the protesters must be. It's about the fact that the protesters are giving their money directly to the very companies that their ideals stand against. I guess it's safe to assume you're a consumer, not a citizen... always about the product.
say they will sue? The article says "Some developers". While Apple is notorious for being pretty closed lets not accuse them of something until they do it THEN we can have the burn a turtleneck day party.
Riight. Apple is going out of their way to screw up their ecosystem to increase their revenue by 0.25%. Or maybe they're just being secretive, like they always are.
Yet another reason why I don't buy Icrap
FINALLY !
Nothing and pay them to leave him alone.
If you can't cite the sources, then it is just pure opinion / speculation on the part of the author.
"according to sources", Steve Ballmer has taken over Steve Jobs' position at apple. With no mention of sources, its just FUD.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.