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Apple Says "No" To Releasing New Dock Connector Specs

Posted by samzenpus on from the mine-all-mine dept.

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."

2 of 393 comments (clear)

  1. Will they attempt this in the EU as well? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

  2. Re:universal connector by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Give me a break. The iPhone connector is designed specifically to not be compatible with anything else on the market so apple can charge other companies that want to use it for the privilege. You can't even find the positive and negative pins on the phone, hook up alligator clips and charge it. The connector has a resistor and cap across several pins so the phone can detect if it's a real iPhone connector and it will literally reject the cable if it doesn't detect these components in the signal. There is no purpose in those components being there other than to enforce their patents.

    Every point you make can be done with USB. You can transfer streaming audio and video via usb, you can certainly use it to control the volume of an iPod. In fact, the iPods connector is larger, analog and transfers far less data than a modern USB connector could. It is, without question, an inferior connector. If the connector were so superior, why isn't anyone designing their phones to work off the same connection? No one seems bothered about breaching any of apples other patents...