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Nokia Design Guru Urges Apple To End Cable Chaos
An anonymous reader writes "Nokia's former head designer has called on Apple to work with the broader technology industry and end its policy of having proprietary connectors for its device chargers and accessories. Other experts say Apple cannot continue to go it alone with Lightning Connectors and ignore Micro USB."
Oh, and before you accuse me of being an Apple fanboy. I'm still on a non-Lightning iPhone and if it wasn't my employer who paid for my phone, I wouldn't even have a smartphone.
Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
Seriously, what's the problem? The important thing are charges that you can plug into the wall and that should be safe and powerful, with a USB outlet. And then you have cables that you plug into devices - what's the problem with having different cables? And why should a company producing _better_ cables switch to an inferior one?
Reason for Lightning: see this hideous microUSB 3.0 cable what sort of shitty design is this? I know it's backwards compatible, but the USB standard was not future-proof as one can see from the picture, so it deserves to die.
Apple uses the charge port/connection for handling all of the accessories and controlling what goes on the market for their phones while also getting a nice chunk of change in licensing fees.
If they are forced to comply with the European regulators, my bet is they will just add a micro USB-B port to the side of the device that is only connected for charging period while keeping their proprietary connector for everything it does now. I predict it will also be in an inconvenient location say the right side of the phone. And it may only be done for phones intended for orginal sale in Europe (although that is more dependant on sales volume their vs. supply chain cost/impact).
Either way they are going to do their best to comply with the letter of the law, and keep every bit of their business model and revenue streams intact.
I'd actually be willing to put money on this one,
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
How important are cables going to be when everything your phone does is wireless (including charging) ?
I'm working on a design that lets me suck power out of people's phones on the train and transfer it into mine. I'll never need to charge again!!
No sig today...
I was sure this was going to be about cable TV.
One that Apple did right was the headphone jack with the mic. If you want to see a bad selection of incompatible devices, try the multitude of cell phone wired headsets. Nokia was just as bad as the rest. My old Nokia phone had a connector that did not match anything by anybody else. Apple wired headsets, earbuds with mic, etc work fine on Motorola and other phones and some tablets. I first saw that configuration on Apple phones. It would be nice to unify on chargers. Motorola has a standard connector, but it does check for an authorised charger.. bummer. Plugging in a charger and the phone display unauthorized charger is the pits when you are low and borrow one away from home.
It will charge from a PC - if nobody is logged in on Windows7, and it will charge from Linux. Wierd. Not sure why I have to log out of Windows to charge the phone.
5-pin MHL adds video.
11-pin MHL (samsung only atm unfortunately) adds OTG capabilities.
The connector is awful though, no other usb cable type breaks as easily for me.
Now we have people complaining of cable orientation and defending and defending closed proprietary products...
It's called maturity, something the /. crowd has a lot more of since the site's inception. Sometimes good proprietary stuff is better, sometimes small things like cable orientation matter. Sure beats the "if it's not open-source / Linux / GNU it's automatically crap" attitude of yore around here.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
...has finally bought an iPhone
Very good example AC! We now start to see the audio/mic jack on laptops too. I can buy any headset and pretty much use it on any device. For my older laptop, I got a 2€ convertor so I can use a "modern" headset on it.
Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
Unlike the Dock which contained a whole load of dedicated video and audio connectors, the Lightning connector's just an 8-pin connector that gets its video and docking capability from sending a digital stream that's interpreted further down the line. There's no a lot that Lightning can do that microUSB can't do by a similar system such as MHL.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Only Apple fanbois want a connector that can double as a butt-plug
A charging cable combined with a butt-plug! That's shocking!
Cable orientation wasn't a problem before the connectors got tiny and I have to stare at it very closely to spot the shape. As we get older, some of us lose visual acuity. I don't want to have to call my wife to plug in my phone.
It does meet the goals of the standard: the adaptor means that the iPhone 5 and later can accept any microUSB charger, and the Lightning charger can charge any microUSB phone. Functionally it's equivalent (once you buy two of them...) to just having a microUSB port on there.
Aesthetically...
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
If Apple's issue really was that micro USB was too fragile, well they could have introduced a new, standard, connector to fix that. Design a "mobile USB" standard, that is durable, orients either way, integrates pins for HDMI, etc. Get it all nice n' designed and tested, then hand the design over to the USB Group, royalty free (like all USB standards). Particularly if it was going to be part of new Apple phones I don't imagine that there'd be a lot of resistance to adoption.
The EU's mandate doesn't come from a love of micro-USB, but rather the need for a standard, whatever that is. Micro-USB is the best we've got and the most prevalent, so that is what they are going for. If there was a better one out there, particularly if you could show how increased durability could lead to longer life and less waste, I think it'd have a good chance of being the standard.
However Apple has no interest in that at all. Their new connector wasn't made because micro-USB is so bad, it was made because Apple desires to be the only place you buy Apple accessories.
Cable orientation wasn't a problem before the connectors got tiny and I have to stare at it very closely to spot the shape.
It was already a problem with the original USB connectors, and they are nowadays considered huge. How many human hours have been wasted in plugging in USB connectors the wrong way round? Per person it may not be much, but it does add up.
If Nokia wants to fix this, they should get together an industry group to design and agree to use such a connector
XKCD tells you about what happens when you promote a new standard to supersede previous ones.
Esli epei etot cumprenan, shris soa Sfaha.
Nokia's "own connectors" were just ordinary - fully standards-compliant - barrel plugs.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
"Other experts say Apple cannot continue to go it alone"
Cannot. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
you know what's funny? apple sells a microusb->lighting adapter. why? so they technically fill their promise to support microusb. what promise? the promise for why nokia, samsung etc all switched to microusb(they all agreed to it back in the day.. prior to iphone launch, too).
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Let's mandate an inferior standard and kill a superior standard so everyone can be the same on paper.
If you bothered to ask iPhone owners, you would find three things:
1. They enjoyed the same 30-pin connector for nearly a decade (a decade!) while other handset makers changed their connector and chargers for every new handset. They will likely enjoy the clearly superior Lightning connector for another decade.
2. They have no beef with their connector, or the cable - it works really well.
3. They don't care what Android is using or dream of having a compatible connector because they don't have an Android handset.
It's uniformity for the sake of a pencil pusher's concept of uniformity - not for consumers.
Apple shareholders need their profits! 100% markup on their consumer electronics just isn't enough!
If you gave me a choice between a printer and a giraffe with explosive diarrhoea, i'll get my ladder and my raincoat
i think Nokia cannot compete....unless it shifts to andriod...
Nokia. Nokia. Where have I been reading about Nokia lately? Oh yeah, that was the world-dominating handset company whose senior team decided in 2007 that the Apple iPhone was not a serious threat to their existing business. And a few years later killed their potentially iPhone-competitive product line. Good source of techno-business insight without a doubt.
sPh
Say there are 1 million users who just bought latest iPhone and want to have spare chargers. That is extra income of $ 10 Million! In case they used micro-USB, this would have been $ 0.
I think laptops will be next. Not only MagSafe -> MagSafe 2, but all laptops have too many different connectors.
Reason for Lightning: see this hideous microUSB 3.0 cable what sort of shitty design is this? I know it's backwards compatible, but the USB standard was not future-proof as one can see from the picture, so it deserves to die.
As you can see from the cable, the backwards compatibility will only work in one direction. Clearly, because of the larger connector, USB 3.0 cables (regular, mini or micro) are not compatible with non-USB 3.0 devices. Newer devices will still work with the older micro-USB cables that don't have the wider connector, but that's as far as "backwards compatibility" goes. The new USB 3.0 connectors are essentially completely different connectors, and ridiculously larger.
Seems to me the EU is being very premature in standardizing on a version of micro-USB that is already obsolete. Surely industry can work together and create a new standard that has all the awesomeness of the Lightning connector and the openness of USB, combined with some well thought out features to make the standard future-resistant for at least a couple of decades.
When the initial rumors of Apple's new connector started appearing I was at one point convinced that Apple was going to do something truly awesome and introduce a contact-only magnetic connector like the MagSafe connector they've been using on laptops for several years. Not only would such a connector completely negate the possibility of damaging your device internally by twisting or yanking on the cable, but it would also make it easy to keep both sides of the connector clean and functioning in dirty environments. It would also be possible to make the device-side connector waterproof so that devices could be charged while they are otherwise sealed and protected in waterproof cases.
Sadly I was mistaken and they introduced yet another insertable connector that just provides an ingress point for moisture and debris and a way to possibly easily damage a device costing hundreds of dollars. And with the incredible hue and cry there has been when they left the 30-pin connector behind you know they'll have to do everything in their power to stick with Lightning as a standard for at least a decade, as they did with the 30-pin. They have no choice but to fight tooth and nail against being forced to switch to some other connector so soon after introducing Lightning.
Bottom line is I love my iPhone's Lightning connection, like most actual users seem to, but neither the Lightning connector nor any current USB connector qualifies to be a standardized, future-resistant, worldwide personal-device connector in my mind. There has to be a better standard that we can come up with.
Because nobody will every try to make another new kind of USB connector.
There's a difference between "the existing standard connector doesn't have the features we need, so we will colleborate with the rest of the industry and design a new connector for everyone to use" and "the existing standard connector is unsuitable*, so we will develop our own connector and patent the hell out of it so no one can ever be compatible".
(* Why Apple thought the micro USB connector is unsuitable is debatable... many suspect it was considered unsuitable *because* they couldn't patent the hell out of it).
http://blog.nexusuk.org
Where's the chaos?
How can *one* choice be regarded as "chaos"? Doesn't that simplify things for the hipsters?
No sig today...
Usually those extra accessories will try to take advantage of a unique feature in the phone, so even if the cable fits it doesn't mean the software will work with it.
USB is a standard. The USB on my kyocera will work on your HTC. That's what STANDARD means. "Sticking it to the Americans" is just stupid. Remember, Google's Nexus uses the same STANDARD mini-USB as everyone else's phones... except Apple, who seem to be taking a page from Microsoft's playbook.
Introducing the iLamp (requires iBulbs). See the problem?
Free Martian Whores!
Most of these phones become obsolete before the need a new cable. Usually those extra accessories will try to take advantage of a unique feature in the phone, so even if the cable fits it doesn't mean the software will work with it.
Bullshit, every single usb charger I've ever owned has worked with every single non-Apple usb device without any issues. The whole point of this standard is so that every phone does work, hassle free, with every charger (in fact the only devices I've seen complain about usb charging are Apple devices, go figure).
Also just because almost all phones come with a charger doesn't mean you won't need to either replace it or buy a 2nd charger, and if you had a previous phone you already have a perfectly good 2nd charger with no need to buy another one because your new phone is incompatible.
You know what? I count being able to borrow anyone at work's usb charging cable and have it work on my usb phone as a good thing.
The EU Law on this is just one of their Lets just find a way to stick it to the Americans law, because they had a fit that Apple took over Nokia lead.
Or maybe the EU cares about doing what's good for consumers and not just what's good for the company that pays them the most money.
If Apple "needs" a proprietary connector then they can put both a micro-usb connector and their expensive proprietary DRMd cable.
I have to agree, in fact I won't buy a device that uses non standard connectors anymore, I found out what a PITA that is when I was on a trip with my ex and her phone couldn't take my adapter so i ended up spending the better part of a Sunday trying to find the funky adapter her phone used. Now I don't even think about it, I keep a standard mini-USB hanging off the PC at the shop and the one at the apt and it fits mine, fits my fiance's, fits the boys phones, it all "just works".
As for Apple? sigh....its fucking apple, I think if their shit actually worked with anything else their fans wouldn't be happy, Apple crap has ALWAYS only worked with Apple crap and that is just the way it is. Apple is gonna be killed by the "good enough" in the tablet and phone markets anyway, they'll have a high end niche like they have in towers but that will be it, as the competition starts cranking out really nice multicore Android tablets for less than $100 and phones for less than $150 the writing is on the wall so let them keep their funky connectors, just makes 'em more 'exclusive" as far as iFanboys are concerned.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Introducing the iLamp (requires iBulbs). See the problem?
no, i don't see the problem. so fucking what, i want to buy an ilamp that requires special bulbs. isn't that my choice? please help me understand!
in america we believe in something called private enterprise. where people can make products and sell them.
Rubbish, the US has plenty of standards. Would you like to see every home and apartment have its own proprietary mains power sockets? Every car manufacturer have its own type of filling nozzle? Every wi-fi router require a proprietary wi-fi adapter? Every TV and DVD player have its own proprietary video connector? No, I didn't think so. Why should phones be any different?
Remember that this was the free market's answer to phone charging, the EU decided that it was in citizens interests that a standard be set up so we don't have to deal with endless proprietary cables any more.
When I plug my iPhone in for charging, all I have to do is find the hole. With my USB mini-charged devices, I have to check the plug first, and then remember what that particular device considers up. I'd love to have Apple license the lightning connector, but there's no way I want them to switch to the brain-damaged (and certain to change) mini-USB standard. Or take any advice from Nokia.
This is where reality differs from theory. In theory, all micro-USB devices would be able to swap chargers but I know of one person (anecdote, but true nonetheless) who upgraded his phone, used the charger from his old phone, and fried his new phone due to differences in voltage and power.
You think you are making the argument against following the standard, but actually you are making the argument *for* the standard. Either the first phone's manufacturer failed to follow the standard's specification for voltage output in his power adapter, or the second phone's manufacturer failed to comply with the standard's specification of required range of input voltage.
Also, if compatibility is mandated then how will new features be developed without potentially damaging legacy devices?
Well, if you *don't* follow the standard, then you ought to use a proprietary connector.
There's two issues to consider: the justification for the existence of a proprietary connector, and the justification for *using* that connector on a particular device. Apple's lightning connector provides *two* twisted pairs, power, is very compact. The question is whether phone and tablet users require the particular set of capabilities it provides. You can of course concoct scenarios where you might want to use those capabilities, but that's not the same as creating the best possible experience for users.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
That's not how Amps and Volts work.
You could plug a 10amp charger in and it wouldn't do anything bad.
However if it was 6V instead of 5V you would (well, may) fry it.
You can't push Amps, the device will only ever pull what it needs.
However you can indeed push Volts and fry the thing.
But the voltage is part of the USB standard. 5V. +- approx 0.25V.
So any USB charger works with any USB device.
This does, however, not mean that you can't get *bad* USB chargers.
But that would have fried the old phone as well.
This really is just vendor lock in of the worst kind. :)
Thankfully, however, vendor lock IN is also vendor lock OUT.
Apple, you can keep your proprietary connectors.
While I agree that the point of USB was to remove hassle, I think they failed monumentally at it. I have a ton of USB cables around here and you know why? Because they offered a variety of USB port sizes, for what purpose I'm not sure. Type A, Type B, mini-A, mini-B, micro-A, micro-B and now the USB-3.0 plugs. Compound that with female and male (yes, I have some NAS drives that have male ports for some unknown reason. So now, just to support USB, I have to keep 3-6 cables lying around. So is USB really the ideal solution to all of device connectivity woes?
The point is that Apple provides a cable that is different than the other cable that all other vendors use. It's not like Apple has a cable, Samsung has a cable, HTC has a cable, etc...Apple has a cable and EVERYONE ELSE has a cable that Apple could have used for your convenience, but they don't. Because.
Is that not inconvenient for you? I know that wherever I take my phone there is likely a micro usb cable I can use to charge it without needing to carry a specific cable with me everywhere I go. What if your cable gets damaged? There are a variety of reasons that make a proprietary cable extremely inconvenient...this was one of the primary reasons I switched away from the iPhone.
The relevant part is that the proprietary connector type is the real issue. I can pick up a micro USB cable anywhere and charge my phone and there 90% of all other cell phone manufacturers utilize micro USB as a standard for charging and data connectivity so almost everyone I know and you know has a micro USB cable to charge my phone with. Unless you buy 10 extra iPhone charging cables and leave them at all your friends' houses and everywhere you frequent, or you carry a primary and a backup charging cable with you in your pocket wherever you go, you simply don't have the same convenience as anyone else and that's extremely shortsighted on Apple's part in my opinion.
The only reason they are still sticking with the proprietary connector market is because of all of the accessories developed for the iPhone platform over the years. I think their timing is bad on the switch for connectors with the iPhone 5, however, because more and more often accessories are coming with Bluetooth and are platform agnostic. In other words, the huge advantage they had with all of their previous phones just working on any old or new accessory just went away and they are now in a market that is making accessories that use a single standard (bluetooth) and are compatible with all devices supporting that standard...if Apple had recognized this growing trend, they may have made a more prudent decision to use micro USB and ditch their new connector in favor of investing that time elsewhere.
If Apple licensed their superior technology to other vendors, sure...I totally agree. To take it a step further, if Apple had engineered their lightning connector to contain the standard micro USB pin-out for charging ONLY and another segment to augment the capabilities and provide the features you're talking about when using a 'lightning' connector, they would still have the new featureset but would have also provided the ability to utilize any cable, anywhere to charge your device. The only thing missing would be the 'positional' connector type but in my opinion that is a useless feature...if it doesn't plug in, turn it over.
Why don't we all have multiple types of power outlets, and different types of gas fittings, and various different road paint colours, and maybe some differently laid out keyboards while you're at it?
Well, we do, on a global scale, but on a local scale we've realized what a complete disaster it is not to standardize things that everyone uses every day. Standards are good for everyone.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)