What were they thinking?

[jaybogg]

I am not opening this as an Apple Bashing thread although it wouldn't surprise me if it went that way. With the announcement of their new phone, their have been many comments on the news about the new connector, an 8 pin connector instead of the traditional 30 pin. The media are treating this snafu with kid gloves, but the glaring points they make are still there.

1. With projected sales of 50 million units, and adapters from 8 to 30 pins listed by apple at about $30, they report an additional $1.5 billion USD stands to be made in the accessories.

2. With the adapters being about 1-1 1/2 inches tall, this will make many of the Apple compatible accessories obsolete as it will leave the phone unsupported by the dock, all the support being placed on the connector itself. I am sure 3rd party mfg's will come out with a supporting adapter if Apple doesn't beat them to it(different from the adapter Apple is already selling).

3. The best for last. One report mentioned this will not be a problem for the EU, as they passed a law requiring all phones to be micro USB compatible, and their Iphones already are micro USB. This slays me. They have had the ability to conform to the norm here in the US all along and consciously choose not to. I truly hope this comes back to bite them. Their was a leading PC manufacturer in the 80's (Packard Bell) who chose to ignore industry standards, built proprietary hardware ignoring standards, and was left in the dirt by clone units when people realized the clones we just as good at half the price. Will we see this again?

I know the RAZR forum may not be the appropriate venue for this post, but I honestly didn't see a good fit anywhere else. If a moderator feels it needs moved please feel free to move it and leave a link:biggrin:

 

[Dave12308]

3. The best for last. One report mentioned this will not be a problem for the EU, as they passed a law requiring all phones to be micro USB compatible, and their Iphones already are micro USB. This slays me. They have had the ability to conform to the norm here in the US all along and consciously choose not to. I truly hope this comes back to bite them. Their was a leading PC manufacturer in the 80's (Packard Bell) who chose to ignore industry standards, built proprietary hardware ignoring standards, and was left in the dirt by clone units when people realized the clones we just as good at half the price. Will we see this again?

Wrong. European iPhones have the SAME connector as every other iPhone. The will be selling a Europe-only lightning adapter to make it compliant with the ruling.

Apple to sell Micro-USB adapter for Lightning but only in Europe | Apple - CNET News

 

[lloydstrans]

Wrong. European iPhones have the SAME connector as every other iPhone. The will be selling a Europe-only lightning adapter to make it compliant with the ruling.

Apple to sell Micro-USB adapter for Lightning but only in Europe | Apple - CNET News

The UCS (universal charging solution) dictated phones released after Jan 1 2012 had to be capable of being charged by the decided on micro USB port, the more stringent USA standard (green USB port) takes effect 1 or 2 years later.

 

[sline-dawg]

World's largest mobile operators and manufacturers
The initial group of companies who have joined the GSMA's UCS initiative include 3 Group, AT&T, KTF, LG, mobilkom austria, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone - some of the world's largest mobile operators and manufacturers who together are committed to making a universal charging solution a reality up to 2012 and beyond.


Someone didn't sign on..... hmm....

 

[Snoking]

Makes one wonder what is going to happen when some of those that rushed to purchase figure out the trap they bought into!

Same goes for non user replacable batteries. Upgrade fees rather than new every two. Forcing people to new metered data plans.

So now that we all bought into smart phones, now they are turning the screws to us!

 

[jaybogg]

I stand corrected. Just shows you can't believe everything you hear. I was watching one of the morning news shows and apparently, they omitted the adapter part when they stated it need adapters except in the EU where it would be micro usb compatible (also with an adapter I am now finding out). The link provided above does seem to make some additional points.

1. Even with the 30 to 8 pin adapter, no guarantee of compatibility with peripherals. This was not mentioned in the news report I watched.

2. The 8 pin to USB adapter is only available in Europe.

It also states the adapter will charge and sync, and more interesting to me, that the adapters will likely be popping up on e-bay for the US. All this taken together, I still stand by my comparison of Apple to Packard Bell. Another "missed the boat" moment that comes to mind was when Sony tried and failed to make Betamax the standard for VCR tapes. JVC asked Sony to reconsider and join the VHS format. Sony declined and the rest is history. Fortunately for Sony, it did not devastate the company. It is these type of decisions made during my life, that makes me ask, "What were they thinking". Seems Apple is ignoring history to me.

 

[lloydstrans]

World's largest mobile operators and manufacturers
The initial group of companies who have joined the GSMA's UCS initiative include 3 Group, AT&T, KTF, LG, mobilkom austria, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone - some of the world's largest mobile operators and manufacturers who together are committed to making a universal charging solution a reality up to 2012 and beyond.

Someone didn't sign on..... hmm....

In the GOOD OLE US OF A, apple will either abide by our edict or have to include the adaptor. USA dictates that a product must perform without additional cost to the consumer to make it perform as intended. The whole purpose of the UCS was to cut down on wasteful proprietary chargers. Icrap will have to include the adapter here "FREE" of charge. Lmao.

 

[lloydstrans]

World's largest mobile operators and manufacturers
The initial group of companies who have joined the GSMA's UCS initiative include 3 Group, AT&T, KTF, LG, mobilkom austria, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone - some of the world's largest mobile operators and manufacturers who together are committed to making a universal charging solution a reality up to 2012 and beyond.

Someone didn't sign on..... hmm....

The European resolve said the majority had to comply, apple claimed to be a minority. Poo.

 

[lloydstrans]

I am not beginning this as an The the apple organization company Hiting range although it wouldn't surprise me if it went that way. With the declaration of their new mobile cell phone, their have been many reviews on the details about the new connect, an 8 pin connect instead of the traditional 30 pin. The media are treatment this snafu with kid protection safety gloves, but the apparent aspects they make are still there.

The stats (who generated the stat?) States that apple will glean 1.5 billion just on the change of their priority plug, that doesn't take into account Europe's adaptor.

 

[jaybogg]

My son gave me an iPhone 2 or 3, don't remember which, when he upgraded to iPhone 4. Told me I could use it with all his music loaded on it as an iPod. I tried, and quite frankly, I had a hard time with the user interface so he helped me move the music over to my laptop and the "iPod" has gathered dust for the past year. At the time, I was fairly blind to the whole smartphone thing. I carried a company blackberry til 2009, then had a Palm Pre til this last Jan. My experience with his iPhone, my Palm Pre, and a friend's HTC device (don't remember which model) was all the experience I had when I walked into the VZW store this past Jan. I was objective, looked at the iPhones, the Android devices, and settled on the Razr. Why? The specs were about the same, GUI's looked about the same to me, price point for same memory was in Moto's favor, and the difference in screen size was the deal closer.

I shopped very objectively in my opinion. The only bias I might have carried into the store was the perception formed over the years that Apple products were an elitist, yuppie crowd product, with a price point that was always out of reach for those that had to watch their budgets. This perception was built entirely on their sticker prices and advertising. If this was the perception I formed over the years, then was this the reality Apple was trying to convey? Considering price point, I think probably so.

 

[1person]

The European resolve said the majority had to comply, apple claimed to be a minority. Poo.

If Apple is a minority WHY do so many consumers ~rush~ to get the new product without knowing a thing about it,? They don't even see the product before they line up in droves. Minority? I think not.

 

[Bilgediver]

Even so, they aren't just a smartphone, its an iphone. Everything else just isn't an iphone. IPhones don't have to comply because they are, well, iPhones.

Sent from My Droid RAZR MAXX with Tapatalk.

 

[Bilgediver]

(not sure why we can't modify or own posts on tapatalk)
Also apple went with the different plug add a pure cash grab, especially at thirty bucks for the adapter.

Sent from My Droid RAZR MAXX with Tapatalk.

 

[sjason73]

Who knows with time. This situation sounds like my ASUS Transformer quad core tablet that was designed with an aluminum back. However, as far as looks went this thing was awesome looking. The aluminum backing blocked signals for the GPS. After beating around the bush ASUS came out with a free plug
In dongle to correct the GPS issue. THey had to backtrack because the product didn't work as stated when purchased. What a huge mess the whole thing turned into. A major black eye for the company. I got rid of the tablet for that reason. You would think apple would look at such examples to stay ahead of the game?