iPhone 5 Scorns Standards Promise To European Commission 543
WebMink writes "Back in 2009, Apple signed an agreement aimed at reducing electronic waste resulting from mobile phone accessories. But this week's launch of the iPhone 5 shows them reneging on that commitment. Instead of including a micro-USB connector on the iPhone, as they agreed to do along with the rest of the phone industry, they created yet another proprietary connector. At a stroke, they have junked earlier iPhone accessories, forced a new industry in Apple-only accessories to arise and broken their promise to the EC. It's a huge missed opportunity both for their customers and for the environment."
Is USB really better? (Score:2)
I was under the impression that Apple's dock connectors were designed such that they could be plugged into various accessories (speaker docks, etc.) without the need for a lot of processing power to play music and such.
Wouldn't using USB make this a major challenge for the companies building the accessories? After all, USB requires some heavy lifting on the host side.
Re:Is USB really better? (Score:5, Informative)
Hardly. Any "smart phone" has plenty of CPU power to be a USB host, and various Android devices have been promoting that feature for several months.
Re:Is USB really better? (Score:5, Informative)
Or they could be the Samsung Galaxy II and III and support MHL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_High-Definition_Link [wikipedia.org]
MHL supports power to the device, CEC standard remote control for media playback control, 1080p uncompressed video, and 8 channels of uncompressed audio.
The only issue with MHL is that Apple doesn't paid any royalties for every device that uses the connector. The Roku Stick which is a full Roku that is the size of a large thumb drive is pretty neat as well.
Re:Is USB really better? (Score:5, Interesting)
MHL doesn't, however, allow the device to power the adapter needed to actually connect it to anything (like a TV). And since MHL doesn't define any connector standard, the convention of violating the USB spec by hijacking micro USB ports isn't even consistent.
Want to connect your Samsung Galaxy S III to an HDMI television? No problem, you'll just need an 11-pin to 5-pin MHL adapter, a 5-pin MHL to HDMI adapter, some sort of external USB power source (MHL doesn't guarantee power, so not all devices can power an adapter properly), and a USB-to-micro-USB adapter to get the power to the MHL adapter... Oh yeah, and an HDMI cable.
If I want to connect an iDevice to a television, I need one adapter, and one HDMI cable. Two components. If I want to connect an MHL device to a television, I potentially need up to six components.
Why would I ever want to do this? MHL is a terrible idea on so many levels, and even when it works perfectly (with the minimum possible number of components), you've still managed to violate the USB spec.
juxtaposition (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Do you have any ideas for interesting application that the CPU cycles can be used for while it is sitting in said dock?
Re:With great power... (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3)
Re:Is USB really better? (Score:4, Informative)
Wouldn't using USB make this a major challenge for the companies building the accessories?
There are no shortage of accessories for Android phones, so I guess the answer to your question is and emphatic NO.
There are a small handful of USB compatible sockets that allow charging with a standard USB charger, even though a slightly different cable can do additional things, such as direct HDMI tv connections, allow you to mount disk drives and thumb drives to the phone, etc.
The idea is that if you forgot your charger cable, you could still charge your phone without buying a high priced proprietary charger. Any cheap USB charger cable would do.
The fact that you couldn't dock with your bedside speakers was never the issue. Most people don't travel with those.
Re:Is USB really better? (Score:4, Insightful)
The idea is that if you forgot your charger cable, you could still charge your phone without buying a high priced proprietary charger.
No, the idea is to get rid of the proprietary charger. The wall wart. Apple have always charged off USB, and Apple USB chargers can be used to charge any device with a USB cable.
Re: (Score:3)
The idea is that if you forgot your charger cable, you could still charge your phone without buying a high priced proprietary charger.
No, the idea is to get rid of the proprietary charger. The wall wart. Apple have always charged off USB, and Apple USB chargers can be used to charge any device with a USB cable.
My iPad2 does not charge if I plug the Apple connector cable into my standard USB charger. Has that changed?
Re: (Score:3)
Yup.
See your Ford dealer. Or Chevy, or Chrysler, or Mercedes or Volkswagen. Its not that hard.
Now take your cables and go away, I'm busy watching a movie from the Android phone in my pocket on the 50inch TV on the wall.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Plus the EC is fine if they simply include an adapter from USB, IIRC.
How do creating adapters fit with the goal of producing less waste?
Re: (Score:3)
Plus the EC is fine if they simply include an adapter from USB, IIRC.
Well, no, the EC is not fine with that. That was Apple's response last time, some silly little converter dongle that was MORE likely to be lost or forgotten while traveling than the cable itself. But because Apple was already committed on the iPhone 4 design at that point they got a pass.
Fast forward 2 years, and Apple just abrogates the entire agreement because their engineers are too dumb to figure out what every other phone manufacturer has already figured out.
Re: (Score:3)
Fast forward 2 years, and Apple just abrogates the entire agreement because their engineers are too dumb to figure out what every other phone manufacturer has already figured out.
It almost certainly isn't because their engineers are inept, it is almost certainly because Apple executives want to enrich the dock accessory royalty revenue and keep an iron grip on customers. The moment Apple makes it easy to acheive functionality through standards (e.g. USB standard devices), a revenue stream dries up and lockin is reduced.
Re: (Score:3)
On the other hand, the only thing I use with my Android phone that was in the box is the phone itself, I haven't had to keep track of any cables or adapters.
For the removable battery, it isn't as much about the ability to swap batteries for more charge, it's about being able to cheaply replace the battery when it no longer reliably holds a charge (batteries have improved a lot, but it is still generally the first component to fail in an otherwise serviceable mobile device).
Re:Is USB really better? (Score:5, Informative)
Android devices not only support USB Host (and support it well), the same micro-USB connector is also used for HD video and audio via MHL. Samsung shows that you can make a micro-USB connector that allows simultaneous micro-USB, charging, and MHL connections.
Re: (Score:3)
Android devices not only support USB Host (and support it well), the same micro-USB connector is also used for HD video and audio via MHL. Samsung shows that you can make a micro-USB connector that allows simultaneous micro-USB, charging, and MHL connections.
Yes, but that is not a standard MicroUSB port on the Samsung. Go count pins.
Its compatible with any Mirco USB charger for charging purposes. But its not strictly a MicroUSB port. Its got something like 11 pins or something.
That solution works for the EU's purpose.
Too many people buying unnecessary chargers and cables at ridiculous prices while traveling, only to throw them all away again when they change phones.
Re:Is USB really better? (Score:5, Insightful)
Who cares if it's not really microUSB (besides the USB forum)? It works with anything designed for microUSB, and adds a couple of useful features. Sounds like win/win to me.
Re: (Score:3)
That' semi-correct, but in practice it's of limited utility. You can have a micro-USB connector, which can work as either USB or MHL, not both at the same time, as you claim. When it's running as MHL, what would normally be the USB data lines are in active use for MHL, so it's impossible to sense that a USB charger (which basically shorts the data lines together to indicate its presence) is connected, an
Re:Is USB really better? (Score:5, Insightful)
USB is better because I have a bunch of USB cables right here. When my son loses his apple charging cable I have to go out and buy a new apple licensed cable.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't see how an adapter helps. If you can lose your apple charging cable, then you can lose the adapter as well.
RTFA (Score:5, Informative)
From TFA:
"Which is the agreed common interface?
On the basis of the Micro-USB interface, the companies have agreed to develop a common specification in order to allow for full compatibility of chargers and mobile phones. These specifications have been translated in European standards.
N.B.: The agreement allows for the use of an adaptor."
Apple supplies adaptors, therefore they're not "scorning" the agreement.
Re:RTFA (Score:5, Informative)
Apple supplies adaptors, therefore they're not "scorning" the agreement.
Exactly correct. This agreement has already been in place for years, as the summary was quick to point out, but they failed to note the fact that Apple has been complying all along by including adapters. You can expect the same to be true for the iPhone 5 as well.
And even if they had they changed to micro-USB, they would have exactly the same problems as the ones being cited in the summary, so this strikes me as a bit of a double standard. Since the data handling via USB on smartphones is not standardized, meaning that there is not necessarily any interoperability between devices with a particular accessory, you'd still have an industry dedicated to making Apple-specific accessories, simply due to the volume of devices that they could work with. Similarly, you would have rendered all of the previous accessories obsolete by moving to a new standard, and you'd have also been forced to introduce a new adapter. Also worth noting is that micro-USB is incapable of charging an iPad [brockerhoff.net] according to that article, which this new dock connector will surely be used for.
The only argument left from the summary is that they've broken their promise to abide by the standard, and as you aptly pointed out, that is untrue.
Considering how often this stuff has come up on Slashdot (particularly with the fact that it was a major point of discussion when the new dock connector leaked a few weeks back), I'm surprised it's not common knowledge on Slashdot how Apple has handled that agreement, even for our non-European friends.
Re: (Score:3)
You're missing a small but very important detail: Apple does not include the necessary adapter, which was part of the agreement.
The claim that microUSB can't safely supply 2A seems a bit farfetched, but the iPad is irrelevant here because it's not a phone and it hasn't been updated yet.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
No, you're missing a small but important detail. In regions where the agreement applies, Apple ships the phone with the required adaptor.
Wrong, ships with adaptor in EU (Score:5, Informative)
I have to make a correction here. Apple doesn't SUPPLY the adapter, but it does make one available for you to BUY
In the EU they DO ship with a Lightning->MicroUSB port.
You are probably thinking about the U.S., where it does NOT ship with a Lightning->iPod 30-pin adaptor. But it does ship with a Lightning->USB cable to connect to any standard USB port... if you can connect to a standard USB port already does it matter so much if there's an adaptor? It's mostly for accessories.
Re:RTFA (Score:4, Insightful)
No, that is not what they want. That is what _you_ want them to want.
If that is what they had wanted, they would have said so. How hard would it have been to say, "everyone phone should include a micro-usb port that you can use for charging and syncing"?
Re: (Score:3)
In fact, I'm right now using a Garmin USB charger for my iPhone 4. The Garmin charger came with a ForeRunner 405, which also doesn't have a micro-usb port. Yet I can use the same chargers for either device - and this is what the EC agreement is about. Cable reduction is a plus, but they're not idiots, so understand a USB port isn't always going to be a suitable device interface. My Garmin 405 for instance is water resistant, something that would be greatly complicated by providing a USB port on the devi
Fanbois be quiet... (Score:2)
Apple: The bottom line and 'image' are most important. To that end we only play at giving an actual two shits about you, our workers, and the environment.
Re: (Score:3)
Apple has been complying since that ruling was made, they give European buyers a little adapter.
The new Lightning connector (not a fan of that name, btw) has some benefits over micro-usb. Reports say that it plugs into the phone pretty securely. When I use micro-USB on my Kindle, I can tell you it doesn't feel like the most secure thing. More importantly from an ease of use perspective, the new connector doesn't have to be plugged in a specific way, there is no "up".
I'm curious to see what the pinout ends
Re: (Score:3)
If you do, it's not micro-USB anymore. And if you wanted to call it "USB" then you have to get the standard committee to approve it. At that point you'd just have a non-proprietary Apple connector, but it still wouldn't be compatible with any other phones or cables without an adapter. Plus we already have USB A, B, micro-A, micro-B, micro-AB, 5 pin mini-B, 4 pin mini-B, USB 3 A, USB 3 B, and USB 3 micro-B.
They all have problems. USB A would be good, expect it's a perfect rectangle that can't be inserted in
Re: (Score:3)
https://developer.apple.com/softwarelicensing/agreements/pdf/MiniDisplayPortImpLicense.pdf [apple.com]
Thinness (Score:5, Insightful)
Meanwhile, the rest of the industry seems to be moving away from wires and toward wireless. Wireless payments, wireless charging, wireless audio, etc. with NFC and other related technologies. Apple is for some strange reason the last to adopt these innovations, and it will be a whole year before they come up with an answer. In the mean time, they're piling on connectors and dongles galore. It's very strange.
Apple moving heavily into wireless (Score:3)
Wireless payments, wireless charging, wireless audio, etc. with NFC and other related technologies.
Apple has adopted Bluetooth LE (as have other companies) which allow all those things to occur. NFC is not required for any of those things.
Furthermore Apple instead of providing NFC, has a much more practical means (for the U.S.) of electronic payment in Passbook. There's almost no NFC support in the U.S..
Apple of course also heavily promotes AirPlay, which is quite wireless...
In the mean time, they're pili
My pet peeve... (Score:5, Informative)
The proprietary connector, whether it's the old one or the new one, is the reason I don't buy Apple gadgets (although I do buy and love Apple's laptops). The recent development that all devices use microusb for charging is the best thing ever. I can charge my Kindle, cellphone, cordless mouse, and bluetooth hands-free, all with the same, omnipresent standard cable.
A couple of years ago, I worked in a small desert town in Iran. I had forgotten to bring the Apple cord for my iPod Touch. I had any number of "normal" usb cords available, including micro and mini, but there was no place where I could get hold of an Apple cord. My iPod was useless. I can't believe they still haven't wised up to the idea of a standard connector.
Certainly a pet peeve of mine. If it wasn't for the stupid connector, my awesome Macbook Pro would be connected to an iPhone right now, instead of to a Galaxy S3.
Re:My pet peeve... (Score:4, Insightful)
My Galaxy Tab's cable looks similar to Apple's pre-Lightning cable.
So are we ready to sharpen our pitchforks and light our torches at Samsung?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Your Samsung Galaxy S3 also doesn't have a standard connector. It has a wonderful proprietary 11-pin connector that they can't legally call micro USB.
lock in & license fees. (Score:5, Insightful)
If you invest in accessories for the new connector, you'll be less inclined to buy a non-Apple phone.
Perhaps their connector has additional pins for HDMI, but they could have placed a real HDMI connector beside the USB connector for easy docking. Alternately, they could sell a dongle to pipe HDMI video out from USB2 as other manufacturers already do.
But then they couldn't lock their customers in and charge exorbitant licensing fees for their connector.
Re: (Score:3)
Hyperbolie much? (Score:2, Insightful)
Geez, nice hyperbolic story.
First, Apple is keeping to the requirement by offering a micro-USB cable.
Second, the reason they didn't use micro-USB is because it doesn't have the requisite number of pins. As we saw with Thunderbolt, the USB folks will *not* allow you to add non-standard pins to their connector.
This connector must support at least 2 amps of charging for the iPad (in the future presumably). That puts micro-USB right out of the picture.
It must also support digitally sending all the data necessar
Jimmy Kimmel's take on the "new" iPhone 5 (Score:5, Funny)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIWKytq_q4 [youtube.com]
Enjoy watching Apple fans "fall in love" with the "new" iPhone 5 !
(Spoiler: they're all playing with an iPhone 4s, thinking it's the new iPhone 5)
Re:Jimmy Kimmel's take on the "new" iPhone 5 (Score:4, Insightful)
So most people is the street don't currently have even an iPhone 4S, but when they're given the chance to play with it they realise t's better in some ways that the phone they do have.
The very last guy on the tape says he does currently have an iPhone 4S. But hey, you video people all day long and you're bound to find saying something that isn't true. Either because they are trying to impress, or because they just don't actually know the right answer.
You want me to show you a YouTube video showing that Americans don't know where Australia is?
Misleading story, Apple complies by making adaptor (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3)
Lightning to Lightning may well be faster. Which may prove useful in the future as Lightning peripherals come along.
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
No, they shouldn't, but people should just stop buying anything made by Apple.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Insightful)
Why?
I have iPhone and android and the proprietary connector means I can hook my phone into my car's USB port and stream music apps and play my playlists. Not just music off the storage in no order
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:5, Informative)
I have Android and can do the same thing without the proprietary connector.
Wait, I don't need a connector at all. Bluetooth.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:5, Insightful)
I can over DLNA.
NO wires needed. Get with the program grandpa. Wires are so OVER.
Re: (Score:3)
True. But you need a $99 adapter [apple.com] to do that.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:5, Insightful)
What? Are you seriously confused? I can only hope this I've misunderstood your sarcasm. There are so many problems with your comment I'm not sure where to start. If the car has a USB port, it's not proprietary. Being able to stream music and control playlists has zero to do with the connector. Just imagine if iPhone had used USB from the start, then everyone would be able to use any phone in "device enabled" car. Thanks for fucking over everyone that doesn't buy your products Apple. The proprietary connector is only there to lock you into Apple products. Apple's new proprietary connector is only there to continue to lock you into new products and to force 3rd party device creators to have to licence the new connector and create a whole new wave of for-iPhone-only devices. Every time you see any proprietary connector, think of it as someone poking you in the eye with a dick. That's really what it is. They are fucking you. In the eye. With a dick.
So yeah, fuck Apple.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You seem to be uneducated.
iPhone 5 us usb 3.0 usb 3.0 DOES NOT HAVE A STANDARD MINI CONNECTOR.
Or would you rather they made it a slow turd like all the phones with usb 2.0 I certianly dont want a super slow usb 2.0 to copy my 64 gig of video and audio files over. or to extract the video recorded at 1080p.
The next google Nexus phone will not have a mini usb connector on it, will you go all frothing at the mouth at google?
Re: (Score:3)
The proprietary connector is only there to lock you into Apple products.
You only have to look at the pinout documentation of the (just retired) 30 pin connector to know that isn't true. The original 30 pin connector had communications lines for both USB and Firewire, permitting an iPod to connect to either port type using a single connector on the device side. Some of the pins were later used for composite video out (pin 8), and S-video chroma/luma (pins 9 and 10). Pins 11, 12, and 13 are used for standard RS-232 serial communications. Pins 2 - 6 were used for analogue audi
Re: (Score:3)
Can you plug a USB connector in in any orientation? That's a pretty big aspect of the user experience (the less technically oriented you are, the more annoying that's going to be), and the easiest solution to that is to just design a connector and standard that supports being plugged in either way. Micro USB doesn't do that, for whatever reason. Another aspect is performance. The standard micro connector only works for USB 2.0, after that you need a bizarrely massive connector for micro USB 3.0.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:5, Funny)
Can you plug a USB connector in in any orientation?
Yes. Some of the orientations aren't recommended though.
Re: (Score:3)
Audio and Video are well supported by USB class protocols. Audio since 1998 and Video since 2004. Requiring drivers has nothing to do with lack of standards, but a lag in native support by certain
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
Really? So how does my car offer a folder-based tree of my music then if it's just forwarding button presses?
Re: (Score:3)
You could look into getting a better stereo. The $100 Sony one I got for my 2003 car has no problems sorting mp3s off a stick using folders, and loads my iPod's playlists and genres with no problem. Little to do with a data cable.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:5, Insightful)
So... unless you have some magical idea that will remove all of this, it will harm the environment.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:5, Insightful)
The great part about standards, there are thousands to choose from.
Samsung can get HDMI video out that usb port, yet LG doesnt, they put that craptastic second connector on there. Then Motorola does something completely different. Show me ANYONE that follows a standard.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes they are. The pins are programmable on both ends. You can write low level interfaces which are smart on both sides. The old adapter couldn't do that.
Re: (Score:3)
No they don't - they hide the shit out the documentation and only provide it to companies that sign the "Made for iPod" agreement, who promise to treat is as the Holiest of Holies in a locked cabinet in a disused lavatory in the basement with a sign saying "Beware of the Leopard". Oh, and it's only available to companies - individuals with a cool idea can fuck off. Oh, and the company has to be large enough to afford legal counsel, since Apple requires the lawyers for the company sign it.
Re: (Score:3)
I think you are thinking of their manufacturing license. Their hardware development license is no bid deal. http://mfi.apple.com/faqs.html [apple.com] They require individuals to manufacturer via. a big company but no such requirement for development.
As for lawyers executing an NDA that can required by states. For example in NJ there are fairly strong protections regarding agreements signed by an individual without council. I agree with you that means they want an enforceable NDA.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Insightful)
And really...? Having a new adapter is going to somehow harm the enviornment?!?!
[rolls eyes]...Really......?
Really.
The idea is not to have a drawerful of one-off adapters and connectors, which is where we were before the mini- and micro-usb connectors became common currency. You save the environment by not having to manufacture and supply new cables with each new device, you save it again by only needing as many adapters and cables as you actively use, and finally, you save it by being able to retain and re-use these cables and adapters long after the original device has been retired/broken.
Small steps, agreed, but every little bit helps. And even if they didn't, I'd be for it just because I've got enough cables and adapters stuffed in my equipment drawers as it is.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Insightful)
So yeah, Fuck Apple.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:5, Informative)
Micro USB doesn't meet all of Apple's requirements. They've been pretty mum about what and how they're using the new connector, but micro USB is certainly not orientation independent, and the traditional connector you find on smartphones is limited to low speed (USB 3.0 uses a different and much larger micro connector). It's hard to figure out if Apple's decision to go their own way for a dock adapter is justified, but I'd point out that the last time they came up with a new and proprietary connector... the entire industry adopted it. I'm referring to mini displayport, which Apple developed as a proprietary variant on DisplayPort, but made it royalty free and got it into the DisplayPort standard itself.
Connectors are not automatically evil just because they're developed by Apple, and designed-by-committee standards are not always the best solution to a company's individual problems. If DisplayPort had been the end-all be-all connector, then we wouldn't have seen miniDP largely supplant it.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Insightful)
The fact is, though that Apple AGREED to include a micro-usb connector on the iPhone, at least for charging and now they have reneged on that agreement.
If they ACTUALLY needed more, they could have placed the additional connection next to the micro USB and kept their word.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:5, Informative)
They agreed to no such thing (The EU's voluntary agreement gives other options, which Apple took). They've done enough unscrupulous things that you don't need to make stuff up.
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Insightful)
To be fair we're not really sure what speeds it provides; all we know is the only cable they're shipping now is a lightning to USB 2.0 cable. It looks like there's enough pins for USB 3.0 if the equivalent of the shield is conductive (it's not clear to me that GND and GND_DRAIN really have to be connected to separate pins anyhow), and it's entirely possible they plan to use active cables to get higher speed outputs in the future anyhow (who knows what the native signaling format is).
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Insightful)
No, but microUSB being a terrible and dead-end obsolete connector is a better excuse. Locking yourself down to USB 2.0 speeds for years to come would be idiotic.
Re: (Score:3)
Current conjecture is that Apple will be able to migrate Lightning to USB without needing any physical changes so the future USB 3 iphone will not have to change connectors. USB 3 will not work over micro USB and there is a different, incompatible connector for this. Sooo...so when USB 3 phones from people other than Apple come out they will either need to leave micro-USB on for charger compatibility (highly unlikely), or they will need to use an adapter just like Apple does. I eagerly await the hyperventil
Re: (Score:3)
Oh, god, not another Android circle-jerk.
Yes a new adapter is going to harm the environment. People toss devices that use the old connector instead of reusing them.
Maybe people around you are greedy and lazy, but if I went to my apartment complex's mail room and left all my iPhone cables and whatnot there with a note saying "please take", they'd be gone in a few hours. People toss stuff?! Have you never seen a yard sale before?
If they had used a standard (USB) connector in the first place you could reuse chargers etc. from other phones. Not only that but you could you switch from iPhone to Android to Windows Phone without having to buy new devices. Also, realize that that is the only reason for all Apple proprietary connectors. So you can't easily switch to a competitors device.
What, is Apple preventing the competitor from selling you a cable? I have 2 iOS devices. I have four cables for them, and four chargers. I have docks for both. I have several bluetooth devices. I'd be out
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Are you REALLY stupid enough to BELIEVE that seriously?
Re: (Score:3)
5 million Android phones that are physically larger than iPhones will create tonnes of unnecessary plastic and precious metal waste. But I don't see you complaining about that.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Please show me how to airplay a power point to the projector from wifi, and do the same with an android tablet and an android phone all to the same hardware. Apple owns the board room for wireless and easy presentation control. I have installed more apple TV units in board rooms and had IT departments whine at me in the past 3 months than I have installed android based anything in the past 5 years.
you guys that are on a hell bent apple hate rage have no clue. the rich guys all use apple, they all like
Re:Fuck Apple. (Score:4, Interesting)
My sons school uses android tablets with this, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fonjector.android.screencapservicefree2&hl=en [google.com]
Technically, Apple IS compliant. (Score:5, Informative)
Technically, Apple IS compliant.
From the agreement at http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise [europa.eu]
Undertaking 4.2.1 states that “if a manufacturer makes available an Adaptor from the Micro-USB connector of a Common EPS to a specific non-Micro-USB socket in the Mobile Phone, it shall constitute compliance”. Annex II futher states that “An EPS provided with a detachable cable shall be equipped with a USB Standard-A receptacle. Above requirement also applies to detachable cables used as adaptor i.e. where the Micro-B is replaced by a proprietary plug”
Switching to just a micro-USB would have been stupid as you can't get analog audio or HD video through USB 2.0. Still I feel for all the people who've invested in accessories that use the standar Apple 30-pin. Expensive accessories like docks, iHome clocks, etc.
Re:Technically, Apple IS compliant. (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3)
I love how people are supposedly getting fucked by a proprietary cable. Jeez it's a fucking cable. If you're so bent out of shape go get an adapter that allows you to use the micro-USB (I think it comes gratis with the phone in the EU).
Personally I like the idea of not having to worry about plug orientation since my eye sight isn't getting better with age. I don't care what signals the cable may or may not have, a
Re:Technically, Apple IS compliant. (Score:4, Informative)
Switching to just a micro-USB would have been stupid as you can't get analog audio or HD video through USB 2.0. Still I feel for all the people who've invested in accessories that use the standar Apple 30-pin. Expensive accessories like docks, iHome clocks, etc.
Analog audio is easily available from the 3.5mm jack they moved right next to the new dock connector. HD video is easily available through HDMI (mini or micro, both of which have cheap adapters to full-size HDMI) or MHL, which can be implemented in a microUSB connector. USB handles all other data you might need.
As you see, there's no reason to use something proprietary, especially if you won't be supporting analog video out anymore.
Re:Technically, Apple IS compliant. (Score:5, Insightful)
Switching to just a micro-USB would have been stupid as you can't get analog audio or HD video through USB 2.0. Still I feel for all the people who've invested in accessories that use the standar Apple 30-pin. Expensive accessories like docks, iHome clocks, etc.
Actually, the new dock connector is said to eliminate analog audio anyway, so that's BS. Second, for USB speed, nothing says it can't be USB 3.0. Third, that's all a moot point to video, MHL devices do HDMI out out of a physical port that is micro usb compatible. In most cases, using the same pins as USB, but in the case of Galaxy S 3, through 6 additional pins that are accomodated without breaking micro usb mechanical compatibility.
Apple's use of a proprietary connector is exactly because of one reason: because they can get away with it. It's part of their business plan, plain and simple. When they sell an iDevice, they don't take a loss, but they also endeavor to maximize ongoing revenue potential. One mechanism is by using a proprietary connector and forcing third party accessories to pay a license fee for the privilege of supporting iDevices. Bonus: vendors largely end up ignoring Android compatibility since they have to pick *either* Apple or other devices if they can only afford one device.
It's a very anti-consumer move, plain and simple.
Re:Technically, Apple IS compliant. (Score:5, Informative)
But can you put 10W over a micro-USB cable? If you charge an iPad over a normal USB plug it takes forever. The iPad power plug goes way over normal USB spec. Using their own connector means they can do crazy stuff like that without worrying about frying other devices it might plug into.
I totally agree they overcharge though.
Re: (Score:3)
So putting in an industry-standard micro-USB port, an industry-standard micro-HDMI port, and an industry-standard 3.5mm analog audio jack like other phones do is stupid. But combining them all into a proprietary port makes perfect sense?
Re:Technically, Apple IS compliant. (Score:4, Insightful)
Switching to just a micro-USB would have been stupid as you can't get analog audio or HD video through USB 2.0.
Indeed this is a shortfall of USB. I propose we create a new technology one which is pin for pin compatible with USB devices and yet allows vendors to plug digital devices into the phones and tablets which then have the ability to convert to analogue. I imagine a device like this may cost all of $0.45 in bulk and can probably be purchased in a TSSOP package so the devices would not need to be any bigger since we fit these components in the same space as the old dock connector.
I envision a kind of Universial Serial Bus which allows pretty much any functionality on the other end of the cable. We could attach better GPS receiver, better wireless devices, media converters, camera, card readers, laptops, mice, keyboard, video cards, TV tuners.
I've even thought of a fancy name for this. We can call it USB-Host mode.
Re: (Score:3)
MHL is not USB (completely unrelated protocols/signaling with no commonlity), and MHL does not define any connector standard whatsoever. It's up to the implementer to decide what port to use; the convention (not standard, and not universal) is to use a standard micro USB connector, but doing that is actually a violation of the USB standard, which explicitly forbids doing exactly this (for the same reason they refuse to recognize eSATAp connectors).
For all we know, Apple's new connector may support MHL.
Re: (Score:3)
They could have, but micro USB isn't a terribly good connector, and MHL isn't a terribly good standard. They both have issues, some of which Lightning tries to address (how well it succeeds is yet to be determined). microUSB is also a dead-end connector seeing as how adopting it means being stuck with USB 2.0 speeds forever (microUSB 3.0 has a substantially larger connector that achieves backwards compatibility in the most braindead manner possible). While Lightning is only shipping with a USB 2.0 cable to
Re: (Score:3)
The joke is that even with using miniUSB, most chargers from other phones I have don't have the "handshake" or lately the power wattage requirements for modern phones. Unless you are buying iPad compatible 10W chargers most smartphones are pushing past most chargers you already have.
I've noticed this on the cheap Chinese made chargers that cost about a buck on eBay. They also tend to be overrated on amperage, as none of the 1amp ones I tested put out more than 600ma. One even melted down drawing 500ma. Get a decent brand or at least get one that claims to be iPad compatible.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
How happy will he be when the EU bans import?
The law wasn't a suggestion.
Re:Steve Jobs is happy... (Score:5, Informative)
The law also doesn't say what the summary claims it says.
It specifically allows [europa.eu] for adapters to be used, and Apple has had a micro-USB adapter [apple.com] available for quite awhile now that complies with the standards that have been set.
Re:Steve Jobs is happy... (Score:4, Informative)
Do you honestly think Apple's little dongle you must pay for is according to the spirit of that directive?
Given that it explicitly allows companies to satisfy the directive with an adapter, yes. Did you honestly believe anyone would believe you'd read the directive?
Re:Steve Jobs is happy... (Score:4, Informative)
The law isn't even a law (or regulation, for that matter). It's a voluntary agreement ("Memorandum of Understanding [europa.eu]").
Secondly, the agreement only covers phones which "Supports USB user data handling as defined in 'Universal Serial Bus Specification'". Although there are no details available on Apple's new connector, it's possible that it doesn't handle USB directly, but relies on a conversion chip in an external adapter. That would place Apple in compliance with the MoU.
The MoU also allows adaptors [sic] to be used - "An 'Adaptor' is defined as a device with a Micro-USB receptacle/plug connecting to a specific non Micro-USB connector. For clarification: an Adaptor can also be a cable."
Re: (Score:2)
It has a USB A hole
:D
Late Friday afternoons, my maturity level drops significantly...
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
If the EU had standardized on a free (no royalties) Lightning connector, everyone would be crying foul over government mandates and how it stifles innovation.
The goal was to get rid of large power bricks attached to proprietary connectors. Apple has for MANY years supplied a power plug with a standard USB connector and used the same cable/connector for 10 years. THAT has reduced waste. What other phone manufacturer has stuck with their plugs that long? How many phones will charge from a 10 year old cable?
Wh
Re: (Score:3)
Apple has also used a proprietary method of signalling that devices can draw more than 500mA from the USB port.
Nokia has stuck with its connectors for quite a while (two sizes, older adapters can use a simple adapter to charge), even supporting them after adopting microUSB (Symbian^3 phones charge via microUSB and their charging connector). Apple's Dock Connector actually dropped firewire charging (which was very popular with docks) 4 years ago, so it hasn't been kept fully compatible, either.
Please, name o
Re: (Score:3)