FARK.com: (7174450) The dock connector on the next iphone will contain a chip in the cable just to lock out third party vendors

If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

		The dock connector on the next iphone will contain a chip in the cable just to lock out third party vendors (slashgear.com)		192
		More: Stupid, Robert Scoble, bytes, iPhone 4S

• • •

5716 clicks; posted to Geek » on 21 Jun 2012 at 12:47 PM | Favorite | share:

Share this link:

URL:

http://fark.com/go/7174450

Bookmark:

Article Comments close

192 Comments (+0 »)

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Archived thread

First | « | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | » | Last | Show all

mongbiohazard		2012-06-21 04:32:56 PM

It's just a rumor for now... But if this rumor turns out to be true the I'll take it as a good time to switch my wife to an Android phone.

My wife and I are getting new phones this fall, right around when the iPhone 5 will probably be launching. I am personally sticking with Android, as I'm totally loving it, but my wife is on an iPhone 4 and I was planning on keeping her on the next iPhone too. In operation the iPhone is stupid simple, she's used to it and we already have extra chargers and such...

...but if this rumor turns out to be true and they're really going to get greedy and lock out 3rd party accessory manufacturers.... yeah, that's a pretty obnoxious move - even for Apple. I'll just take the opportunity to switch her phone to an Android phone in that case and be done with it.

Android has come a long way and is a nicely polished OS now, IMHO. I'm loving my HTC EVO 4G, but I'm also a gadget fetishist and dying for a new upgrade after having the same phone for two years now.

tgambitg		2012-06-21 04:36:35 PM

LasersHurt: Oh I don't think it's entirely implausible or anything, it's very possible. The 30-pin had weaknesses which they can definitely improve on. And how many other companies have a single connector with the wide variety of outputs that the dock connector does? A single revision in years is fine by me, and necessary to keep up with changing technology.

Anyone who uses MHL?

Samsung, LG, and Toshiba so far... It's (extremely simplified) USB and HDMI in one cable.

Nem Wan: Apple enforcing the patents it owns on the products it sells is wrong because....???

Most of those patents shouldn't have been issued in the first place? Like 99% of software and design patents?

DenisVengeance		2012-06-21 04:38:10 PM

Any peripheral that plugs in to the 30-pin already has to have a special chip...so this is news?

Pocket_Fisherman		2012-06-21 04:41:47 PM

slayer199: Well Apple, you just made my decision to go to Android easier for me. I've always purchased what I felt was the best device at the time I was looking. I've owned 2 iPhones and 1 iPad. I put up with your proprietary bs by jailbreaking my iPhone, and changing the root password, and other tricks just to have the flexibility I want in a device. Unless the 5 is totally amazing, I'm going to switch to an Android phone and I've been eying the Asus Transformer as my new tablet solution.

This.

Iphone, Iphone 4g, Ipad2, no more for me.

Slackfumasta		2012-06-21 05:11:09 PM

LasersHurt: rickythepenguin: ok, what does it mean in non-Nerdspeak? i can't dock my iphone to a PC? i have to have a Mac? I have to use their cable to dock my iphone?

You have to use an Apple cable or Apple approved third party device with the new style connector. If you get the new model, that is. Also if this actually happens, since it's a rumor.

Apple always made third party vendors license the port, now they're just requiring proof via a chip. In theory.

This.

The idea behind it is the same as it is now: Apple makes their products interface with their proprietary cable. If you want to tap into the market of accessories, you have to license the connector from Apple, because it is their patent. This is pretty standard stuff.

The accessories now, though, are easy to replicate without licensing the tech from Apple. Apple is tired of cheap Chinese crap being made to use with their phones because they are not making any money off of it. This new connector includes a way to make it more difficult (and less profitable) to replicate it. Companies that actually license the tech from Apple will like this, because they will in theory be able to deliver accessories to market for less than those trying to reverse engineer it.

Think of it as physical DRM.

ProfessorOhki		2012-06-21 05:15:32 PM

tallguywithglasseson: ProfessorOhki: My real question is if this will actually be Thunderbolt based

Will they use a standard cable? Why would they do that?

Because Thunderbolt is like FireWire in that it's "standard" but with Apple's fingerprints all over it. But you're right. They'll probably invent a new connector and then run Thunderbolt, USB, video, and control over it. That's the other advantage of having some brains in the cable. The cable can actually go "hey, I'm USB, do X" so they can reuse a bunch of pins and make the connector smaller. The approach has potential, but I don't have much faith in them.

DenisVengeance: Any peripheral that plugs in to the 30-pin already has to have a special chip...so this is news?

Except the part where that's not true? Link It has standard USB right there on the connector.

Orgasmatron138		2012-06-21 05:18:29 PM

rewind2846: InfamousBLT:
My 5 year old Zune died last weekend, and I'm looking for a replacement..

Which Zune did you have? I bought my 16gb ZuneHD (love the HD radio) a little over a year ago, and I love the living sh*t out of it... much better than the iPod my niece uses. The interface makes sense, battery power is great, the only proprietary anything it uses is the Zune software, it feels substantial in your hand and not flimsy, sounds better than the iPod and it doesn't have the microsoft logo plastered all over it. And no fanbois.
What killed yours?

I'll jump in - mine died the other day - the switch on the top broke off, and it won't unlock. It's 4 years old and scratched up, plus it's 30 gig (which won't hold my music collection anymore), so I'm going to get something else rather than fix it. I'm looking at the 120 gig model. That will hold all my music, and give me plenty of room to keep collecting.

I love all the stuff you mentioned, especially that I didn't have to convert my mp3s.

Faps_in_the_kitchen		2012-06-21 05:23:23 PM

farkeruk: Do it. Please. Squeeze those customers until they pop and say "fark this bullshiat" and switch. By the time you realise the disaster you've wrought, it'll be too late.

I have an iPod Classic and I have 4 different cables for it, one of which was the official Apple one that came with it. The rest: additional USB, car and mains. All of which cost a few quid. You think I'd spend £30 on a charger pack? EABOD.

Our son bought an iPod touch and has probably spent enough money on proprietary Apple cables and chargers to buy another touch. Different cable for the wall, car, and pc, ect. All our phones, tablets, eReaders and such use a Micro USB connection. If we lose or break a cable for those devices it's off to the box-o-cables in the closet to get another (I don't throw away cables). If the iPod cable is lost or broken it's off to the store.
That one thing is enough to keep me from buying a product.

Felgraf		2012-06-21 05:35:17 PM

digistil: Felgraf: IF they do this, how is it not a monopolistic act?

Either way, you've got the monopoly on stupid.

Yeah, monopolistic was the wrong word to use, I realized this.

bingo the psych-o		2012-06-21 06:02:39 PM

Monster Cable is going to be sooooo jealous.

Surool		2012-06-21 06:38:28 PM

BHShaman: New Apple = the Old Tandy

Let's see how that works out for Apple once the iCrush of its buyers starts to wear off.

Haven't you people been singing that song for 5-6 years now? 99% of people (iOS and Android users alike) won't give a sh*t.

DenisVengeance		2012-06-21 07:05:19 PM

ProfessorOhki: DenisVengeance: Any peripheral that plugs in to the 30-pin already has to have a special chip...so this is news?

Except the part where that's not true? Link It has standard USB right there on the connector.

Go ahead and wire something up to that and let me know how far you get.

Kuroshin		2012-06-21 07:49:21 PM

Is this where I come to say how much I'm loving my new Rezound?

Battery life is kinda crap (on-par with the old iPhone 3GS), but absolutely everything else is top-notch.

HTC really knows how to make a phone. Bootloader is unlockable as well. Nice touch.

/don't need huge battery life anyway

Epicanis		2012-06-21 07:54:25 PM

bdub77: I don't really understand all the Apple love, they've proven again and again they want to lock out people and their vendors with their proprietary technology. F*ck Apple. Android FTW.

/droid 4 and loving it
//I much prefer open source to closed loop crap

I think Apple is sort of like the "Monster Cable" of portable consumer gadgets.

Kuroshin		2012-06-21 08:02:36 PM

Epicanis: bdub77: I don't really understand all the Apple love, they've proven again and again they want to lock out people and their vendors with their proprietary technology. F*ck Apple. Android FTW.

/droid 4 and loving it
//I much prefer open source to closed loop crap

I think Apple is sort of like the "Monster Cable" of portable consumer gadgets.

Normally I'd +1 this, but I ran across something that would make me a hypocrite.

With my aforementioned phone came a set of those ridiculous "iBeats" earbuds made by Monster.

They're actually really good.

Drivers are freakin' HUGE and heavy as all hell, but they have fantastic response and aren't all muddy in the mid-range like most 'buds in their price range (got a pair each of Klipsch and Sony 'buds that retail at the same $99 MSRP - both are inferior).

I hate that the esteemed Dr. Dre is making me eat my former words.

poot_rootbeer		2012-06-21 08:20:51 PM

This is possibly the least credible technology reporting I've ever seen.

Even if Apple is switching from their current proprietary 30-pin connector to a new proprietary 19-pin mini-connector, there's still no reason to believe that Apple is instituting a lockout chip as part of that new connector. A guy with a sucky blog, who heard from a guy who is usually wrong, who has a friend who works in the 'phone industry' is not a reliable source.

And why the fark would there need to be a chip "on both ends" of a power supply? That doesn't make any damn sense.

ProfessorOhki		2012-06-21 08:50:38 PM

DenisVengeance: ProfessorOhki: DenisVengeance: Any peripheral that plugs in to the 30-pin already has to have a special chip...so this is news?

Except the part where that's not true? Link It has standard USB right there on the connector.

Go ahead and wire something up to that and let me know how far you get.

When you say 'peripheral' you actually mean things that use the iPod as a peripheral right? You realize the iPod is controlled by the dock and not the other way around? If you acknowledge that, then sure.

BHShaman		2012-06-21 08:52:45 PM

Surool: 99% of people (iOS and Android users alike) won't give a sh*t.

Apple had not tried to completely close out their hardware from unlicensed 3rd party accessories.
Complete BS.

Panasonic tried to do the same with their Lumix batteries.
At least that was easy to get around.

mongbiohazard		2012-06-21 09:18:06 PM

DenisVengeance: ProfessorOhki: DenisVengeance: Any peripheral that plugs in to the 30-pin already has to have a special chip...so this is news?

Except the part where that's not true? Link It has standard USB right there on the connector.

Go ahead and wire something up to that and let me know how far you get.

Pretty far, actually. I built my own battery backup pack for my iPhone 3G a couple years ago, so I could charge my phone from AA batteries while it was in its mount on my bike handles and wired it right up to a dock connector.

Surool		2012-06-21 09:24:54 PM

BHShaman: Surool: 99% of people (iOS and Android users alike) won't give a sh*t.

Apple had not tried to completely close out their hardware from unlicensed 3rd party accessories.
Complete BS.

Panasonic tried to do the same with their Lumix batteries.
At least that was easy to get around.

Considering that unlicensed gear ends up causing them grief, I can understand the sentiment. I wouldn't be surprised to find that they get calls from people who tried to plug their USB coffee warmer into their phones.

Seriously, it sounds like they are making a mini magsafe plug with built-in rapid-charge mode. I don't get why this is a big deal to people who would never buy an iPhone in the first place.

MightyPez		2012-06-21 09:27:18 PM

BHShaman		2012-06-21 09:31:46 PM

Surool:
Seriously, it sounds like they are making a mini magsafe plug with built-in rapid-charge mode. I don't get why this is a big deal to people who would never buy an iPhone in the first place.

Because some people are not acolytes.
My daughter has an Ipod Touch 4 that I got her.
I like the Ipod and so does she.
I like being able to buy 3rd party gear at 10% of Apples cost.

Putting into place barriers to cost savings will drive non-fanbois away from a good product.

Surool		2012-06-21 09:53:14 PM

BHShaman: Surool:
Seriously, it sounds like they are making a mini magsafe plug with built-in rapid-charge mode. I don't get why this is a big deal to people who would never buy an iPhone in the first place.

Because some people are not acolytes.
My daughter has an Ipod Touch 4 that I got her.
I like the Ipod and so does she.
I like being able to buy 3rd party gear at 10% of Apples cost.

Putting into place barriers to cost savings will drive non-fanbois away from a good product.

Most of the stuff you see out there is made by people who licensed from Apple already. Those same manufacturers would still work with iThings, and get this rumored chip. The only aftermarket manufactures that will be squeezed out will be the $8 speakers in the bargain bin who can't use the name "iPhone" or "iPod" on the outside of the box.

GizmoToy		2012-06-21 09:59:49 PM

This isn't the first time that the internet went crazy over rumors that Apple was putting a chip in a cable to lock out third party vendors.

It 2009 everyone flipped out when a "DRM chip" was discovered in the earbuds of the then-new iPod Shuffle. The rumor was it prevented third party headphones from working with the device. Turns out it was a tiny microcontroller for the new volume up/down buttons on the cable and had nothing to do with DRM. The chip design was offered to third-party vendors through the Works with iPod program, and has been made available on an uncountable number of third-party headphones since.

It's probably wise to wait and see what this "DRM chip" is actually for before crucifying them.

Surool		2012-06-21 10:06:17 PM

GizmoToy: It's probably wise to wait and see what this "DRM chip" is actually for before crucifying them.

Trying to talk reason to the fandroids? Best of luck to you.

lisarenee3505		2012-06-21 10:08:43 PM

cameroncrazy1984: ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: Only the underlying OS of Android is open source, the Google apps (including Google Play) are proprietary. Let's not pretend any huge multinational companies care about being "open" or users; they care about profit.

You realize there's a whole slew of apps you can add onto your phone IF YOU ROOT IT, without using the Google Play store. Right?
====================================

You realize that most folks don't want to void their warranty or go through the trouble of rooting & installing some dodgy opensource OS on it, right?

Surool		2012-06-21 10:11:00 PM

lisarenee3505: cameroncrazy1984: ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: Only the underlying OS of Android is open source, the Google apps (including Google Play) are proprietary. Let's not pretend any huge multinational companies care about being "open" or users; they care about profit.

You realize there's a whole slew of apps you can add onto your phone IF YOU ROOT IT, without using the Google Play store. Right?
====================================

You realize that most folks don't want to void their warranty or go through the trouble of rooting & installing some dodgy opensource OS on it, right?

You realize you are talking to the type of person who would rather work on their computer all day instead of using it?

Kuroshin		2012-06-21 10:19:37 PM

Surool: GizmoToy: It's probably wise to wait and see what this "DRM chip" is actually for before crucifying them.

Trying to talk reason to the fandroids? Best of luck to you.

"Fandroids" are the ones who start crying "foul" with each Apple iProduct update? Uh, no. It's universally Apple fans screaming bloody murder that their old iProducts will not be compatible with the new iHotness.

Nice try though.

lisarenee3505: cameroncrazy1984: ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: Only the underlying OS of Android is open source, the Google apps (including Google Play) are proprietary. Let's not pretend any huge multinational companies care about being "open" or users; they care about profit.

You realize there's a whole slew of apps you can add onto your phone EVEN IF YOU DO NOT ROOT IT, without using the Google Play store. Right?
====================================

You realize that most folks don't want to void their warranty or go through the trouble of rooting & installing some dodgy opensource OS on it, right?

You realize that you are completely incorrect, right? Fixed that for ya.

No rooting required to sideload apps. Settings -> Applications -> "Unknown Sources"
Helps if you know what the fark you're talking about.

/Amazon App Store isn't available via Google Play
//TMYK

Surool		2012-06-21 10:30:05 PM

Kuroshin: "Fandroids" are the ones who start crying "foul" with each Apple iProduct update? Uh, no. It's universally Apple fans screaming bloody murder that their old iProducts will not be compatible with the new iHotness.

Actually, you cry foul at the slightest rumor of anything.

Oreamnos		2012-06-21 10:53:52 PM

While a crappy move, it's not exactly unprecedented. Motorola does, or did, this with regard to chargers. If you didn't have a genuine Motorola charger, the phone wouldn't charge. That was on a USB connector, BTW, not some proprietary thing. They used some spin about preventing over-charging, etc. But I have no need to consider Motorola devices again because of it--if they even make anything anymore.

Kuroshin		2012-06-21 10:59:48 PM

Surool: Kuroshin: "Fandroids" are the ones who start crying "foul" with each Apple iProduct update? Uh, no. It's universally Apple fans screaming bloody murder that their old iProducts will not be compatible with the new iHotness.

Actually, you cry foul at the slightest rumor of anything.

I do? Wow. Really? Me, personally? Got any citations?

Or these mythical "Fandroids?" Got any cites there either?

I had iProducts back in the days when Apple was migrating into the new form factor of the iPhone 3G. Forums were aflame with people complaining that their car docks and radio decks wouldn't accept the new form of the iPhone and next-gen iPod Touch. Remember those radios that had a slot juuuuust the right size for an iPT or iPhone? Long-time Apple fans were furious.

Or perhaps when Apple switched from Firewire charging over to hybrid FW/USB, then dropped Firewire charging support entirely in favor of USB charging? All those new iPods that couldn't charge from the old iPod docks, even though they still physically fit. Reams of complaints.

How about the old iPod dock speakers that wouldn't work with the iPhone 3G? Either you couldn't physically fit the thing in there, or the dock would automatically force the iPhone into Airplane Mode because they couldn't handle interference from the UMTS radio? Apple fans lost their minds again.

Android didn't even exist as a market alternative back then. Were you blaming Zune owners for all the outrage in those days, in the same fashion you're blaming Android users now?

Remember the iOS 3 kerfluffle? How it wouldn't be offered to iPhone and iPod Touch owners, but then Apple's mind changed and they would offer it for a (paltry) $10 charge? Apple fans still biatched to high heaven.

Oh, and let's not forget the missing features when iOS 4 was installed on a iPhone 3GS. More tremendous outrage from the Apple community. I actually still had my 3GS back then and, rather than biatching along with the other iBuyers, I jailbroke my phone and enabled the missing bits.

But hey, keep on with your complete and utter BS. Some of us have been around a looooong time and happen to have been there.

pnjunction		2012-06-22 12:05:02 AM

MonkeyAngst: The question is, how does whatever advantage the new connector brings stack up against the tradeoff of now-incompatible accessories.

It might not seem like much, but keep in mind that some of those "accessories" are cars.

Let's see...sell new accessories and adapters, all with guaranteed licensing fees. Looks like a win to me, for Apple's big pile of cash anyways.

I would like to think people might leave them, but I know too many 'Apple people'. No, most will barely grumble (the ones in deep delusion will even praise the new connector) and pay up.

studebaker hoch		2012-06-22 12:08:27 AM

I paid $35 for a secondhand cell phone about five years ago.

I pay around ten bucks a month for prepaid minutes. Buy them in 1000 blocks for $108. They're good for a year.

Works great. Hope to still be doing he same in another five years.

Apple can swab my knob.

Surool		2012-06-22 12:50:34 AM

Kuroshin: Surool: Kuroshin: "Fandroids" are the ones who start crying "foul" with each Apple iProduct update? Uh, no. It's universally Apple fans screaming bloody murder that their old iProducts will not be compatible with the new iHotness.

Actually, you cry foul at the slightest rumor of anything.

I do? Wow. Really? Me, personally? Got any citations?

Or these mythical "Fandroids?" Got any cites there either?

I had iProducts back in the days when Apple was migrating into the new form factor of the iPhone 3G. Forums were aflame with people complaining that their car docks and radio decks wouldn't accept the new form of the iPhone and next-gen iPod Touch. Remember those radios that had a slot juuuuust the right size for an iPT or iPhone? Long-time Apple fans were furious.

Or perhaps when Apple switched from Firewire charging over to hybrid FW/USB, then dropped Firewire charging support entirely in favor of USB charging? All those new iPods that couldn't charge from the old iPod docks, even though they still physically fit. Reams of complaints.

How about the old iPod dock speakers that wouldn't work with the iPhone 3G? Either you couldn't physically fit the thing in there, or the dock would automatically force the iPhone into Airplane Mode because they couldn't handle interference from the UMTS radio? Apple fans lost their minds again.

Android didn't even exist as a market alternative back then. Were you blaming Zune owners for all the outrage in those days, in the same fashion you're blaming Android users now?

Remember the iOS 3 kerfluffle? How it wouldn't be offered to iPhone and iPod Touch owners, but then Apple's mind changed and they would offer it for a (paltry) $10 charge? Apple fans still biatched to high heaven.

Oh, and let's not forget the missing features when iOS 4 was installed on a iPhone 3GS. More tremendous outrage from the Apple community. I actually still had my 3GS back then and, rather than biatching along with the other iBuyers, I j ...

God damn you are funny. Re-read your measured response to my one line post, and tell me you didn't prove my point.

saintstryfe		2012-06-22 01:40:46 AM

While I fully support a new port - there's no reason for a port to be 1/3 the width and 1/2 the depth of the device in 2012 - I seriously doubt they'd chiplock it.

And even if they did, it'd be broken in a week and they'd flood from China. I seriously don't expect it though. That "Made for iPod/iPhone" branding is way too valuable. I remember a few months ago there was uproar about Thunderbolt cables having chips in them, and the same people were proclaiming Apple was forcing their cables - when really, it's just the TB standard and their cables were actually cheaper then other manufacturer's.

Every high-speed cable has chips in it to regulate how the data transfers to prevent errors. USB3, Firewire 400 and 800, Thunderbolt, they all use these additional controllers. Firewire and USB3 build it into the device, Thunderbolt builds it into the cable (so that in the future, when fiber optic cables are more common in consumer or prosumer level gear, they can be easily used).

I suspect Apple is going to provide a way to hook up their iDevices by Thunderbolt. The chip will be there to facilitate that if needed - otherwise, your charging and general USB syncing needs will be handled just as before, just with a big smaller part.

theurge14		2012-06-22 01:49:43 AM

poot_rootbeer: This is possibly the least credible technology reporting I've ever seen.

Even if Apple is switching from their current proprietary 30-pin connector to a new proprietary 19-pin mini-connector, there's still no reason to believe that Apple is instituting a lockout chip as part of that new connector. A guy with a sucky blog, who heard from a guy who is usually wrong, who has a friend who works in the 'phone industry' is not a reliable source.

And why the fark would there need to be a chip "on both ends" of a power supply? That doesn't make any damn sense.

The Apple headline quota was running low. Welcome to Fark.

UnspokenVoice		2012-06-22 04:23:50 AM

serpent_sky: Goodfella: Hah, perfect timing. I'm dumping my iphone for the new Galaxy. So sick of all of Apple's holier than thou proprietary garbage they try to jam down your throat at every opportunity.

Just to download an app they wanted me to upgrade the OS, which meant they wanted me to delete every single thing off of my iphone. Ridiculous.

Yep, I am heading to AT&T tonight. My iPhone is running slow as hell, and it doesn't have as much functionality as my boyfriend's much faster and much cooler Android phone. My co-worker has an iPhone 4 and says hers started running slowly, too, so I'm just going elsewhere at this point.

It doesn't help that one of the upgrades to my iPhone made it refuse to sync with iTunes and none of the "geniuses" can figure out why, so it's not like I gain anything from going for a new iPhone either way.

Put your phone in a bowl of dry rice. It takes care of toilet water.

/saw your twitter post
//here on Fark
/not stalking, trying to remember where I remembered your handle from

lewismarktwo		2012-06-22 05:57:39 AM

Reminds me of this for some reason. (new tube)

Tobin_Lam		2012-06-22 07:30:33 AM

Faps_in_the_kitchen: farkeruk: Do it. Please. Squeeze those customers until they pop and say "fark this bullshiat" and switch. By the time you realise the disaster you've wrought, it'll be too late.

I have an iPod Classic and I have 4 different cables for it, one of which was the official Apple one that came with it. The rest: additional USB, car and mains. All of which cost a few quid. You think I'd spend £30 on a charger pack? EABOD.

Our son bought an iPod touch and has probably spent enough money on proprietary Apple cables and chargers to buy another touch. Different cable for the wall, car, and pc, ect. All our phones, tablets, eReaders and such use a Micro USB connection. If we lose or break a cable for those devices it's off to the box-o-cables in the closet to get another (I don't throw away cables). If the iPod cable is lost or broken it's off to the store.
That one thing is enough to keep me from buying a product.

I got a $10 charger from Walmart and a $10 car charger from a gas station. They work just fine.

Pinko_Commie		2012-06-22 08:35:42 AM

Kuroshin: No rooting required to sideload apps. Settings -> Applications -> "Unknown Sources"
Helps if you know what the fark you're talking about.

/Amazon App Store isn't available via Google Play
//TMYK

Not only that, but Samsung Android phones actually come with "Unknown Sources" already enabled to allow use of the Samsung App Store.

Any custom build OS you do decide to flash can have the google apps installed on it simply by flashing the lastest google apps package.

ekdikeo4		2012-06-22 08:57:00 AM

Pretty unlikely -- iThings possibly wouldn't be as popular as they are if their connectors weren't so useful.

mccallcl		2012-06-22 01:57:57 PM

Balchinian: ZAZ: I got an iPod adapter for my car with the long, thin connector. Changing the connector would be an annoying task without the lockout logic making it impossible. If the next iThingy has a different connector it won't work in my car and will be less valuable to me.

Oh, just wait until they really get going! Soon enough Apple will be forming license agreements with car manufacturers. Hypothetical scenario: Chryslers will come with Apple interfaces, Fords and GMs will come with Microsoft interfaces. You want to use your iPhone in a car, you better have a Chrysler.

Is that really all that far-fetched a thought? I don't think that Apple thinks it is.

The sooner automakers get out of the in-car entertainment business, the better.

The in-dash systems they're using now are completely proprietary to the manufacturer, and often the model and year of the car.

Oh, and also uniformly terrible.

Displayed 42 of 192 comments