[Speedygi]

Someone will and they'll make a ton of money selling it.

Yeap, accessory makers love them Apple products.

[sevoman]

i think they are going the Bluetooth route. most of the docks have some sort of speaker function and the newer accessories for all phones have BT functionality. This is also better for the accessory producers because now they can be used with all phones that have Bluetooth not just iphones.

[homescrub]

I don't mind. All those items become cheaper to buy so I could be saving 60% or more. Especially on repair parts.

[ADGrant]

I was thinking about this, and I found much of the appeal of the Iphone is almost always based on pure hype. Nothing about the phone should make people choose it over any other leading edge phone right now. If you want IOS apps there's always the IPad to fall back on if you want to run those, and there's valid reasons for wanting the Ipad because it is simply the best right now. For the Iphone I just don't see any reason to get it.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

I will bite.Some reasons someone might chose an iPhone over the competition are:

iMessage, FaceTime, iCloud, the camera, no carrier crap on the phone, you can upgrade to the latest OS in a timely manner.

[Speedygi]

I will bite.Some reasons someone might chose an iPhone over the competition are:

iMessage, FaceTime, iCloud, the camera, no carrier crap on the phone, you can upgrade to the latest OS in a timely manner.

Everything you said other phone operating systems have it in some form or way...not knocking the IPhone but it isn't the most innovative out there, no matter how people put it to be...

[sleepngbear]

If they are about to change the design, I wish they would go with the almost universally used micro USB.
Hate having to lug around different travel chargers and car chargers.

This wouldn't be such a problem if you didn't have 18,000 different phones ...

[sleepngbear]

Everything you said other phone operating systems have it in some form or way...not knocking the IPhone but it isn't the most innovative out there, no matte how people put it to be...

It isn't so much what it does but how it does it. For example, I find BBOS to be intuitive, some people find it klugy. iPhone may not be the most innovative (at the moment, though it was just a few years ago), but people like and are familiar with how it works. Give users more reasons to stay than to leave, more often than not they'll stay. And we know the other side of that coin all too well. At this point, a new data connector doesn't seem to be a deal-breaker for most. I'm sure there'll be a lot of yelling after the fact from people who won't know until they get it home that their old accessories don't work any more. For about a week. Then they'll either forgive and forget, or they'll send a whole bunch of old iPhone users to BB10. Hey, it could happen.

[slalom]

Another story....
Apple

Apparently Apple believes that their connector is a "competitive advantage" thus they spurned the industry move to mini/micro USB. Recently, when I joined a new firm, I was given the choice between iPhone and BlackBerry. I was the only one in my orientation group to pick Blackberry, and my stated reason was, that I didn't want to have to replace all of the chargers I have all over the place (multiple rooms in my house, 2 cars, vacation place, etc.).

Had I selected a iP4s, I would have been absolutely pissed to know that the charger would be obsolete in several months (I would upgrade, because I think the iP4s is an old and tired form factor with a slow processor, small screen, and limited functionality based on the platform - same opinion I have of most Blackberries come to think of it).

This also continues Apples disregard for environmental initiatives (which was one of the driving forces behind industry standardization for charger interfaces).

[thebignewt]

Huh? Apple has never used a USB charger. Ever. Why would they now? Heck, I had 2 Blackberry phones and they used different charging ports. Apple's charger has been the same for many years (like 10), and now they're going with a different one and it's big whoop. Apple chargers cost like $3 shipped. The 4S is an obsolete phone? When was the last BB phone released, like 2009? Get over it.

[garrett]

it should also be noted that apple is supplying an adapter with the iphone 5 to allow users to still use older chargers, docks, and devices.

[sleepngbear]

Huh? Apple has never used a USB charger. Ever. Why would they now? Heck, I had 2 Blackberry phones and they used different charging ports. Apple's charger has been the same for many years (like 10), and now they're going with a different one and it's big whoop. Apple chargers cost like $3 shipped.

The issue isn't so much the charger as all the other kinds of accessories that use that port. Anything that cradles the phone -- like half the car chargers out there or any speaker dock, just for a couple of examples -- would not likely be able to utilize an adapter. Last I looked, there weren't many of those for anywhere near $3, even without shipping. And I'm sure many owners have more than one of these, so all of a sudden you could be talking about a few hundred $$$ or more in accessories that are now useless.

Also, although the BB ports changed (once), they were always standard interfaces. Many other devices used Mini USB and Micro USB. Much less painful than when a company changes its proprietary interface that nobody else uses.

The 4S is an obsolete phone? When was the last BB phone released, like 2009? Get over it.

Better check your stats again. You want to argue your case with facts, that's fine. But statements like this won't help you much in the cred department.

[lnichols]

Wish they would just go micro-USB and micro-HDMI. Proprietary connectors are lame and going with standards would make car manufacturers and aftermarket HU manufacturers to support the standard interfaces.

[xandermac]

The issue isn't so much the charger as all the other kinds of accessories that use that port. Anything that cradles the phone -- like half the car chargers out there or any speaker dock, just for a couple of examples -- would not likely be able to utilize an adapter. Last I looked, there weren't many of those for anywhere near $3, even without shipping. And I'm sure many owners have more than one of these, so all of a sudden you could be talking about a few hundred $$$ or more in accessories that are now useless.

Also, although the BB ports changed (once), they were always standard interfaces. Many other devices used Mini USB and Micro USB. Much less painful than when a company changes its proprietary interface that nobody else uses.


Better check your stats again. You want to argue your case with facts, that's fine. But statements like this won't help you much in the cred department.

They're only obsolete it the user makes the decision to update. No gun at their head mind you. The 30 pin connector had a good run and now it's time to miniaturize it like mini to micro USB.

I have a couple of dock connector speaker systems, havent actually used them in two or three years because of Bluetooth and AirPlay. I don't think this will be near as big a deal as people hope it will be.

[bjm007]

Not the end of the world, just a pain the a$$...

Lots of people dock their iphone in their cars. That's going to cost a pantload more than $3 for heaven's sake.

I agree with others that they should go with a standard like micro usb. At least they would be minimizing the hassle of the change. Apple doesn't care as much as they will need to at some point. Ultimately, the Steve Job's innnovations in the pipeline will eventually come to an end, and Apple will have to be more mindful of customer extectations. They're ok for now, but product dominance doesn't last forever.

[Roo Zilla]

Not the end of the world, just a pain the a$$...

Lots of people dock their iphone in their cars. That's going to cost a pantload more than $3 for heaven's sake.

Don't know how your Porsche works, but on my BMW, it's a cable. I think most cars have iPod/iPhone cables so your car isn't obsolete when they release a new model iPod/iPhone with a different shape. The cables aren't that expensive, a replacement for my BMW is like $30. A lot of cars also use a USB connector for use with iPod/iPhone, for those cars, you can probably just stick in the cable that comes with the new iPhone.