A Blog on how Apple’s new connector causes a split in opinion

The latest iPhone 5 will undoubtedly be a great success and sell by the truckload.  Something that is most interesting is the adoption of their new mini connector. 

This new connector is ‘property’, as you would expect from Apple, and is similar to the mini USB.  Most feel that Apple wanted to save space by using this new connector but also that they did not like the idea of their users being able to use the standard mini USB cable instead of their premium price Apple cable.

An interesting development comes from Guy Kawasaki who was part of the Apple team from the 1980’s to the 1990’s and who is credited with being part of the success of the company.

As first reported in the Telegraph, Apple’s former official “evangelist”, Kawasaki, recently spoke at an exclusive lunch in Sydney for 30 winners of a Vodafone competition. He said he was “disappointed” in the company’s decision to change the connection slots on the new iPhone 5, forcing customers to buy new cables.

“This connector thing, I think it’s pure arrogance,” Mr Kawasaki said. “They say ‘we want to save space and go from 30 pins to whatever number of pins it has now’. Well, if the goal was really to save space, why didn’t you just go to a micro USB like everybody else in the world, and we could all get a cable at 7-11 for $5.”

“But no, you had to have a proprietary one. It fries my brain, I don’t understand it. It’s just arrogance and I’m disappointed very much in that.”

He will undoubtedly be saying what many people think. For the sake of balance, I admire the way everything is property with Apple. If you want a product with lots of features you don’t have to buy Apple, there are many other excellent products out there.  However, part of the Apple identity is about being in a top league of electronic gadget-buyers. The fact that you can now only use their own cables is, for some, a badge of honour.

Whatever your thoughts are, this is all part of the exciting drama that is Apple post-Steve Jobs.  Who knows what will happen next, and if the new management can keep the momentum going in a steam-train-like brand that only Jobs could have created.

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