I’ll give it to Apple, they really know how to capitalize on what, for many is a difficult situation. With the introduction of the Lightning Connector, the folks at One Infinite Loop have changed things up on the bottom of the latest crop of iDevices. The problem, obviously, is that the new 8-pin connector doesn’t play nicely with any accessory devices that are on the market at this time. If you own a fancy iPod Dock then you are going to need an adapter – and guess what? They aren’t cheap!
Want a straight up adapter that will connect your 8-pin device to something with a 30-pin port? You will be parting with $29. If you want 0.2 meters of cable between your 8-pin iDevice and your now obsolete accessory, you will need to hand over $39. Finally, if you just want a regular old cable to connect to your computer – it will set you back $19.
Here’s the thing: Apple products are well-made, I get that. Aside from an overheating problem with an old MacBook Pro and a burned out Airport Express (that I used to capacity 24 hours a day for a couple of years), I haven’t had too many problems with anything from Apple – except for the cables. The iBrick that powered my old MacBook Pro burned out and I have at least two 30-pin cables that are so frayed around the connector that they look dangerous. Quality-wise, things are bad enough that one almost gets the impression that cables are to Apple what spare parts were to Henry Ford.
If I pay $19 for a cable, I expect to get a little more than what a third party manufacturer would sell for $5.
from The UberReview