Apple devices benefit from a huge, rich accessory ecosystem that means whether owners of its products are at a Best Buy, an airport or even a corner store, they’ve got plenty of options for cases, speakers, headsets, skins, charging cables, and more. A similar ecosystem is beginning to build up around the top devices from Android OEMs, but it still has nowhere near the reach and depth of Apple’s, and the market for Windows Phone 8 accessories is just getting started. And neither Google nor Nokia are helping things much.
Consider: Both Google’s Nexus 4 (manufactured by LG) and Nokia’s Lumia 920 ship with built-in induction charging. That’s awesome. It’s great to see this tech come to smartphones without requiring bulky external cases. But Google’s induction charging device, the Wireless Charging Orb, still doesn’t have a street date or price. And Nokia’s charging dock is ostensibly available in some markets like the U.S., but try tracking one down – AT&T’s site currently puts shipping times at one week for the Nokia Wireless Charging plate, though that may be because they’ve given away a bunch for free.
Nokia is an interesting case because it’s also partnering with JBL to deliver a sound dock (which showed up on AT&T’s website today, with no ship date information) that not only incorporates wireless charging, but also uses a combination of NFC and Bluetooth to deliver wireless audio streaming. I’ve seen/heard this thing in action, and it’s awesome, but getting your hands on one isn’t yet possible in markets where the Lumia 920 has launched. If I’m a new device owner, one of the first things I’m doing to do is look around for accessories, and the Qi tech built-in to both Google’s and Nokia’s latest devices are arguably their flashiest hardware trick, and the one likely to make the most impression on users new to the platforms.
Google already hasn’t delivered the Nexus Q media streamer, despite a lot of hype around its announcement and a few devices going out before they were fully baked. Now, to launch a phone with a “coming soon” accessory that’s needed to show off one of its core selling features seems equally frustrating.
I’m not saying these things because I’ve got a bone to pick with Nokia or Google; quite the opposite, in fact, since I think both the Lumia 920 and the Nexus 4 are exciting, innovative products from companies doing more than their fair share to keep the mobile market interesting. What I am saying is that these manufacturers need to be more aggressive about building and shipping unique and interesting accessories to help jumpstart the hardware ecosystem around their own products, not sometime later amid delays when the luster of what they’ve launched has already faded.
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We’re now hearing from a source close to Apple’s accessory manufacturing partner that the company plans to hold a conference in Shenzen, China for its Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad (MFI) program partners on November 7 and 8, similar to the one it held last year between December 7-9 when it expanded the MFI program to promote adoption of new AirPlay and Bluetooth standards. We’re also hearing that Apple will strictly regulate sales of Lightning connectors for MFI partners, and that the cost per part for those components, while not unreasonable, is fairly high compared to other widely-available standards like USB.
iLounge reported earlier in October that the confab in Shenzen for MFI partners was planned for November, and that it would detail new rules. One of those new rules, according to one of our sources close to the program,is that Apple’s Lightning pin supply is controlled by the company itself, and it supplies approved MFI partners with production quantities of the pin once their product is determined to have met its standards and specifications. It sells them in volume, and our source says the pricing is actually very fair when you consider the advanced technology involved in the connector’s construction.
Another source believes that while Apple regulating sales isn’t surprising in the least, unauthorized copies from Chinese engineers are likely to still appear, but that using their products in accessories could incur legal action or goods being confiscated by customs authorities at border checkpoints. That source also noted that Apple seems to have provided additional security against low-quality copies, something supported by a new Chipworks teardown in which a potential security chip was found. Still, there is evidence that some companies are already ramping up to create off-brand Lightning cables at prices that undercut Apple’s, as one of our tipsters was able to negotiate a quote for volume orders of the same at between $ 10 and $ 12 per piece, with an estimated ship date or later this month.
Of course, as with any product as popular as Apple’s mobile devices, a shadow economy of unauthorized goods and accessories is bound to pop up. The good news on the official side is that once Apple lays out its MFI guidelines in this upcoming forum, we’ll likely see a lot more Lightning-enabled accessories come to market, with some hitting shelves in time for the holiday shopping rush. Apple’s extensive dock connector-based gadget ecosystem won’t be easy to replace, but getting the wheels turning on the expanded Lightning MFI program certainly should help.
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One of the biggest concerns I’ve had about the Apple’s new Lightning port is the perceived (or real) obsolescence of a whole constellation of iPod 30-pin compatible devices. Now that fear seems confirmed. As we learned today, the Lightning to 30-pin adapter come with an important caveat: “Video and iPod Out not supported.” This means thousands if not millions of devices will become e-waste.
But are we sure these adapters won’t work?
I reached out to a major iPod dock company this morning and got a reply that should disconcert anyone with a dock in their home. The company rep, who will remain nameless, wrote back:
We will be evaluating compatibility of our current products with the new Apple adapter once it becomes available. Please feel free to check back in with us at that time.This company makes some of the best-known docks in the market and I sincerely doubt they aren’t aware of these compatibility issues at this late date. Yet this answer is troubling: if these guys don’t know what’s up with Lightning, who does?
Commenters elsewhere are noting that “iPod out” is not the same as audio out, but even so this does leave some accessories out in the cold. That manufacturers still have to wait to confirm compatibility is the real problem here: hopefully they’d know by now.
We probably won’t know much about Lightning architecture until devices are in users’ hands and arguably Apple isn’t at fault here – they’re pushing their technology forward as any sane company would. But what we have here is a Schrödinger’s cat of port technology and I’m leaning towards the cat being dead.
If it never occurred to you to plug all kinds of peripherals into your ear cans — including the media player making the sound — a new patent from Redmond’s brain trust might give you pause. The headphones are shown as a catch-all, with receiving spaces for snapping in devices like rechargeable battery packs, storage, Bluetooth or WiFi reception modules and media players — such as the Zune-like one sketched in above. The headset could also have controls to operate those peripherals, as well as an optional boom mic and USB ports, according to the document. All this is claimed to allow for numerous configurations, letting you pimp your headset to fit your own needs, and interface with games, movies or music in various ways. If they ever get to market, you might start thinking of humble headphones as full-blown entertainment centers instead of mere accessories.
Microsoft patent imagines headphones as accessory docking motherships originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You may have never heard of PCH International. But this Irish company makes packaging and accessories for some of the most iconic hardware products in the world. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink! They make cases, chargers, docks and earphones, among other accessories. They also create those whizz-bang unboxing experiences for many of the world’s best-known hardware makers, but they can’t disclose who their clients are.
Now the company just picked up Silicon Valley design consultancy Lime Lab to bolster its product development know-how. Lime Lab was co-founded by former Ideo director Andre Yousefi and former Design Within Reach director and Apple manager Kurt Dammermann. The price wasn’t disclosed.
“We were looking for high caliber people,” says PCH’s chief executive Liam Casey. “Andre and Kurt have great backgrounds, having worked at Apple and Astro Gaming. This will give us a great base to start with here in the Valley.”
PCH will turn it into a full R&D lab that has rapid photo printers, a soft goods lab and incubator rooms for startups. The company will open 15 new jobs in San Francisco by year-end and plans to double that by next year.
“They’ll be working on prototyping products and early-stage design and engineering,” Casey says.
PCH has raised at least $ 77 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest and more. Oh yeah, and PCH has 1,300 employees and disclosed that it had $ 410 million in revenue in 2010.
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