View Single Post
      03-21-2013, 08:57 AM   #50
taibanl
Brigadier General
taibanl's Avatar
279
Rep
4,121
Posts

Drives: BMW
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: NA

iTrader: (4)

Quote:
Originally Posted by bradleyland
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamspeed View Post
Time for a RANT

It's funny how BMW wants to copy the (HORRIBLE) genius bar idea from Apple because these two companies really are birds of a feather.

BMW makes it so friggin complicated to connect something as simple as a smartphone to their car. It wasn't until recently that you were able to connect an iPhone to the car without having to use an overpriced proprietary cable.

Much cheaper cars and much cheaper phones are able to connect to each other simply with a mini usb cable.

And this snap in adapter that realistically doesn't do anything more than a 2 dollar cable costs 399 euros?!
The iPhone has always used a proprietary cable. Prior to the iPhone 5 it was the 30-pin design that dates back to the original iPod released in 2001. That cable remained the same for 12 years, which is remarkable. When the 30-pin cable was developed, it could do things that USB simply could not.

Fast forward to today, and we have the lightning connector. Again, a superior design to mini USB. Quite honestly, from a hardware design perspective, every USB connector (A, B, mini, and micro) are the worst in the industry. Their designers focused on "cheap", not on quality. USB connectors are fiction-fit, omni-directional, and support shitty fit tolerances. Each one of these are compromises on the basis of cost, and hey, if you're alright with those compromises, then don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Some of us prefer a quality product, even if it costs a little bit more.

As for the snap-in adapter, you don't have to buy it. You can plug your phone in with a standard lightning cable. I agree that the snap-in cradle is too expensive for what it is, but the best way to voice your opinion on the topic is to not buy it.
Except to date...we haven't seen a single advanced feature out of lightning. Even video output (not this cradle) has quality issues due to multiplexing
Appreciate 0