Anton Wahlman

The EU Stabs Apple in the Back

I think you're misunderstanding the technology here. This new initiative specifies that the handset itself must be able to use the same charger as any other Motorola, Samsung, SonyEricsson, RIM, HTC, LG, Palm etc. device. So it has to use the same connector. No special adapter, as any such would defeat the purpose of the "One charger for every phone" principle. Why should the EU allow Apple to avoid making the same kind of full transition to MicroUSB that all the other handset makers were forced to make? Remember, I think Apple should be free to do whatever it wants -- I'm just pointing out what the EU could do regardless of my opinion about the sanctity of private property and freedom of contract.


On Jul 01 08:20 PM peter02l wrote:

> "The EU is now mandating that all cell phones be compatible with
> 3rd-party MicroUSB chargers by January 1, 2012."
>
> This will not affect Apple much. Apples current charger has a USB
> connector to which the cable connect. That is the cable is not part
> of the connector. So all they have to do is to replace the USB connector
> on the charger with MicroUSB, and supply the appropriate cable.
>
>
> This has nothing to do with the 30-pin connector. EU's concern is
> that people over the years end up with a multitude of chargers for
> various devices which they don't know what to do with. That is very
> wasteful, so I applaud what EU is trying to do here.

The EU Stabs Apple in the Back

And what makes you think that will be compliant? Isn't the whole point about this kind of agreement -- and/or legislation -- to mandate a female MicroUSB connector on the handheld device itself? Nobody else in the industry got away with an adapter between its old connector and MicroUSB, so why should Apple be allowed such an implementation? If the EU makes environmental compliance the main goal here, forcing all users to add an extra adapter is counter-productive. Isn't the EU saying that the same charger must be equally applicable to all cell phones, regardless of manufacturer and that it therefore won't allow some special adapter in Apple's case?


On Jul 01 02:59 AM berlinator wrote:

> Apple could simply use a 30 Pin to USBmicro cable....
> or ad a USB to USBmicro adapter. So no change a the iPhone itself

The EU Stabs Apple in the Back

Yes, Europe decided to be essentially 100% GSM back in the pre-1992 days. Has this really been better? In the US, we have had competition between Qualcomm's system, GSM and others such as IS-136 and iDEN. Partially for this reason, US consumers have enjoyed (1) higher data rates and sooner, and (2) lower prices. Compare US voice/data plans with those in Europe, and you will find that US prices are significantly lower than those in Europe. Who has more Blackberry/iPhone/Palm... phones? The US of course.

You say you bought several MicroUSB chargers two years ago. No you did not. The first MicroUSB handhelds hit the market approximately 1 year ago, some 9 months after the standard was finalized in September 2007.

Finally, you say "too much choice is stupid." It's not a matter of "too much" choice. It's a matter of whether choice will be allowed or not. This is important whether we're talking about cell phone chargers or health care providers.

In my case, I very much welcome the advent of MicroUSB and I enjoy the benefits of it. However, Apple should be free to do whatever it wants to do. If it wants to be the only company running its own race, it should be free to do so.


On Jul 01 02:29 AM jsk wrote:

> "First and foremost, this is part of an industrial policy in the
> EU. We are being told day in and day out that industrial policy is
> such a good thing, despite that it’s been proven to be one of the
> greatest disasters of mankind."
>
> Really?!? Too bad the facts you present yourself in your own article
> prove the opposite. Thanks to this disastrous industrial policy in
> Europe, Europe has one, completely compatible standard for all cell
> phones. Europeans can buy any cell phone and use it on any cell system
> throughout Europe and not have to think twice about compatibility
> (and, oh yah, at cheaper rates, better service, and more open service
> agreements than are available in the US). Compare that to your "live
> free of die" "open market" in the US. Multiple, non-interoperable,
> completely incompatible systems; duplicating effort for higher costs
> and lower quality of service (GSM, CDMA, EVDO, 2G, 3G, etc. etc.
> etc. - do you want to get a PhD in acronyms or just make a phone
> call?).
>
> Two years ago my extended family all bought new phones. Guess what,
> they all use MicroUSB for their computer interface and chargers.
> I've lost count of the number of times that convenience has been
> a life saver in a pinch. Not to mention that now we can do things
> like equip each car with only one charging cable (that stays in the
> car and is cheaper, because it's a universal standard that almost
> everyone uses) where we used to have to carry around three or four
> different cables where ever we went (we only had one complete set
> because of the expense - which also meant we were constantly leaving
> them behind).
>
> Sometimes too much choice is stupid.

The EU Stabs Apple in the Back

You are correct that it would be great to harmonize the wall plugs as well. It would achieve a similar degree of benefits. However, this MicroUSB move pertains to the other side of the cable. In any given country (or few countries) in Europe, cell phones from all manufactures are sold, and those will now all be able to use the same charger. That solves one big problem. Doing what you suggest would solve another, equally important, problem. I'm all for it. But that step #2 shouldn't negate the equally beneficial step #1 in the form of widespread adoption of MicroUSB.


On Jun 30 02:13 PM numinary wrote:

> from a pure engineering/efficiency standpoint, it seems to make the
> most sense to try to drag all of the EU countries into using a similar
> wall plug outlet and electrical power source would provide the largest
> returns. Does this make too much sense for legislators? Or is it
> just that this is a more inconvenient issue for them to deal with?
>
>
> As someone that goes on company junkets around Europe, I would certainly
> like to see a universal power plug rather than a universal cell phone
> power cable...

The EU Stabs Apple in the Back

Looking at the issue logically, Apple pretty much didn't have a choice. Remember that scene from The Godfather -- "Either your brains or your signature will be on this paper"? So yes, Apple has signed onto an agreement, but logically it wasn't what they wanted to do. Remember those AIG employees who gave their 2008 earnings away to charity, when faced with a vote in Congress to tax them at essentially 100%? They wouldn't have given away their money unless there was this kind of legal threat.


On Jun 30 01:21 PM waterman wrote:

> Apple was one of the companies that signed the agreement to use this
> new standard.
>
> See CNet article or go to macsurfer.com for other articles
>
> "Apple, others agree to universal cell phone charger standard in
> Europe"
>
> So I don't think the EU stabbed Apple in the back and I guess Apple
> has an idea on what to do to comply.

The EU Stabs Apple in the Back

I agree that this makes sense for (almost) all market participants, such as RIM, Motorola, SonyEricsson, HTC, Nokia, Samsung and LG, because there is really no downside, and only the upside. Apple, however, will find it a pain to comply because it's got such a heavily invested ecosystem surrounding its 30 pin connector/dock.


On Jun 30 11:04 AM nishiko wrote:

> I think this is a great idea, because it's critical that countries
> take on environmental leadership and responsibility. This universal
> smart charger standard is an incredible idea... the cost/benefit
> ratio is exceedingly high in favor of the benefit. I'm glad the
> EU is taking environmentally responsible steps like this, as most
> other countries in the world seem unwilling to for whatever reason.
> And as you said, best of all, what they do often forces the same
> changes world-wide just on an economies of scale reason for most
> products. This only causes short term pain for some companies, but
> holds a great deal of long term rewards.