Profits Over Portability: Shame On You Apple!

Profits Over Portability: Shame On You Apple!

Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE, J.D. Candidate 2013

As a software engineer turned law student, I spent nearly ten years in IT before making the transition into technology law.  Those who’ve followed me from MyMobiSafe and the mobile security blogosphere know that there have been times in the past when “ole Uncle Steve” (aka Steve Jobs) and I have had very different opinions about the direction of Apple technologies (and on occasion these heated disagreements have played out in right before the eyes of the public).  Now that my dear adversary Steve Jobs is no longer here to joust with in the name of technology, I assuredly know that he would hold a passionate position on the latest iPhone 5.  I won’t call this one another “ugly baby”, but I will say freely that the Apple Corporation has clearly elected profits over portability for this new device.

The iPhone 5 as a whole comes to the market with strikingly beneficial upgrades, but one area it is gaining rapid criticism (and rightly so) is with its new charging port.  Here is the issue, since 2003 Apple has devised all of its products to accommodate a 30-pin connector, now with the release of the iPhone 5, Apple loyal’s are being forced to change to a smaller 19-pin version.  What’s the big deal, just get the $29 USD adapter and quit complaining already, right? Not so fast!  The underlying crux of this decision has nothing to do with the thinner diameter of the device as Apple purports, but everything to do with that extra $29 adapter.  The 30-pin technology is even used in the smallest of Apple devices and as a result an entire aftermarket industry based on the 30 pin design has blossomed.  If you are going to go to a new charging port, why not go to something more universal like the microUSB?

In the European Union for example, all Apple devices will be sold with a microUSB port, but only because the regulators require it.  For all other markets, Apple can charge a premium on this fancy little adapter, which clearly puts profits ahead of portability for Apple users throughout the world.  This executive decision (not a design decision as claimed) is aimed at profits and as Apple loyal’s are protesting, this is a slap in the face.

As I’ve said, Steve Jobs and I have disagreed in the past, but as technologists we could always whittle our disagreements down to matters of aesthetic preference; it was never a disagreement based on profit or corporate greed.  Apple has overstepped here and I join the rest of the Apple community and call this one.

How could Apple make it right? Temporarily, they should include the adapter with the iPhone 5 (they are already making a huge profit margin on each device they sell) and recalculate their projected numbers ever so slightly.  In the long term, Apple needs to move toward a more universal solution like the microUSB and put portability (the essence of the iPhone) before the profit.

 

#Apple #iPhone5 #MAC #eDiscovery #infosec #bizlaw

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About the Author:  Eric Everson is a 3L law student at Florida A&M University – College of Law.  Prior to law school he earned an MBA and Masters in Software Engineering while serving ten years of executive leadership in the U.S. telecommunications industry.  The views and opinions presented in this blog are his own and are not to be construed as legal advice.  Eric Everson currently serves as the President of the Electronic Discovery Law Student Association at Florida A&M University – College of Law.  Follow @IntleDiscovery