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What advantage does Apple's 30 pin connector have over regular USB?
I'm curious to know what the 30 pin Apple iPod/iPhone/iPad connector (or any other proprietary connector for that matter) has over a traditional USB or other standard adapter.
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crichton007's pick
Any company who wants their device to do anything more advanced than basic SD video and audio absolutely needs to use a proprietary connector. There simply aren't enough pins in the standard USB connector to support simultaneous HD video, surround sound audio, power, data, etc.
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crichton007's pick
The Apple 30 pin connector in addition to USB also has audio and video which is how it can support the HDMI adapter in the latest iPad 2. Even before HDMI in the iPad 2, Apple supported less capable versions of video and always supported audio.
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crichton007's pick
It's also a way for them to keep consumers tied to the Apple ecosystem, making sure that people only get peripherals that are Apple-friendly. These in turn yield ancillary profits for Apple. So it is to Apple's advantage, and not to the consumer, to continue to use this proprietary port.
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community pick
Eh?
*Looks around at gajillions of iPod sounddocks, dedicated car systems, etc that never existed when manufacturers insisted on using a different connector every generation of product or still insists on using standard MicroUSB/USB*
I have no idea.
*Looks around at gajillions of iPod sounddocks, dedicated car systems, etc that never existed when manufacturers insisted on using a different connector every generation of product or still insists on using standard MicroUSB/USB*
I have no idea.
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