Apple’s Lightning to Micro USB Adapter can now be purchased by those residing in the United States. Hitherto, only Europe has seen the connector, which, as the name quite overtly suggests, allows one to connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod with Lightning connector to a micro USB cable, for purpose of syncing with a computer or simply charging.
Costing $19, it is now available through Apple’s online US Store, and is likely to begin appearing at Apple Retail Stores very shortly, for those of you that still visit shops in order to buy new stuff.
The Cupertino company’s Lightning dock connector has certainly been a topic of controversy since first being introduced with the iPhone 5 back in September. Apple’s decision to keep it proprietary was seen as a blatant attempt to squeeze more money out of consumers. Given that the Lightning dock connector doesn’t offer anything the universally-accepted micro USB does, consumers are needing to buy a lot more on adapters than they would perhaps have liked, and at nigh-on 20 bucks a pop, the little extra expenditure leaves a sour taste considering the price of iOS devices in the first place.
The move from a 30-pin to the much more compact Lightning means space can be conserved within, for more pressing hardware implementations. With that said, iFixit’s teardown of the latest iPad 4 suggests Apple has been somewhat wasteful with the new-found space, so while the tiny Lightning connector looks cute and all at the bottom of the comparatively large tablet, consumers would undoubtedly have been better off if the older connector has remained.
Notwithstanding, those of you with peripherals and / or sync cables with micro USB connectors, you’ll likely want to pick up an adapter from Apple’s online store. Costly as it may be for what it represents, it’s a handy little adapter to have in the inventory, and while you could probably grab a cheap copy from eBay for a fraction of the cost, it’s always better to go “legit” and grab any hardware straight from the vendor.
If you need a Lightning to micro USB adapter in your life, then simply follow this link to Apple’s site.
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