Short cables for are awesome. Short cables for $25, is a joke.
I read in the news today this awesome little cable that I've wanted for a long time: A short 3" Lightning Cable.
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/04/18/nomad-lightning-cable-now-available-for-preorder-shipping-in-june/
It's perfect for small kits of gadget accessories that hold a charger or portable battery to charge your iPhone 5 or iPad Mini. Now that the old 30-pin dock connector is passe, it's time to move on to new technologies. The real problem is the price: It's a friggin' $25 for a three inch piece of cable!
More surprisingly, following the thread posted above at Mac Rumors, is that I see a ton of apologists actually defending the price point! Their arguments are laughable, like this one:
"Everyone, please don't tell me that the concept of portability is completely lost on you...
Yes, it's $25. Yes, that's $25 for a very short cable. It's the same reason you pay several hundred dollars for a cell phone that isn't nearly as powerful as a laptop you could buy for about the same amount of money. Because it's portable. It's comfortable to have in your pocket whenever you need it. You're going to pay more for that convenience."
While it's true that for electronics, smaller and more portable often means more expensive. But that counts for complex electronic parts being crammed into a smaller shell. It doesn't apply here, where all you need to make it smaller is to cut the cable shorter. I mean, DUH.
Here's the real rub: Two years ago I bought a Griffin set of short cables off Amazon for about $15. I got three short cables, like the one you got here. The difference being the ones I got were 1 Mini USB, 1 Micro USB, and 1 30Pin Apple Connector.
http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Technology-GC17097-USB-Mini-Cable/dp/B003T5KXJQ
These were awesome cables because they were so stall and fit into my minimalist kits. I could bring them anywhere, and coupled with a small battery I was never out of charging options for my gadgets (except the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which had its own proprietary connector, ugh).
I paid $15 for all three of them. So forgive me laughing at this very useful but insanely overpriced hunk of crap of $25.
But oh, it's a Lightning Connector! Those cables are the old Apple 30 Pin Adapter?
Oh please, the creativity of a 3-year old could resolve that issue. My solution? I bought a $5 Micro USB to Lightning connector. Then I attach it to my existing short Griffin Micro USB cable. Total cost? $20 for three cables and the adapter.
http://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Micro-female-Adapter-iPhone/dp/B009VH56FM
I'm doing something right because my solution is cheaper than the price of this overpriced hunk of crap, and I got three extra cable functions out of it to boot.
So really, who's the fool here? The dumb ass entrepreneurs who create dastardly overpriced gear to make a profit? Or the blind sheep consumers like us who keep buying this overpriced crap? Knowledge is power. If you know better, you can avoid scams like this. I'll keep posting more about what's wrong with this world, if I can help even a few people shape up their spending habits it'll all be worth it.
I read in the news today this awesome little cable that I've wanted for a long time: A short 3" Lightning Cable.
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/04/18/nomad-lightning-cable-now-available-for-preorder-shipping-in-june/
It's perfect for small kits of gadget accessories that hold a charger or portable battery to charge your iPhone 5 or iPad Mini. Now that the old 30-pin dock connector is passe, it's time to move on to new technologies. The real problem is the price: It's a friggin' $25 for a three inch piece of cable!
More surprisingly, following the thread posted above at Mac Rumors, is that I see a ton of apologists actually defending the price point! Their arguments are laughable, like this one:
"Everyone, please don't tell me that the concept of portability is completely lost on you...
Yes, it's $25. Yes, that's $25 for a very short cable. It's the same reason you pay several hundred dollars for a cell phone that isn't nearly as powerful as a laptop you could buy for about the same amount of money. Because it's portable. It's comfortable to have in your pocket whenever you need it. You're going to pay more for that convenience."
While it's true that for electronics, smaller and more portable often means more expensive. But that counts for complex electronic parts being crammed into a smaller shell. It doesn't apply here, where all you need to make it smaller is to cut the cable shorter. I mean, DUH.
Here's the real rub: Two years ago I bought a Griffin set of short cables off Amazon for about $15. I got three short cables, like the one you got here. The difference being the ones I got were 1 Mini USB, 1 Micro USB, and 1 30Pin Apple Connector.
http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Technology-GC17097-USB-Mini-Cable/dp/B003T5KXJQ
These were awesome cables because they were so stall and fit into my minimalist kits. I could bring them anywhere, and coupled with a small battery I was never out of charging options for my gadgets (except the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which had its own proprietary connector, ugh).
I paid $15 for all three of them. So forgive me laughing at this very useful but insanely overpriced hunk of crap of $25.
But oh, it's a Lightning Connector! Those cables are the old Apple 30 Pin Adapter?
Oh please, the creativity of a 3-year old could resolve that issue. My solution? I bought a $5 Micro USB to Lightning connector. Then I attach it to my existing short Griffin Micro USB cable. Total cost? $20 for three cables and the adapter.
http://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Micro-female-Adapter-iPhone/dp/B009VH56FM
I'm doing something right because my solution is cheaper than the price of this overpriced hunk of crap, and I got three extra cable functions out of it to boot.
So really, who's the fool here? The dumb ass entrepreneurs who create dastardly overpriced gear to make a profit? Or the blind sheep consumers like us who keep buying this overpriced crap? Knowledge is power. If you know better, you can avoid scams like this. I'll keep posting more about what's wrong with this world, if I can help even a few people shape up their spending habits it'll all be worth it.
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