ZNAPS for mag-safe like connection on USB-C

[headcase]

A very cool mobile device project on Kickstarter that is gaining lots of traction, and they are also planning a USB-C solution if they reach the $2M investment mark. I just invested in the iOS connectors, as its a no-brainer solution.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...tic-adapter-for-your-mobile-devic/description

 

[Ulenspiegel]

@headcase: Thanks for the link. It is very original!

 

[facrat]

Looks like an over-engineered "solution" to me: bulky and awkward, sticking out from both the socket and plug, for Lightning at least hardly makes a difference in convenience. Personally can't see the value proposition at all.

 

[zhenya]

I will be very surprised if this ever actually ships a product. Apple is very protective of their mag-safe patent, and this is pretty clearly in violation. Smells like a scam to me.

 

[headcase]

I will be very surprised if this ever actually ships a product. Apple is very protective of their mag-safe patent, and this is pretty clearly in violation. Smells like a scam to me.

Read through their FAQ and materials, as they address this concern. They state that their patent lawyer did a patent search before the project commenced, and the current Apple patent pertains to cable design, which ZNAPS purposely avoided designing.

Frankly, I'm more concerned about whether this will have any impact on data throughput or other connectivity beyond power... especially for USB-C, if they end up designing one.

 

[headcase]

Looks like an over-engineered "solution" to me: bulky and awkward, sticking out from both the socket and plug, for Lightning at least hardly makes a difference in convenience. Personally can't see the value proposition at all.

Only a few days into the campaign, and they're already approaching $1M in pledges. Personally, I'd say this project has legs, and I think it makes sense.

 

[zhenya]

Read through their FAQ and materials, as they address this concern. They state that their patent lawyer did a patent search before the project commenced, and the current Apple patent pertains to cable design, which ZNAPS purposely avoided designing.

Frankly, I'm more concerned about whether this will have any impact on data throughput or other connectivity beyond power... especially for USB-C, if they end up designing one.

I know they say that, but those are just words that help generate an awful lot of income with no real obligation to do anything with it. Again, 'funding' this campaign is not placing an 'order'. There is absolutely no guarantee that this will ever get off the ground, and given how aggressively Apple has pursued other accessories in the past, I would not hold my breath on ever seeing a shipping product here.

 

[headcase]

Time will only tell. I'm hopeful.

 

[Vanilla Face]

I'd say more Kickstarter campaigns don't deliver or are incredibly delayed than arrive on time. I'd wait until they actually come out with something.

 

[Mac 128]

Frankly, I'm more concerned about whether this will have any impact on data throughput or other connectivity beyond power... especially for USB-C, if they end up designing one.

Frankly, I don't think this is the best use of MagSafe. Considering Apple essentially decided they didn't even need to include a port at all except it was the most efficient way to charge it, the main way to use MagSafe is for charging it. So data throughput is not really a consideration.

Indeed, if you did want to plug a peripheral into the USC-C port, I can see doing it on the desktop, and daisy chaining the power out of your dock. That way if anybody trips over your cable, it doesn't snap off your data mid-transfer. Besides, people are rarely ever going to run a long cable from their MacBook to a peripheral that puts the Mac in danger, and again you wouldn't want that cable popped off during a data transmission. MagSafe was designed for power, and that's where it should stay. There are no MagSafe data ports now, and I don't see any reason to monkey with it now. If Apple had thought this was a good idea, I'm thinking they would have been the first to introduce it. What Apple is counting on here is that most people only plug their Macs into power. And MagSafe makes that incredibly easy.

 

[jesusplay]

This looks great, I don't care about data, I'll be using this for charging only.

I've been following kickstarter for a few years and this is the first product I actually pledge on, good post thanks!

 

[headcase]

Frankly, I don't think this is the best use of MagSafe. Considering Apple essentially decided they didn't even need to include a port at all except it was the most efficient way to charge it, the main way to use MagSafe is for charging it. So data throughput is not really a consideration.

Indeed, if you did want to plug a peripheral into the USC-C port, I can see doing it on the desktop, and daisy chaining the power out of your dock. That way if anybody trips over your cable, it doesn't snap off your data mid-transfer. Besides, people are rarely ever going to run a long cable from their MacBook to a peripheral that puts the Mac in danger, and again you wouldn't want that cable popped off during a data transmission. MagSafe was designed for power, and that's where it should stay. There are no MagSafe data ports now, and I don't see any reason to monkey with it now. If Apple had thought this was a good idea, I'm thinking they would have been the first to introduce it. What Apple is counting on here is that most people only plug their Macs into power. And MagSafe makes that incredibly easy.

But here's the rub: MagSafe was for power connections only, and going forward, USB-C is an all-in-one solution... so to say that the past = the future for how & when to design break-away cable /port solutions doesn't make sense to me.