As you know on Thursday we sent you an update that because of Apple’s rules around Lightning we would be canceling POP. The story got A LOT of news and reactions, way more than we could have ever imagined. In fact it became such big news that 24 hours after we posted Apple changed their guidelines for Lightning.

It was an incredible turn of events for us. We never could have imagined that we would be able to change Apple’s rules.

Based on Apple’s change we can make POP the way we had promised and the project is back on. We will not be processing refunds and are going full speed ahead to produce and deliver the product to you ASAP.

POP was always meant for multiple devices and is designed with Apple’s 30-pin interface as well as micro-USB ports. Inside the POP is a large battery, which is used to recharge tablets and phones a number of times before the unit itself needs to be recharged. Several charging cables enable the POP to recharge several devices at once.

I never quite understood why Apple’s guidelines wouldn’t allow for its new Lightning adapter to be used in a device that also has other charging or data interfaces. It felt like a heavy-handed move without any physical or technical reasons behind it.

Regardless of whether this was a strategic business decision initially, or simply some type of administrative oversight, it’s good to see Apple change the guideline. Not only will the 1,000 POP backers be happy, but consumers for future products that use multiple charging or data interfaces will be as well.

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Image courtesy of Flickr user opensourceway

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Apple’s selling points for the new connector: Lightning is 80 percent smaller than the old connector, and it’s reversible, so it doesn’t matter which way you put the plug in, unlike the old solution. The size issue is indeed the primary consideration, said Wiens in a phone call on Friday. But it’s not just about making room for more components into the new iPhone: there’s the future of its full mobile lineup Apple has to think about.

“Apple was running into limitations” with the current 30-pin dock, he said. “You can see with the iPod nano, the dock connector was the limiting factor” in Apple’s ability to shrink down the size of the company’s tiniest music player.

That makes sense, and we know there’s precedent for these particular kind of design considerations at Apple: see the decision to ditch the Ethernet port on the MacBook Air back in 2008.

But the change wasn’t only about design. It’s about bringing the entire mobile and Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad ecosystem (a program in which Apple certifies manufacturers’ hardware to work with its iDevice lineup) up to date, Wiens theorizes. “Thirty pins is a lot for a computer connector,” he said. Apple used that many because it was easier for accessory makers to be compatible and do more things with the iPod, and then eventually iPhone and iPad. (Here’s a handy chart explaining what each of the 30 pins is used for.)

“The new connector is moving from a combination of anolog plus digital to pure digital. They’re saying, ‘Hey, if you have an accessory, like a car stereo, you have to talk over USB or a digital interface,” said Wiens. “They’re forcing accessories to be a bit more sophisticated.” Luckily, he added, that’s not really a challenge for most accessory makers any more the way it would have been nine years ago.

But if size is such an important concern, why did Apple come up with its own Lightning connector instead of using something small that almost everybody already has lying around, like micro-USB, which is already a standard in Europe? It’s very likely about money and control.

Though he admits it’s a “cynical view,” Wiens says a main benefit of going with a new connector like Lightning is Apple’s ability to charge “big bucks” to license the use of it to accessory and peripheral makers. He estimates through his talks with peripheral makers that Apple charges from $1 to $2 per device to make stuff compatible with the iPod, iPhone or iPad.

Apple, a famously controlling company, has a very clear view of future product roadmaps, and that includes what kind of connectors it does or does not want hooking up to its devices. The licensing model allows that.

We won’t know the true performance benefits of Lightning (is it really faster, as Apple says?) until the iPhone and new iPods start shipping and users get the chance to test them out. But we do know that thanks to the change, there’s a potentially large pile of e-waste headed for landfills over the next couple of years as hotel alarm clocks, old battery cases and cables will eventually be swapped out as Apple’s new wave of Lightning-capable devices grows in size.

Still, “they kept connector for nine years,” Wiens said. “Good on them for keeping it as long as they did.”

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Apple is forcing a migration to a new, smaller dock connector called Lightning with the latest model iPhone and iPods introduced this week. Besides standard Lightning-to-USB and Lightning-to-wall-plugs, Apple is also planning to sell other Lightning cables. However, not all of these were ready at launch.

Apple plans to sell Lightning-to-HDMI and Lightning-to-VGA cables for those who want to display video to another source with a wired solution. But when will these video-related cables be available? The company didn’t mention it at the launch this week, but Apple told The Verge on Thursday night rather vaguely that these will be available in “the coming months.”

Apple’s also selling converters for $30 or $40 that will keep a new iPhone or iPod compatible with older 30-pin cables and docks. However, the first round of inventory is already sold out. According to Apple’s website, just about 7 hours after it went on sale, three models of 30-pin adapters are backordered until sometime in October. Even the basic Lightning cable now won’t ship for two to three more weeks.

Luckily, if you’ve already bought an iPhone 5 or new iPod, one of the basic cables is included in the box.

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The new connector in all the new iPods and the iPhone 5 is called Lightning (like Thunderbolt, get it?). It’s an 8-pin connector, which means it’s much smaller than the 30-pin connector Apple’s been using since it ditched FireWire almost 10 years ago. The benefits of the new connector, according to Apple:

• It’s much smaller (80 percent, to be exact) — that means Apple can fit a lot more components into the smaller-than-ever new iPhone 5.
• It’s reversible: you won’t have to pay attention to which side is facing up to plug it in.
• It’s faster: Apple says data will flow faster over the new cable.

Obviously, this is annoying for current Apple customers. And it’s going to cost you at least $30 for a converter, or $20 for a new Lightning/USB cable. But, to be fair, Apple’s not doing this purely for the sake of making everyone buy new stuff. Apple is pretty merciless about cutting out technology it considers past its prime. See also: optical disk drives, Flash, Mini-DVI.

In the screengrab below, you can see  the different options for the new 8-pin converters and cables (which, yes, are really just little pieces of plastic and metal):

So, yeah, Apple’s going to benefit a bit too on these new sales. The accessories market is an area where Apple pulls in a ton of revenue, for iPods, iPhones and iPads. The company brought in nearly $2 billion to $3 billion selling accessories in fiscal year 2011 alone, according to some estimations. And much of those accessories that Apple makes, like cables and adapters, are almost pure profit, since they don’t cost that much to build in the first place.

The new dock isn’t terrible news for third-party accessory makers either. It means that for some of them, they will have the opportunity to sell you a whole new iPod dock, new cases, new chargers, or any accessory you currently use that connects via the port on the bottom of your iPod or iPhone. Apple said major brands like JBL, Bose, Bang & Olufsen, and Bowers & Wilkins are among the first that will make iPod stereo docks and other accessories with the new Lightning connectors. Those will be available, naturally, some time before the holidays.

This means the new iPad, introduced in March, is the only current generation Apple mobile device that still uses the 30-pin connector. But that’s obviously going to change soon. Any move Apple makes in regards to the iPhone, means it’s going to roll it out to all its mobile products. That means the next iPad (and rumored iPad mini?) will have the new connector too.

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