Edison Junior, the company behind the Kickstarter-funded POP power station, is canceling the project after it failed to get the necessary licensing from Apple. The company’s downfall was its decision to include a lightning cable, which is owned by Apple and requires a license before it can be used in a commercial device.
The POP portable power station features a circular design with four built-in retractable cords that simultaneously charge an iPhone, iPad or Android device. It has a 26,000 mAh battery and can be used on a desk or nightstand while plugged into an outlet or tossed into a bag for mobile use. The project showed great promise until Edison Junior started talking with Apple about licensing the Lightning connector.
Apple intorduced the lightnining connector earlier this year and the company has a strict program that governs its use. One part of the program prohibits companies from using a Lightning connector with another charging cable, even Apple’s own legacy 30-pin connector. Because the POP power uses both a 30-pin connector and a microUSB connector, the device does not meet APple’s terms for licensing and was not approved by Apple.
Edison Junior CEO Jamie Siminoff is upset with this decision, but won’t compromise on the product. Rather than remove the Lightning connector, the company decided to cancel the project and refunded all the funds collected from supporters. This decision won’t come cheap as Edison Junior is absorbing all credit card fees and a whopping $11,000 Kickstarter fee.
[Via VentureBeat]