A popular Kickstarter project called Pop that lets you charge multiple devices from one elegant charging station was forced to shut down because Apple won't let it use the new tiny Lightning charger.
In a note to backers, which was first discovered by Wired, Pop says Apple wouldn't allow the project to use the Lightning charger in the same device as a USB charger or even Apple's own 30-pin charger for older iPhones and iPads.
The Pop project raised more than $139,000 and the company promises to refund every penny to backers. It's even setting up a special website to do so because Kickstarter doesn't make it easy enough to issue refunds for canceled projects. Pop is also taking a ~$11,000 loss due to credit card fees and the 5% cut Kickstarter takes.
Pop could've gone ahead with the project without the Lightning charger, but the note says the company didn't want to ship an incomplete product.
UPDATE: Apple tells Ars Technica that it has reversed its decision regarding pairing the old 30-pin Apple charger with the new Lightning charger in the same device. However, it's still unclear if Pop will be able to get the project moving again.
