Will the lightning connector ever be supported ?

A good point. It's one of the reasons I don't' case my iPhone. I don't plug the iPad into anything but it's charging cord, so it's less of an issue.

 

How will that case help me in connecting my device to the exercise bike to get all of my data ???

 

It's bad enough that there were car manufacturers who had built-in iPod/iPhone dock connectors with the old connector, let alone this new (and fragile) lightning option. I must've snapped 3-4 lightning connectors because they are so fragile and thin that a simple bend the wrong way here or there will break them. I had to resort to generic lightning cables since I refuse to pay $20 a pop for a 3ft long white cord from the Apple Store.

Bluetooth is the way to go in most cases if there isn't some sort of lightning adapter to rely on. As someone who owns both Android and Apple devices, watching Apple lean so much of its production of 'newer' models based on its pride/reputation on "build quality" and "their app store" BUT not so much on other tech that could be implemented (such as NFC, wireless charging, front facing speakers rather than off to one side or on the rear), is disappointing. Especially when it comes to pricing (add $100 for every tier of disk space for the iPad Air and Minis? Really?). :thumbsdown:

 

Re Lightning cable adapters.

Find the concept of a reputable company like Apple would completely hold its customers to ransom over the supply of adapters to connect other equipment like USB , camera cards, hdmi et al.
We all know that if you require a high capacity item like a usb storage adapter , we are able to purchase any manufacturer produced item and it will interface with your PC, TV, car or whatever.
The exception being the lightning adapter which is totally anti-competitive and deliberately software engineered to iron out any competition ?

 

Supply a USB connector so the person can charge the device whilst connected via Bluetooth

 

You can get a USB to Lightning adaptor for charging. These little gizmos are primarily for iPhones, to meet a (voluntary) European standard for phone charging; but they will work on an iPad, providing the power supply has enough power.

Lightning to Micro USB Adapter - Apple Store (U.S.)

There's been talk in Europe of making USB charging a required/regulated port for device charging. Personally I think it would be a mistake to lock an industry that's moving this fast into a connector standard that is already starting to fall behind. The next USB connector will 'probably' be a lot more like the Lightning connector. Be a shame if Europe found itself stuck with a connector that is good for little but charging. That or phones would be back to having a separate port just for charging, as they did not so long ago.