Column: Why Apple's USB takeback program is a self-serving sales stunt

Nearly a month after expressing condolences to the family of a 23-year-old Chinese woman who was electrocuted while answering her

iPhone 5 while it was plugged into a third-party adapter, Apple is now following up with a "special" deal for its customers.

Citing serious concerns about the potential dangers of generic USB power adapters to both people and the devices to which they’re plugged in, Cupertino has launched a global

takeback program that will allow owners of such iPhone, iPad, and iPod adapters to swap them out for official Apple versions. For just over two months beginning August 16, not only will Apple replace customers’ knock-off chargers with ones the company can guarantee have been subject to its rigorous testing for safety and reliability, but it will dispose of the old adapters in an eco-responsible manner.

Apple is providing this superior product and environmentally friendly service for the special price of $10 - and all in the interest of the safety of its customers. How responsible. How beneficent. How - wait, ten bucks? Is that actually a deal? How much does this thing normally cost?

Full story at Minyanville.