iPodNN is reporting that Apple has patented the application of the Unibody process to iPods. The one in the picture, the Classic, seems to be heading towards EOL in a generation or two so that's not terribly exciting. What would be VERY interesting is if they applied that to the iPod touch and iPhone. Mockup artists, that's your cue. Meet us in the comments?
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here's a good one!
here's a good one!
That would look pretty decent
That would look pretty decent if it didn't look so horrible.
no!...that's a bad one...it's
no!...that's a bad one...it's a really, really bad one. Why does everyone think this looks good, or for that matter, why does everyone think this resembles apple design. See, this is why apple has an award winning design team and you're not on it. nor is the guy who came up with this beastly mock-up.
I like this one
I like this one
And as the commenters said,
And as the commenters said, that would be impossible to hold landscape.
I thought the 1st generation
I thought the 1st generation iPhone was already done using the unibody method, and that they adapted that for the iMac, MacBook, and MacBook Pro.
Pressed aluminum sheet is not
Pressed aluminum sheet is not unibody. Unibody refers to hollowing out a block of aluminum to a desired shape.
1st Gen iPhone
I can tell you the 1st gen iPhone uses just an aluminum stamped back and not a unibody as the dents in mine prove. The recessed headphone only makes it look solid.
eventually!
While it may not appear in the next generation of products, it should be eventual -- afterall, Apple has a schedule to release new ipods and iphones every year - gotta make it interesting enough for people to ditch their current ones and buy the hot-and-new. I don't imagine this happening until they can get their cost down on the unibodys. Considering that's why the low-end macbook unibody is still $1300, they're not there yet.
The 2nd generation iPod Touch
The 2nd generation iPod Touch is already a "unibody" construction.
A unibody iPhone is the
A unibody iPhone is the supidest idea i've heard for a while
yet it would chang much, 3G can not (Efficiently) go through an aluminum housing, there for, the new sexy plastic is the way to go.
Machining aluminum to be a
Machining aluminum to be a thin face plate would be just plain silly. This has to be a patent which will be extended to something else for sure.
Nano & Shuffle are Nearly Unibodies
Some of the Nano and Shuffle lines are almost unibodies. They use a blank of extruded aluminum, mill out some parts (for the display and clickwheel, in the case of the Nano,) and then do a surface finishing tratment.
Wasn't the iPod mini
Wasn't the iPod mini unibody'ish?
I think this may be a generic
I think this may be a generic cover for where they are going.
You think the classic is
You think the classic is EOL'ing? But what about all the people who like to carry thirty thousand songs around with them?
Won't happen.
Aluminum is not fitted for phones. It's bad for the reception. That's the main reason why they abandonned it after the 1st gen.
Unibody doesn't have to be
Unibody doesn't have to be aluminum. You can mill plastic. Plus this would allow them to mill the antenna area very thin so it would not have interferance.
I just don't know how they'd make them quick enough. Unless this is just for premium (iPhone/iPod pros) at the start.
A unibody iPhone would be so
A unibody iPhone would be so damn awesome. I really hope that they figure out how to keep as good wifi- and 3G reception as possible and still make the iPhone out of aluminum. The 2G iPhone is a real looker!