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Jonathan Ive on the design of the iPhone 4

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Re: Jonathan Ive on the design of the iPhone 4

#3
I really liked the original iPhone for how solid and a little heavy it felt, as though it's actually worth the $600 you paid for it. I'm glad to see that back with the iPhone 4; the 3G model just felt like a cheap toy.

Reminds me of that scene from Jurassic Park where the kids find the night vision goggles in the back of the truck:

  Gennaro: Hey, where'd you find that? 
  Tim: In a box under my seat. 
  Gennaro: Are they heavy? 
  Tim: Yeah. 
  Gennaro: Then they're expensive, put 'em back.

Re: Jonathan Ive on the design of the iPhone 4

#4
post #3

I really liked the original iPhone for how solid and a little heavy it felt, as though it's actually worth the $600 you paid for it. I'm glad to see that back with the iPhone 4; the 3G model just felt like a cheap toy. Reminds me of that scene from Jurassic Park where the kids find the night vision goggles in the back of the truck: Gennaro: Hey, where'd you find that? Tim: In a box under my seat. Gennaro: Are they he…

Sometimes Apple’s material choices are questionable. Their iPod touches have this really slick, polished metal back. It looks really great – for a few weeks. Then it’s quickly getting scratches.

I don’t know whether they picked that material for sentimental reasons (all iPods back to the first one – except the smaller ones – had that back) and whether you are just supposed to accept that back that’s slowly getting more and more scratches. (I won’t use cases. Never. I have to be able to put your gadget in my empty jeans pocket. If I can’t there’s something wrong with your product.)

Apple knows and used better materials. My trusty six year old brushed aluminum iPod mini pretty much looks like new and has been treated far worse than my iPod touch.

Re: Jonathan Ive on the design of the iPhone 4

#5
Ive is right. My new iPhone is like a work of art. Like a piece of art in a museum, because I can't touch it either. The unit I have has so many problems, simply holding it makes it lose both 3G and wifi signal. I'm exchanging mine or switching back to my 3GS

Re: Jonathan Ive on the design of the iPhone 4

#6
post #4
post #3

I really liked the original iPhone for how solid and a little heavy it felt, as though it's actually worth the $600 you paid for it. I'm glad to see that back with the iPhone 4; the 3G model just felt like a cheap toy. Reminds me of that scene from Jurassic Park where the kids find the night vision goggles in the back of the truck: Gennaro: Hey, where'd you find that? Tim: In a box under my seat. Gennaro: Are they he…

Sometimes Apple’s material choices are questionable. Their iPod touches have this really slick, polished metal back. It looks really great – for a few weeks. Then it’s quickly getting scratches. I don’t know whether they picked that material for sentimental reasons (all iPods back to the first one – except the smaller ones – had that back) and whether you are just supposed to accept that back that’s slowly getting mo…

> Their iPod touches have this really slick, polished metal back. It looks really great – for a few weeks. Then it’s quickly getting scratches.

Likewise for the chrome bezel. Within an hour of ditching my iPhone's case, I nicked the damn thing with a very slight bump. It was a huge relief to see Apple lose the chrome for the iPhone 4. But after one of Engadget's phones got a nice big scratch on the back, I can no longer assume they're using gorilla glass on both sides.

I'm forced to believe they make questionable material choices merely to increase the "shiny", which is one of my main gripes with Apple. It's undoubtedly why they use glossy displays by default on MacBooks, iMacs, and iPads, even though matte is far more usable.

Re: Jonathan Ive on the design of the iPhone 4

#7
When you see the breaks, the three little black reveals that interrupt the band, in photographs, you could be forgiven for assuming you're seeing three separate strips of metal with gaps in between; but in fact it's all one piece.

from the internal photos at ifixits iphone 4 teardown[1] this doesn't appear to actually be true... or am i crazy? ( i am fully prepare to be called crazy/blind :) )

[1] http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-4-Teardown/3130/1

Re: Jonathan Ive on the design of the iPhone 4

#8
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes Apple’s material choices are questionable. Their iPod touches have this really slick, polished metal back. It looks really great – for a few weeks. Then it’s quickly getting scratches. I don’t know whether they picked that material for sentimental reasons (all iPods back to the first one – except the smaller ones – had that back) and whether you are just supposed to accept that back that’s slowly getting mo…

> Their iPod touches have this really slick, polished metal back. It looks really great – for a few weeks. Then it’s quickly getting scratches. Likewise for the chrome bezel. Within an hour of ditching my iPhone's case, I nicked the damn thing with a very slight bump. It was a huge relief to see Apple lose the chrome for the iPhone 4. But after one of Engadget's phones got a nice big scratch on the back, I can no lon…

To be fair, the introduction of glossy displays was done after most other laptop manufacturers had switched. I'm sure they did it because it looks better at the store, i.e. you have to know that a matte display is more usable in daylight to prefer that over the glossy display.

Re: Jonathan Ive on the design of the iPhone 4

#9
post #7

When you see the breaks, the three little black reveals that interrupt the band, in photographs, you could be forgiven for assuming you're seeing three separate strips of metal with gaps in between; but in fact it's all one piece. from the internal photos at ifixits iphone 4 teardown[1] this doesn't appear to actually be true... or am i crazy? ( i am fully prepare to be called crazy/blind :) ) [1] http://www.ifixit.c…

I'm pretty sure this is a difference of semantics. He means that it's all one piece and then they machine into the separate antennas that fit together with incredibly tight tolerances.

Re: Jonathan Ive on the design of the iPhone 4

#10
post #5

Ive is right. My new iPhone is like a work of art. Like a piece of art in a museum, because I can't touch it either. The unit I have has so many problems, simply holding it makes it lose both 3G and wifi signal. I'm exchanging mine or switching back to my 3GS

3G AND WiFi? Somehow I doubt you even own an iPhone...
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