iLounge

1

That looks amazing!  That’s the only complaint I have with the look of my iPhone is the half silver half black backing!  Sucks that it would void the warranty though.

Posted by Brad Barbour on July 19, 2007 at 8:46 AM (PDT)

2

That looks fantastic.
One of the few qualms I had about the iPhone was how…rushed it looked. The different textures and colors are definitely not the iconic style that Apple used in the past. (well, past five years, at least)

Posted by MirandaKali in D.C. on July 19, 2007 at 9:04 AM (PDT)

3

for a product not is not “officially sanctioned by Apple” it sports a familiar looking logo…

would that be a lawsuit waiting to happen?

Posted by hydra-calm on July 19, 2007 at 9:18 AM (PDT)

4

bah! i was hoping i’d be one of the first to do this. my black back just arrived today!

Posted by mdwsta4 on July 19, 2007 at 10:07 AM (PDT)

5

I’m sure it’s as official as the other iPhones being sold in China (like the ones that went on sale before the iPhone was released).

Good luck Apple with a lawsuit against this Chinese company.

Posted by dodo on July 19, 2007 at 10:19 AM (PDT)

6

If you look at the closeups, they aren’t reproducing the logo, they just have a punchout to allow you to see the logo that is already on the back of the phone.

Also, the back is slightly different.  Look at the headphone port, it isn’t the same as the fab silver back on the phones now.  It is missing the sloping curved cutout on the bottom.

Posted by cherno on July 19, 2007 at 10:48 AM (PDT)

7

Edit: actually it is the logo and not just a punch out as I though originally.  I saw the sunken nature of the logo and though I could see through it.  Not sure how that is going to work legally.

Posted by cherno on July 19, 2007 at 10:51 AM (PDT)

8

Is it really metal, or is it the same softer backing that is on the OEM backing?

Posted by shahidhaque on July 19, 2007 at 12:20 PM (PDT)

9

Look, I’m all about customization, but if you take steps to void the warranty on a $600 piece of equipment for the sake of adding about three inches of black to the BACKSIDE of the thing, that seems a little extreme to me. Personally, I dig the stock silver backing but if I hated it that much, I’d find a suitable case to cover it up.

But that’s just me, I suppose. I’m technically savvy but I shudder at the thought of doing much disassembly to my iPhone, especially for a purely aesthetic reason. That said, the black backing does look nice and maybe the process isn’t so invasive as to cancel warranty coverage, provided that you could return the OEM silver plate to its place seamlessly.

Posted by Flippy Hambone on July 19, 2007 at 12:20 PM (PDT)

10

As Butthead would say:

“Huh huh -  you said “Black REAR cover.  Huh Huh, Rear…”

Posted by MCW on July 19, 2007 at 2:52 PM (PDT)

11

I don’t think they manufactured the actual case, but simply took the standard silver one and had it anondized, like what is done with the shuffles and nanos.

Posted by thewho61 on July 19, 2007 at 3:24 PM (PDT)

12

the thing I would like to see is replacing the little bit of black with silver…

Posted by Ben on July 19, 2007 at 4:17 PM (PDT)

13

I doubt they took a standard silver rear cover to anodize it.  Where would they get one from?  Apple?  Almost every product for sale on that site says “OEM” this or “OEM” that.  I highly doubt that any of them are actually OEM.  They’re just knock-offs.  It’s China, so they’re not worried about copyrights or trademarks or truth-in-advertising.

Posted by dod on July 19, 2007 at 5:45 PM (PDT)

14

No, they didn’t order them from Apple, they just did what every other iPod replacement part company does, buy an iPod, take it apart, and sell the parts at triple their value.

Posted by thewho61 on July 19, 2007 at 7:44 PM (PDT)

15

I have an 8gig first gen iPhone with a dent on the back corner of the alloy plate. This is the reason why I would like to replace it with the black one. This makes sense and resembles the new G3 black back anyway and besides, the anodized finish is less prone to obvious scratches, which are inevitable…

Posted by zoll on July 16, 2008 at 3:44 PM (PDT)