Hmm, Apple's Materials Scientists need to start looking for 'durable' rather than 'strong' when researching materials for making cases for phones from. Just watch any YouTube clip of a typical Formula One accident and you'll see that on impact the carbon fibre shatters into thousands of fragments because while strong, they are brittle. Haven't they learned that with the glass backs of the iP4?
Actually that is by design, the cars outer shell is design in a way to shatter, in the case of car going 200MPH you want the energy to be absorbed and dissipated not transfer to the driver. So ridge and strong is bad from an impact stand point, flexible & pliable is what you want.
Today all cars are design to just crumble and fall apart as they are impacted this helps dissipated the energy and reduce the impact. Remember speed does not kill the sudden stop that does. Same go for things falling and hit the ground, so the more flexable and pliable you can make a product the better it will do on impact.
Especially glass which seldom is recycled. For the most part it is cheaper to make glass from fresh materials.
Aluminum is a bit trickyer But I honestly don't see Apples method of making iPads case as extremely energy efficient. In the end I wouldn't be surprised to find that a carbon based shell ends up with less contained energy. Think about how much material remains after machining the back or shell. Yeah it can be recycled, but both the recycling and the machining are not free environmentally.
As to craplets well poor design is poor design. That does not mean that Appple will also engage in poor design. A molded carbon fiber back could actually lead to a significant improvement in the iPad, possible the AIR and especially the handheld devices.
As a side note I worked for a bit in the metal die casting industry. I often wonder why Apple doesn't consider such technology for its pocketable devices. You get near net shape parts without the excessive waste of machined parts. I was actually hoping that Apples purchasing of rights to "Liquid" metals would lead to something new even revolutionary here. Basically a way to build high volume parts that are very strong yet reasonably light.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008
It's the environmental aspect too. Can't beat aluminium and glass for recyclability. Sure, call me brainwashed but remember all that hype about e-waste? Well, it's all the rest of the world churning out all these rubbish plastic clunky bloatware-ridden laptops and now, crapblets. Instant landfill, they are.
Hmm, Apple's Materials Scientists need to start looking for 'durable' rather than 'strong' when researching materials for making cases for phones from.
On the face of it a reasonable request. However durable often equates to ugly. I have at my disposal a bunch of handheld electronic instrumentation. Some of this stuff is very durable as designed and then the manufactures supply you with a rubber boot to make the device even more idiot proof. Durable yes but also ugly, plus a massive rubber boot makes it look a bit obscene if put in your pocket.
Quote:
Just watch any YouTube clip of a typical Formula One accident and you'll see that on impact the carbon fibre shatters into thousands of fragments because while strong, they are brittle. Haven't they learned that with the glass backs of the iP4?
Others have already explained the car crashes but what about the iPhone 4. Does the glass on that unit break that much more often than on previous generations? Well we know from some research that it does but only slightly more than older phones. In the end the statistical difference isn't significant. All the negativity surrounding the various "issues" of the iPhone 4 are just net magnifications of idiots and people with agendas. Without a doubt the iPhone4 is the best cell phone I've owned so I take these comments or positions with a grain of thought.
That does not mean that Appple will also engage in poor design. A molded carbon fiber back could actually lead to a significant improvement in the iPad, possible the AIR and especially the handheld devices.
I don't see how you'll get the same tolerances or thinness from CF over aluminum so that's two issues right there. Maybe for the back of an iMac or bottom of an Mac notebook, but not for chassis of an iPad.
I don't see how you'll get the same tolerances or thinness from CF over aluminum so that's two issues right there. Maybe for the back of an iMac or bottom of an Mac notebook, but not for chassis of an iPad.
I've never taken an iPad apart so I really don't know how thick it is. That being said fiber products can be thin. It really depends upon factors such as the stiffness you are looking for and other things.
Now the thing here is that molding gives you many options when it comes to structure. Plus fiber gives you options in assembly. For example they could build a shell and then bond all the components in place permanently. Not so great if the battery needs to be replaced but very durable. In the end for Apple to maintain thinner is better new approaches to construction must be found. I can see a device where everything is so tightly integrated that the device would be as solid as a Slab of wood. The ultimate progression here would be to lay out the Copper traces right on the shell and build up the board layers from there.
If Apple is looking at these fiber techniques I have to think that long term it's goals are to strive for thiness through new techniques.
I've never taken an iPad apart so I really don't know how thick it is. That being said fiber products can be thin. It really depends upon factors such as the stiffness you are looking for and other things.
Now the thing here is that molding gives you many options when it comes to structure. Plus fiber gives you options in assembly. For example they could build a shell and then bond all the components in place permanently. Not so great if the battery needs to be replaced but very durable. In the end for Apple to maintain thinner is better new approaches to construction must be found. I can see a device where everything is so tightly integrated that the device would be as solid as a Slab of wood. The ultimate progression here would be to lay out the Copper traces right on the shell and build up the board layers from there.
If Apple is looking at these fiber techniques I have to think that long term it's goals are to strive for thiness through new techniques.
I'll give you that, though I don't think I've seen any CF construction that can achieve such integrated and high-production results the potential certainly seems like it's there and probably why Apple has been and will continue to patent CF-based designs.
This exact process has been done in the Automative, Marine, and aircraft business for the last 20 years.... I see no way it could be a valid patent, but the way the system is so screwed up now, they will probably get it...
I was thinking the same thing. The new 787 has a very similar process, might even be exactly the same. Not sure so I won't speak in absolutes, but this sounds very similar to what Boeing has been doing for 5 years now.
This exact process has been done in the Automative, Marine, and aircraft business for the last 20 years.... I see no way it could be a valid patent, but the way the system is so screwed up now, they will probably get it...
I'm so sick of people claiming that whatever patent Apple comes up with is "invalid". This exact process has been used a million times before? Show me. Show me the previous patents, or just show me a manufacturer claiming to do the exact same thing. Post a single link to back up your claim.
I've never taken an iPad apart so I really don't know how thick it is. That being said fiber products can be thin. It really depends upon factors such as the stiffness you are looking for and other things.
Now the thing here is that molding gives you many options when it comes to structure. Plus fiber gives you options in assembly. For example they could build a shell and then bond all the components in place permanently. Not so great if the battery needs to be replaced but very durable. In the end for Apple to maintain thinner is better new approaches to construction must be found. I can see a device where everything is so tightly integrated that the device would be as solid as a Slab of wood. The ultimate progression here would be to lay out the Copper traces right on the shell and build up the board layers from there.
If Apple is looking at these fiber techniques I have to think that long term it's goals are to strive for thiness through new techniques.
That would be amazing.. That's the kind of phone I've always wanted. Can you imagine how incredibly durable that would be? And it would be incredibly easy to make it water resistant, even water proof down to a few feet. You got me all excited thinking about the possibilities.
This exact process has been done in the Automative, Marine, and aircraft business for the last 20 years.... I see no way it could be a valid patent, but the way the system is so screwed up now, they will probably get it...
No. Molding carbon fiber into shells has been used, yes, and coloring those shells has been used also. However, such shells are usually just painted to color them, which in the case of car, plane, and boat hulls, works great. What Apple has patented is the method of repeatedly dying each layer of a carbon fiber shell (which may have been done before, although I've never heard of it) and applying a finishing layer to the top (which is almost definitely new, as bonding different layers to carbon fiber is very difficult). Even if this entire process HAS been done before, it certainly hasn't been patented, which is really all that matters anyway.
If Apple filed a patent for this two years ago and were planninon ever actually using it, I thiink they already would have. As an engineer, I think it's safe to say that it would be difficult or impossible for Apple to make an iPad shell out of any kind of resin fiber composite that would be as strong as aluminum while staying as thin - carbon fiber is much stronger pound for pound than aluminum, but since aluminum is much denser, it can be made much thinner. Resins also have the nasty habit of cracking very easily...
Oh, and to the guy who said that this would let Apple's air shipping costs to drop: do you really think Apple's internal shipment costs are what drive their product designs??
No. Molding carbon fiber into shells has been used, yes, and coloring those shells has been used also. However, such shells are usually just painted to color them, which in the case of car, plane, and boat hulls, works great. What Apple has patented is the method of repeatedly dying each layer of a carbon fiber shell (which may have been done before, although I've never heard of it) and applying a finishing layer to the top (which is almost definitely new, as bonding different layers to carbon fiber is very difficult). Even if this entire process HAS been done before, it certainly hasn't been patented, which is really all that matters anyway.
If Apple filed a patent for this two years ago and were planninon ever actually using it, I thiink they already would have. As an engineer, I think it's safe to say that it would be difficult or impossible for Apple to make an iPad shell out of any kind of resin fiber composite that would be as strong as aluminum while staying as thin - carbon fiber is much stronger pound for pound than aluminum, but since aluminum is much denser, it can be made much thinner. Resins also have the nasty habit of cracking very easily...
Oh, and to the guy who said that this would let Apple's air shipping costs to drop: do you really think Apple's internal shipment costs are what drive their product designs??
My brother has done layer coloring, vacuuming (pulling) the color dye into the fibers itself, on two carbon-fiber boat hull prototypes in the past 18 months. It's not exactly a new process, but IIRC he had mentioned it's only been done in the past three or four years, at least in his industry. But then he does like to brag how 'cutting-edge' he is. It could be an older process than he's letting on.
Why is wallpapering a rough surface a new invention?
I don't know the answer, but ISTM that if it were easy to apply color to carbon fiber, somebody would be doing it already.
I'm glad to see Apple researching material science. It is a field which holds a lot of promise. I just hope that they don't monopolize their discoveries, so that there will be more benefit from their research than mere consumer electronics.
Why is wallpapering a rough surface a new invention?
Yes, "wallpapering". And a phone call is "talking to someone over a distance", the electric bulb is a "candle" and a computer is an "adding machine"...
I was thinking the same thing. The new 787 has a very similar process, might even be exactly the same. Not sure so I won't speak in absolutes, but this sounds very similar to what Boeing has been doing for 5 years now.
The process described is *not* being used for the 787. Every piece of the 787 that arrives at the factory is black. They paint it just like they would any other aircraft they build.
I'm so sick of people claiming that whatever patent Apple comes up with is "invalid". This exact process has been used a million times before? Show me. Show me the previous patents, or just show me a manufacturer claiming to do the exact same thing. Post a single link to back up your claim.
I'm so sick of people claiming that whatever patent Apple comes up with is "invalid". This exact process has been used a million times before? Show me. Show me the previous patents, or just show me a manufacturer claiming to do the exact same thing. Post a single link to back up your claim.
carbon fiber would be tight, so long as its lighter, but im not a fan, it always seems to weak. Hopefully they get it right.
Half aluminum half carbon fiber, the imac would look cool, instead of the black on the back, it would be carbon fiber. If its this enough, it could be used in insides and save some room too!
For example a lot of people here seem to be very biased against plastics yet are not aware of the extremely wide array of plastics available to companies these days. I've worked with Ultem resins that you couldn't dent with a ball peen hammer and required a injection temperature higher than the melting point of some zinc alloys. Here we are talking about resins that are injection molded in the normal sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by utahnguy
I'm so sick of people claiming that whatever patent Apple comes up with is "invalid". This exact process has been used a million times before? Show me. Show me the previous patents, or just show me a manufacturer claiming to do the exact same thing. Post a single link to back up your claim.
Well some things you can't show people. I don't know if you are old enough to remember Nerf balls but the technology behind them was never patented. Why? Pretty simply it becomes very easy for a company to steal your technology and if you are a small company defending patents becomes very very expensive.
Beyond that Apple hired the guy responsible for many of the original carbon fiber bikes. Again a lot of knowledge would come with a guy like that.
In any event I think you misunderstand what many object to. That is taking well understood technology and patenting it into a device where the use of that technology would be pretty obvious. For example the use of solar cells to power a Micrometer of the use of a hand crank generator to power a radio. In both cases the only thing that differs is how the power for the device is derived. Simply stated the solutions are obvious to anybody with even a modest education.
Quote:
Originally Posted by utahnguy
That would be amazing.. That's the kind of phone I've always wanted. Can you imagine how incredibly durable that would be? And it would be incredibly easy to make it water resistant, even water proof down to a few feet. You got me all excited thinking about the possibilities.
Yep such a device could be very durable, but you still have the issue of glass for the display and the battery. Frankly battery technology sucks right now but there are interesting concepts available that might mature in the near future. As to water proof you still have the iPod connector and switches on the device, so I'm not to sure those will survive water without additional thought.
In any event yes you can build a very thing and durable device this way. One of the things i'm loving about the iPad is that it is fairly tough right now. You can toss it on the couch and not have to worry about damaging the hard drive or knocking the CD drive out of alignment. Frankly I still get a queasy feeling if I rough handle the iPad but then a smile comes over my face as I realize there is nothing truly fragile inside.
In any event look at a iPhone or Touch built is such a way that the device becomes a unitized mass of self reinforcing parts. A modest bit of protection for the glass should result in a very durable product. Unfortunately a product that can't easily be repaired but there are trade offs. Further Apple should be able to shrink the hardware required for the logic board considerably over the next couple of years, spread out on layers of the case back these parts would take up very little space. Move to some of the hybrid battery/super capacitor technology and we might have a power source that would be viable for a good ten years.
In a way as bleeding edge as Apples technology is, it is still currently mass producible technology.
Notice all the brushed aluminum laptops with black keys coming on the market? Some of them even tout how they're made from a single piece of metal.
Lots of the usual suspects are angrily rebuffing the obvious debt to Apple by claiming that the MacBook Pro/Air look is "obvious" and "the only way to make a premium laptop." Sounds familiar?
Anyway, I hereby predict that if Apple begins to make things out of uniquely colored carbon fiber or some other exotic material, and other manufacturers begin to follow suit, we will get the hear about how colored carbon fiber is a no-brainer and the self-evident way to go, and Apple zealots only think people are copying because they're such sheep.
Comments
Hmm, Apple's Materials Scientists need to start looking for 'durable' rather than 'strong' when researching materials for making cases for phones from. Just watch any YouTube clip of a typical Formula One accident and you'll see that on impact the carbon fibre shatters into thousands of fragments because while strong, they are brittle. Haven't they learned that with the glass backs of the iP4?
Actually that is by design, the cars outer shell is design in a way to shatter, in the case of car going 200MPH you want the energy to be absorbed and dissipated not transfer to the driver. So ridge and strong is bad from an impact stand point, flexible & pliable is what you want.
Today all cars are design to just crumble and fall apart as they are impacted this helps dissipated the energy and reduce the impact. Remember speed does not kill the sudden stop that does. Same go for things falling and hit the ground, so the more flexable and pliable you can make a product the better it will do on impact.
Aluminum is a bit trickyer But I honestly don't see Apples method of making iPads case as extremely energy efficient. In the end I wouldn't be surprised to find that a carbon based shell ends up with less contained energy. Think about how much material remains after machining the back or shell. Yeah it can be recycled, but both the recycling and the machining are not free environmentally.
As to craplets well poor design is poor design. That does not mean that Appple will also engage in poor design. A molded carbon fiber back could actually lead to a significant improvement in the iPad, possible the AIR and especially the handheld devices.
As a side note I worked for a bit in the metal die casting industry. I often wonder why Apple doesn't consider such technology for its pocketable devices. You get near net shape parts without the excessive waste of machined parts. I was actually hoping that Apples purchasing of rights to "Liquid" metals would lead to something new even revolutionary here. Basically a way to build high volume parts that are very strong yet reasonably light.
It's the environmental aspect too. Can't beat aluminium and glass for recyclability. Sure, call me brainwashed but remember all that hype about e-waste? Well, it's all the rest of the world churning out all these rubbish plastic clunky bloatware-ridden laptops and now, crapblets. Instant landfill, they are.
Hmm, Apple's Materials Scientists need to start looking for 'durable' rather than 'strong' when researching materials for making cases for phones from.
On the face of it a reasonable request. However durable often equates to ugly. I have at my disposal a bunch of handheld electronic instrumentation. Some of this stuff is very durable as designed and then the manufactures supply you with a rubber boot to make the device even more idiot proof. Durable yes but also ugly, plus a massive rubber boot makes it look a bit obscene if put in your pocket.
Just watch any YouTube clip of a typical Formula One accident and you'll see that on impact the carbon fibre shatters into thousands of fragments because while strong, they are brittle. Haven't they learned that with the glass backs of the iP4?
Others have already explained the car crashes but what about the iPhone 4. Does the glass on that unit break that much more often than on previous generations? Well we know from some research that it does but only slightly more than older phones. In the end the statistical difference isn't significant. All the negativity surrounding the various "issues" of the iPhone 4 are just net magnifications of idiots and people with agendas. Without a doubt the iPhone4 is the best cell phone I've owned so I take these comments or positions with a grain of thought.
That does not mean that Appple will also engage in poor design. A molded carbon fiber back could actually lead to a significant improvement in the iPad, possible the AIR and especially the handheld devices.
I don't see how you'll get the same tolerances or thinness from CF over aluminum so that's two issues right there. Maybe for the back of an iMac or bottom of an Mac notebook, but not for chassis of an iPad.
I don't see how you'll get the same tolerances or thinness from CF over aluminum so that's two issues right there. Maybe for the back of an iMac or bottom of an Mac notebook, but not for chassis of an iPad.
I've never taken an iPad apart so I really don't know how thick it is. That being said fiber products can be thin. It really depends upon factors such as the stiffness you are looking for and other things.
Now the thing here is that molding gives you many options when it comes to structure. Plus fiber gives you options in assembly. For example they could build a shell and then bond all the components in place permanently. Not so great if the battery needs to be replaced but very durable. In the end for Apple to maintain thinner is better new approaches to construction must be found. I can see a device where everything is so tightly integrated that the device would be as solid as a Slab of wood. The ultimate progression here would be to lay out the Copper traces right on the shell and build up the board layers from there.
If Apple is looking at these fiber techniques I have to think that long term it's goals are to strive for thiness through new techniques.
I've never taken an iPad apart so I really don't know how thick it is. That being said fiber products can be thin. It really depends upon factors such as the stiffness you are looking for and other things.
Now the thing here is that molding gives you many options when it comes to structure. Plus fiber gives you options in assembly. For example they could build a shell and then bond all the components in place permanently. Not so great if the battery needs to be replaced but very durable. In the end for Apple to maintain thinner is better new approaches to construction must be found. I can see a device where everything is so tightly integrated that the device would be as solid as a Slab of wood. The ultimate progression here would be to lay out the Copper traces right on the shell and build up the board layers from there.
If Apple is looking at these fiber techniques I have to think that long term it's goals are to strive for thiness through new techniques.
I'll give you that, though I don't think I've seen any CF construction that can achieve such integrated and high-production results the potential certainly seems like it's there and probably why Apple has been and will continue to patent CF-based designs.
You can have any color you want, as long as it's either white or black.
Yup. We are given twice as many options as Henry Ford gave us
This exact process has been done in the Automative, Marine, and aircraft business for the last 20 years.... I see no way it could be a valid patent, but the way the system is so screwed up now, they will probably get it...
I was thinking the same thing. The new 787 has a very similar process, might even be exactly the same. Not sure so I won't speak in absolutes, but this sounds very similar to what Boeing has been doing for 5 years now.
This exact process has been done in the Automative, Marine, and aircraft business for the last 20 years.... I see no way it could be a valid patent, but the way the system is so screwed up now, they will probably get it...
I'm so sick of people claiming that whatever patent Apple comes up with is "invalid". This exact process has been used a million times before? Show me. Show me the previous patents, or just show me a manufacturer claiming to do the exact same thing. Post a single link to back up your claim.
I've never taken an iPad apart so I really don't know how thick it is. That being said fiber products can be thin. It really depends upon factors such as the stiffness you are looking for and other things.
Now the thing here is that molding gives you many options when it comes to structure. Plus fiber gives you options in assembly. For example they could build a shell and then bond all the components in place permanently. Not so great if the battery needs to be replaced but very durable. In the end for Apple to maintain thinner is better new approaches to construction must be found. I can see a device where everything is so tightly integrated that the device would be as solid as a Slab of wood. The ultimate progression here would be to lay out the Copper traces right on the shell and build up the board layers from there.
If Apple is looking at these fiber techniques I have to think that long term it's goals are to strive for thiness through new techniques.
That would be amazing.. That's the kind of phone I've always wanted. Can you imagine how incredibly durable that would be? And it would be incredibly easy to make it water resistant, even water proof down to a few feet. You got me all excited thinking about the possibilities.
This exact process has been done in the Automative, Marine, and aircraft business for the last 20 years.... I see no way it could be a valid patent, but the way the system is so screwed up now, they will probably get it...
No. Molding carbon fiber into shells has been used, yes, and coloring those shells has been used also. However, such shells are usually just painted to color them, which in the case of car, plane, and boat hulls, works great. What Apple has patented is the method of repeatedly dying each layer of a carbon fiber shell (which may have been done before, although I've never heard of it) and applying a finishing layer to the top (which is almost definitely new, as bonding different layers to carbon fiber is very difficult). Even if this entire process HAS been done before, it certainly hasn't been patented, which is really all that matters anyway.
If Apple filed a patent for this two years ago and were planninon ever actually using it, I thiink they already would have. As an engineer, I think it's safe to say that it would be difficult or impossible for Apple to make an iPad shell out of any kind of resin fiber composite that would be as strong as aluminum while staying as thin - carbon fiber is much stronger pound for pound than aluminum, but since aluminum is much denser, it can be made much thinner. Resins also have the nasty habit of cracking very easily...
Oh, and to the guy who said that this would let Apple's air shipping costs to drop: do you really think Apple's internal shipment costs are what drive their product designs??
No. Molding carbon fiber into shells has been used, yes, and coloring those shells has been used also. However, such shells are usually just painted to color them, which in the case of car, plane, and boat hulls, works great. What Apple has patented is the method of repeatedly dying each layer of a carbon fiber shell (which may have been done before, although I've never heard of it) and applying a finishing layer to the top (which is almost definitely new, as bonding different layers to carbon fiber is very difficult). Even if this entire process HAS been done before, it certainly hasn't been patented, which is really all that matters anyway.
If Apple filed a patent for this two years ago and were planninon ever actually using it, I thiink they already would have. As an engineer, I think it's safe to say that it would be difficult or impossible for Apple to make an iPad shell out of any kind of resin fiber composite that would be as strong as aluminum while staying as thin - carbon fiber is much stronger pound for pound than aluminum, but since aluminum is much denser, it can be made much thinner. Resins also have the nasty habit of cracking very easily...
Oh, and to the guy who said that this would let Apple's air shipping costs to drop: do you really think Apple's internal shipment costs are what drive their product designs??
My brother has done layer coloring, vacuuming (pulling) the color dye into the fibers itself, on two carbon-fiber boat hull prototypes in the past 18 months. It's not exactly a new process, but IIRC he had mentioned it's only been done in the past three or four years, at least in his industry. But then he does like to brag how 'cutting-edge' he is. It could be an older process than he's letting on.
Why is wallpapering a rough surface a new invention?
I don't know the answer, but ISTM that if it were easy to apply color to carbon fiber, somebody would be doing it already.
I'm glad to see Apple researching material science. It is a field which holds a lot of promise. I just hope that they don't monopolize their discoveries, so that there will be more benefit from their research than mere consumer electronics.
Why is wallpapering a rough surface a new invention?
Yes, "wallpapering". And a phone call is "talking to someone over a distance", the electric bulb is a "candle" and a computer is an "adding machine"...
I was thinking the same thing. The new 787 has a very similar process, might even be exactly the same. Not sure so I won't speak in absolutes, but this sounds very similar to what Boeing has been doing for 5 years now.
The process described is *not* being used for the 787. Every piece of the 787 that arrives at the factory is black. They paint it just like they would any other aircraft they build.
I'm so sick of people claiming that whatever patent Apple comes up with is "invalid". This exact process has been used a million times before? Show me. Show me the previous patents, or just show me a manufacturer claiming to do the exact same thing. Post a single link to back up your claim.
How about here, way back in 1993?
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...RS=PN/5,201,97
But Apple became aware of that one too. Solution? Buy it, as they appear to have done in 2007(?).
BTW, this Apple Patent was "discovered" last Sept by Patently Apple
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patentl...-laminate.html
I'm so sick of people claiming that whatever patent Apple comes up with is "invalid". This exact process has been used a million times before? Show me. Show me the previous patents, or just show me a manufacturer claiming to do the exact same thing. Post a single link to back up your claim.
Prior art?
Half aluminum half carbon fiber, the imac would look cool, instead of the black on the back, it would be carbon fiber. If its this enough, it could be used in insides and save some room too!
I'm so sick of people claiming that whatever patent Apple comes up with is "invalid". This exact process has been used a million times before? Show me. Show me the previous patents, or just show me a manufacturer claiming to do the exact same thing. Post a single link to back up your claim.
Well some things you can't show people. I don't know if you are old enough to remember Nerf balls but the technology behind them was never patented. Why? Pretty simply it becomes very easy for a company to steal your technology and if you are a small company defending patents becomes very very expensive.
Beyond that Apple hired the guy responsible for many of the original carbon fiber bikes. Again a lot of knowledge would come with a guy like that.
In any event I think you misunderstand what many object to. That is taking well understood technology and patenting it into a device where the use of that technology would be pretty obvious. For example the use of solar cells to power a Micrometer of the use of a hand crank generator to power a radio. In both cases the only thing that differs is how the power for the device is derived. Simply stated the solutions are obvious to anybody with even a modest education.
That would be amazing.. That's the kind of phone I've always wanted. Can you imagine how incredibly durable that would be? And it would be incredibly easy to make it water resistant, even water proof down to a few feet. You got me all excited thinking about the possibilities.
Yep such a device could be very durable, but you still have the issue of glass for the display and the battery. Frankly battery technology sucks right now but there are interesting concepts available that might mature in the near future. As to water proof you still have the iPod connector and switches on the device, so I'm not to sure those will survive water without additional thought.
In any event yes you can build a very thing and durable device this way. One of the things i'm loving about the iPad is that it is fairly tough right now. You can toss it on the couch and not have to worry about damaging the hard drive or knocking the CD drive out of alignment. Frankly I still get a queasy feeling if I rough handle the iPad but then a smile comes over my face as I realize there is nothing truly fragile inside.
In any event look at a iPhone or Touch built is such a way that the device becomes a unitized mass of self reinforcing parts. A modest bit of protection for the glass should result in a very durable product. Unfortunately a product that can't easily be repaired but there are trade offs. Further Apple should be able to shrink the hardware required for the logic board considerably over the next couple of years, spread out on layers of the case back these parts would take up very little space. Move to some of the hybrid battery/super capacitor technology and we might have a power source that would be viable for a good ten years.
In a way as bleeding edge as Apples technology is, it is still currently mass producible technology.
Lots of the usual suspects are angrily rebuffing the obvious debt to Apple by claiming that the MacBook Pro/Air look is "obvious" and "the only way to make a premium laptop." Sounds familiar?
Anyway, I hereby predict that if Apple begins to make things out of uniquely colored carbon fiber or some other exotic material, and other manufacturers begin to follow suit, we will get the hear about how colored carbon fiber is a no-brainer and the self-evident way to go, and Apple zealots only think people are copying because they're such sheep.