Metal case [was: Application idea: Bicycle computer]

[Erland Lewin]

2008/3/6, JW <jameswillmer at googlemail.com>:
>
> Why do people want metal cases so much...???    Features in wiki
> hardware wishlist too.


My main reason for wanting a metal case is that it ages better than plastic.

I carry my phone (currently a Sony Ericsson P910) in my pocket, and even
though I try to keep it separate from keys, coins and other hard stuff,
after a while the color gets worn off and it looks really ugly. I want my
phones to last for a couple of years.

My thought is aluminium = metal = faraday cage = stops gps, gsm, wifi,
> bt signals = BAD idea


The back of the iPhone is mainly metal isn't it? Many attractive cell phones
today have at least parts of their cases made of metal.

Also, I read about someone (forgot where) trying to make a Faraday cage, but
apparently it is quite difficult in practice. For an efficient cage you
apparently need many meshes with holes in different sizes for different
frequencies if I recall correctly. I guess this could be easily tested by
putting a cell phone in a tin can and trying to call it...

IMHO, after FIC successfully releases the Freerunner, they should either get
some good designers to design a very attractive case for a next version, or
maybe hold a contest among industrial design students to get some cool
ideas. The Freerunner is great feature-wise, but IMHO isn't physically
attractive enough to sell well in a mass market.

By the way, when will the CAD files for the Freerunner case be released?
Also, is anyone seriously working on alternative cases for the FIC Openmoko
phones?

/Erland
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