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iPad design feature that perplexes me

J

JulianL

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 2, 2010
1,722
732
London, UK
There's one feature of the iPad 3G that really surprises me. Bear in mind that we're talking about Apple here, the company that produces two versions of the iPhone headphone socket assembly, a black one and a white one so that when you look into the socket it is colour-coordinated with the casing.

So, with the above context, I am really surprised that the antenna cover at the back of the 3G unit is in black plastic (I assume it's plastic). In the volumes that Apple make things in I am sure that at zero or negligible cost they could have specified the plastic for that particular moulding in absolutely any colour they wanted so they could have chosen something that blended in much better with the aluminium back.

It actually really bugs me because there is a beautiful purity in the WiFi model of the black screen within the aluminium case and the use of the black antenna cover seems to really mix together the front and back visual elements in a very haphazard way that breaks the purity of the design.

Does anyone else think this is weird?

- Julian
 
I don't think it's weird at all. It seems to me that while it's true that they could have designed that cover to be any colour they wanted, getting a plastic finish that matched the aluminium casing and remained a match over prolonged use would have been virtually impossible since the two materials would have totally different wear characteristics. So instead, they designed the cover to be a contrast - in part to differentiate the 3G models for those users for whom it matters.
 
I know what the OP means - it does stick out! My good old Powerbook G4 was made of a mix of aluminium and similarly-coloured light-grey plastic. Looked super, back in the day. :)

But as someone else said, Apple currently likes to mix metallic and black (look at the new Mac Mini).

My iPad 3G is in a case almost all the time, so it doesn't bother me too much.
 
They had to do such cover for 3G antenna. It is not as beautiful as the WiFi only version. Still, it is Apple design, ok for me.

I'm looking forward to the next iPad revision. It might feature the same design as the current iPhone, or not. We'll see...
 
It's the 3G racing stripe, how else do you think we are supposed to prove that we're in the 3G elitist club
 
I like it. I think it makes the 3G stand out a little more too.

Personally i'm looking forward to the next iPhone, judging by apples previous releases, the 4S (dare i say it) will be out with an improved camera, better video, and perhaps faster 3/4G network, and be out 12 months after the iPhone 4, also just in time for my contract to end and my pockets to lighten.

I was going to get an iPad but the next one will have a front facing camera, its stupid that there is a space inside the current ones for the camera (what's that about)
 
colmaclean said:
I know what the OP means - it does stick out! My good old Powerbook G4 was made of a mix of aluminium and similarly-coloured light-grey plastic. Looked super, back in the day. :)
Click to expand...

Over time my 12's grey plastic became discolored and I can only imagine how bad it would be with plastic your had touches frequently.
 
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