Paper alloy takes shape for biodegradable consumer electronics (write your own origami joke)
Paper alloy takes shape for biodegradable consumer electronics (write your own origami joke) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Apr 2011 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple hires carbon fiber expert to posit composites
If you’re going to compete in the consumer electronics business then you’d better have a solid grasp of industrial design and materials science. Otherwise, you’re just another manufacturer trying to eke profit from drab slabs of commodity plastic. With the exception of the MacBook, Apple’s entire Mac lineup is currently cut from aluminum. However, Apple’s been caught experimenting with its newly acquired Liquidmetal materials recently, even as rumors swirl around new ultra-lightweight and durable carbon fiber components and enclosures. Speculation about the latter has been fueled by an Apple patent application for a process that would use carbon fiber materials woven into the reinforced device housings of mobile telephones, laptops, desktops, and tablets. Interestingly enough, the patent app was filed by Kevin M. Kenney (developer of the first all carbon fiber bicycle frame) on behalf of Apple back in 2009, a man who changed his job title to “Senior Composites Engineer at Apple Inc.” on LinkedIn at some point after March 1st (according to Google cache). Of course, a carbon fiber laptop is far from unique — just reference the Sony G11 from 2007 or 2008′s Voodoo Envy 133 if you want to see how it’s done. But if Apple makes a wholesale shift to carbon fiber in the months ahead then you can expect the horde of me-too OEMs to follow suit a year later. See the before and after LinkedIn profiles for Kenney after the break.
Continue reading Apple hires carbon fiber expert to posit composites
Apple hires carbon fiber expert to posit composites originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Just say no: Apple and Intel stop using conflict minerals
While the US government hasn’t issued an outright ban against the use of ‘conflict minerals’ coming from the Congo, it has passed a law that will require companies who use them to tell all of us when our gadgets have been paid for (in part) with blood. Looks like Apple and Intel weren’t too keen on the bad PR that would come from such disclosures, and joined the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and its Conflict-Free Smelter program. The program requires mineral processing plants either prove that they don’t fund the ongoing hostilities in central Africa or peddle their war-supporting wares elsewhere. For now, that means that the folks in Cupertino and Santa Clara will have to find other sources for the three Ts (tungsten, tin, and tantalum) needed to sate our technological appetites.
Just say no: Apple and Intel stop using conflict minerals originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Droid Incredible costs just under $164 to build, iSuppli says
A while back, the Droid Incredible was torn apart and revealed some things we never knew it was capable of. Like an FM transmitter tuner, and full 720p video recording. Recently, however, another dissection done by iSuppli Corp’s reveals that the Incredible has a $163.35 Bill of Materials (BOM) price tag. Although the Nexus One’s BOM is slightly higher – $174.15 – the materials used are almost identical except, of course, support for Verizon’s CDMA network. What adds to the price tag? That bright AMOLED screen and DDR RAM for starters, and apparently that Snapdragon CPU isn’t in the bargain bin, either. Those three components cost about $90 total, and when you add in some of the other features such as the camera, Bluetooth, and all the mechanical and electro-mechanical gizmos, it adds up pretty quickly. This goes to show that building a quality smartphone costs more than nickels and dimes to the manufacturer, but the end result is definitely worth it. [iSuppli]
Posted originally at Android Central
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