The biggest test of any hardware’s material-quality is a quick trip to the blender. WillItBlend.com takes all the latest gadgets and pits them against the TotalBlender. The viral marketing campaign has built-up a poplar following, and whenever Apple products get thrown in the mix, the world watches.
The original iPhone was subjected to the hyper-RPM blender and ended up losing the battle. The iPhone was reduced to fine dust, with the exception of a mangled bit of steel from the iPhone’s bezel. So, in an effort to repeat the wildly popular iPhone-blending exercise, WillItBlend.com has upped the ante and threw an iPhone 3G to the blades. The result? That glossy casing that we all thought was made of plastic survived the blender relatively intact. Even the Apple logo is clearly visible.
So, is the iPhone 3G casing made of glossy plastic? Not likely. Plastic would have been reduced to the same fine dust to which we saw the original iPhone reduced. And, Apple never stated outright that the glossy-black or glossy-white finish was made of plastic.
So, remember that little Apple patent application that detailed a ceramic-based, radio-transparent material called “Zirconia?” Yea, well, we’re leaning towards Apple having used this ceramic material in the iPhone 3G’s casing. Ceramics are known for their incredible durability and can withstand stresses that metallic and plastic materials would succumb to in a heartbeat. The material is used “on the exterior surface to prevent cracking and protect the ceramic shell from undesirable forces as for example when the ceramic shell is dropped,” and offers greater transparency to cellular radio signals.
So, are our iPhone 3Gs made of a Zirconium/Yttrium impregnated ceramic material that allows for better cellular radio reception? Your guess is as good as ours. Check the video below.
[Via: Macenstein]