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creeman

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 15, 2007
282
4
I am planning on making custom iphone 4 backplates in the near future. Custom as in, laser etching the glass or the plastic behind the glass. How much would you guys be willing to pay for a custom back? Or, would you be willing to send in your back to have it etched? Do you think many people would want something like that on their phone?
 
Custom back made of glass, around 50. Made of something else like aluminium or a stainless steel, around 150 depending on how nice it is.
 
i agree with the 40 or less. Think that 150 aluminum backing estimate is way too high though. maybe 50-60. and i like the idea of selling the backs, not the service, though im sure a few people would go for the service.
 
Do you mean we can unscrew the two screws, slide off the current backplate and put in your custom backplate.

That way a bumper is all we need, we don't have to worry about scratching the back of the phone, since all well scratch up is your backplate.

If so, and they look nice (same shade of black and white as the iPhone 4 and a similar silver drawing/symbol/logo) I would happily pay $40 but if you want to maximize your customer base and profits, I would price it at $19.99 or $14.99.
 
I would be willing to spend $40-50 on something like that, only if I looked good and held up.

Much more than that, its not worth it to me. After all it's just a phone.
 
I would do it if you could recreate a crack glass on the back (without that glass actually being cracked)
 
Titanium or stainless steel back with custom logo/lettering...this I'd have to splurge for. If it was high quality and didn't look like a hack-job, I'd say 60ish bucks, maybe more. Depends on what it costs you to manufacture though.
 
I'd gladly pay $50 for a simple "fire engine" red backplate with Apple logo... maybe a solid black with simple bright red flames. I've been waiting for someone to start selling custom backplates as it seems like an easy way to make money.
 
Here's some ideas:

I'd go with $40. I don't want custom etched ones, but different colors, full replacements, metal, maybe even carbon fiber (real CF) I'd buy. Start at around $40 for plain colored glass backs, with the Apple logo, iPhone text, model number, and everything else, so it looks real. You could charge like 5 bucks more for words etched in, and 10 for a picture/graphic (if possible, I'm no etching expert). Metal ones could sell for $50-60. Carbon fiber (make it high quality) could sell for more like $70-80, depending on what it costs you. Remember to take many high res pics of all your products, use PayPal, and maybe even sell through Ebay.
 
Titanium iPhone 4 covers

Hey everyone,

Waited quite a long time for titanium covers to come along, but no cigars. I'm one of those guys who simply don't like to use cases. So I was always on the look out for interesting back covers.

Long story short, I was tired of waiting, so I decided to take a crack at the metal back covers made of solid precision cut Titanium. This was a difficult project, but it was a great learning experience. These backs will be available soon in the US.

The images are near final design prototypes.....so I am trying to gather info and opinion on the basic designs that we made. Let me know what you think!
 

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Hey everyone,

Waited quite a long time for titanium covers to come along, but no cigars. I'm one of those guys who simply don't like to use cases. So I was always on the look out for interesting back covers.

Long story short, I was tired of waiting, so I decided to take a crack at the metal back covers made of solid precision cut Titanium. This was a difficult project, but it was a great learning experience. These backs will be available soon in the US.

The images are near final design prototypes.....so I am trying to gather info and opinion on the basic designs that we made. Let me know what you think!

I want that so bad.
 
Hey everyone,

Waited quite a long time for titanium covers to come along, but no cigars. I'm one of those guys who simply don't like to use cases. So I was always on the look out for interesting back covers.

Long story short, I was tired of waiting, so I decided to take a crack at the metal back covers made of solid precision cut Titanium. This was a difficult project, but it was a great learning experience. These backs will be available soon in the US.

The images are near final design prototypes.....so I am trying to gather info and opinion on the basic designs that we made. Let me know what you think!

i'd pay money and shipping for the one in the middle and im in the UK
 
Hey SL4VE,

Thanks for the heads up. The black one is also my favorites. Right now the ones that are closest to ready are the top and bottom ones unfortunately. The black ones are Black PVD over natural Ti, and are giving us a great deal of difficulties. This is a coating process used on most higher end watches and hand guns. Got some sheets back yesterday, out of 25 pieces, 19 were rejected, due to imperfection and inconsistency. So we are finding ways to get it to work.

I do have a few pre-production prototypes that were made in black, but they are still being improved upon. If you are interested, send me a PM.

Thanks,
Kenink
 
Hey everyone,

Waited quite a long time for titanium covers to come along, but no cigars. I'm one of those guys who simply don't like to use cases. So I was always on the look out for interesting back covers.

Long story short, I was tired of waiting, so I decided to take a crack at the metal back covers made of solid precision cut Titanium. This was a difficult project, but it was a great learning experience. These backs will be available soon in the US.

The images are near final design prototypes.....so I am trying to gather info and opinion on the basic designs that we made. Let me know what you think!

Those are definitely awesome. I like the top one. Have these been tested for the camera issues that other fake back covers have?

I also think that they should have the Apple logo on them, just for the sake of it, but I'm not 100% on that. They look really nice though. What's pricing going to look like for these?
 
Camera issue hasn't been a problem. But I will play with them over and over again just to make sure. I believe the camera issue affect those plastic/metal back with the raised bevel, more than anything else.

The raised panel creates a space between the flash enclosure and the actual back panel. So the light leaks into the camera. Some of the plastic panels are just straight out misaligned.... it's astounding.
 
Just wondering.....for the bottom design.....what are you thoughts on that. I am designing a another set with industrial designs for those that don't use cases and like to rough it :p

This is not for most folks...but more geared towards those folks who like oakleys and Titanium bikes, and designs that are simply not neat and squared. They will also wear better, since it was actually design to collect scratches and improve with use.

For those who don't like it so much.....please tell me your thoughts. I'd like different point of views on this....for this series there will be 3

Thanks guys!
 
Just wondering.....for the bottom design.....what are you thoughts on that. I am designing a another set with industrial designs for those that don't use cases and like to rough it :p

The bottom one is the best one. I'd definitely buy that if I had an iPhone 4. (I have a 3GS)
 
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