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Stainless steel replacement backing for iPhone 4?

err404 said:
One of the reasons to swap the back is to add durability. Covering a glass plate doesn't change the fact that it's glass. Swapping the plate is extremely simple and is actually quicker and then trying to apply a sticker straight. Very little can go wrong. About the worse you could do is lose a screw.
That said, the quality of the plates can vary and the beveled ones seam to be fundamental flawed by blocking the camera.
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Exactly. Durability.

I'm still waiting for mine to come in from eBay. Should be here next week. Hopefully it doesn't negatively affect my reception.

Also, the metal back will look awesome with my Element Case. With the metal back the phone will be pretty solid feeling and still retain the same iPhone 4 look.

Besides, I haven't found a skin that looks identical to the iPhone 4 back. I don't like the invisible Shield style since I can never put those on right without fogging up.
 
I have some friends who have ordered for cnn.cn ( i think its that name) about 2 weeks ago and still havent got theirs. has anyone gad any success with them?
 
Here is the one I got. Did not install it.

photo81p.jpg
 
DEE9299 said:
I have some friends who have ordered for cnn.cn ( i think its that name) about 2 weeks ago and still havent got theirs. has anyone gad any success with them?
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The CNN.cn have been shipped and are about 10days out.

I ordered a couple from them and one from an eBay seller, bruinsrme is my eBay name.
The one I got off eBay is red, unbevelled, but has a red plastic ring, yuck. With the black bumper the white is covered up and the red back with the black looks sharp.

The oem backs have a metal frame that the screws go I to. The eBay cover I got is a plastic frame.
Installation takes about 45 seconds
 
SchneiderMan said:
I didn't install it yet so I can't say but so far it feels and looks great. The Apple logo is actually also part of the brushed aluminum, it's just colored black.
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Awesome! Why did you ordered yours? Do you mind linking me? Also, do you think it will fit with a element vapor case?
 
der-kaiser said:
Awesome! Why did you ordered yours? Do you mind linking me? Also, do you think it will fit with a element vapor case?
Click to expand...

Not sure about the Vapor sorry, I don't even own it lol. I got it on eBay but the seller doesn't have them anymore.
 
SchneiderMan said:
I didn't install it yet so I can't say but so far it feels and looks great. The Apple logo is actually also part of the brushed aluminum, it's just colored black.
Click to expand...

How is the camera on yours? Does the lens on the back plate block the edges of the sensor?

der-kaiser said:
Awesome! Why did you ordered yours? Do you mind linking me? Also, do you think it will fit with a element vapor case?
Click to expand...

You should be fine using any case with the flat metal backs since they are the same shape and size as the OEM back. I've never seen a vapor case in person, but from the pics I've seen, the beveled back plates will interfere with it do to the extra thickness.
der-kaiser's case looks identical to mine, which I bought from cnn.cn. Again, I'd recommend the flat back over the beveled.
 
I bought one of these beveled metal backs from cnn.cn and it arrived last week. It looks fantastic – I was worried it would look tacky and clearly fake but they've done a good job with it. My only issue is that the beveling means it doesn't sit flush around the camera lens so it obscures the top left corner of my photos a bit (it looks like there's a shadow there). I haven't taken many pictures in dark environments since I got it but the flash is probably a little affected by this as well.

I haven't noticed any negative impact on reception at all. My Apple Bumper case still fits it as well.

Overall, I think it's a nice way to personalize an iPhone for a very reasonable price.
 
Just an update on usage with my stainless steel back replacement.

1) It does get hotter than the glass back. Not uncomfortably so, but definitely hotter.

2) Signal loss is noticeable. Areas where I know that I have 3-4 bars I get 1-2. No dropped calls or loss of reception though

3) Battery life decrease. It seems that I am taking (an estimate) of 15% less standby time because of the antenna's compensation for the decreased reception. I do not have the technical info to back this up but this is what I have noticed.

4) Photo quality has not degraded at all. It is confirmed to be a glass lens / diffusor that has been glued on from the inside. I will post pictures of this once I get an appropriate screwdriver and replacement screws (you can see i threaded my screws and ruined the heads in my pictures).

Again mine was not purchased from ebay or online store (as per previous post). It does appear to be similar in design to what is out there though.
 
der-kaiser said:
Awesome! Why did you ordered yours? Do you mind linking me? Also, do you think it will fit with a element vapor case?
Click to expand...

Yes, the flat metal on will work with the Element. I have a black version of the silver one that was already posted. I got it in today.

Installed it and saw my bars decrease by 2. I walked around to see of it was me holding it incorrectly or whatever. Nope. It dropped my bars too much.

It hurt even more when I put my Black Vapor on. Normally I have zero reception issues with that case unlike others (I use both invisible shield sides). With the metal back, the Vapor put my phone into either 1 bar total territory or searching. Usually I have 4-5 bars in my house.

It looks ok, but you can tell it is a knockoff if you look hard enough. I will say the metal did make the phone feel more solid.

I uninstalled it about an hour later. It truly is just 2 screws and a slide of the rear. Wow that sounded dirty.
 
Crap, I really really wanted this back plate. Its so clean looking but I can't sacrafice my signal nor my camera in any way so it seems as though I'll have to forgo this whole metal case, cover/ bumper thing.
 
err404 said:
From what I gather; the beveled one blocks the camera but doesn't effect the antenna, while the flat one reduces the signal, but doesn't effect the camera.
:(
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That seems about right. I didn't buy the beveled one since I wanted the same dimensions of the iPhone 4, but the flat one that I bought from eBay (which looks like the others) destroyed my signal. Dropped me two bars instantly.

Sucks because I wanted the metal back for added durabitlity and a better look when I put on my Vapor case.
 
Look at it this way, if you really like the metal back then use it like you would use a case. Have it around when you're not planning on using your camera for important stuff. Because of how affordable it is (much less than most iPhone cases out there that I'm sure most of you have more than one) it's not a bad idea to get one imo.
 
SchneiderMan said:
Look at it this way, if you really like the metal back then use it like you would use a case. Have it around when you're not planning on using your camera for important stuff. Because of how affordable it is (much less than most iPhone cases out there that I'm sure most of you have more than one) it's not a bad idea to get one imo.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm doing right now because the beveled back looks so darn good :cool:. It's just a shame that I'll have to change it back before I travel home for the holidays. There is no way I visiting my family with a sub par camera.
 
Well dog-gonnit, with all these camera apps I have I've been taking pictures quite a bit more now so I can't have my lense all junky. Again, oh wells.
 
Attackofthemac said:
I just installed my stainless steel back, and I must say I am very surprised at the quality. Even fit and finish, as well as no flash issues or odd video quality.

My back was purchased in Shenzhen 3 days ago, and yes there are many levels of "quality;" indeed there are some really cheap quality backs.

Will post pics when I get home.

Truly this and a bumper make for one of the best "case" solutions.

Edit: some quick pics. disregard dirt on cloth. I will resize if someone complains.

http://i55.tinypic.com/kd3ed1.jpg

http://i53.tinypic.com/fbb7dc.jpg
Click to expand...

Thats fugly, it looks cheaper than the black glass back plate.
________
Jaguar s-type picture
 
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