BELLAMYBUDIMAN

My close friends and perhaps several of my followers in Twitter would probably know by now that I loath Acer big time. Not because I’m a Apple fan boy (like they said, and believe me I’m not, but this is not what we’re discussing right now), but because of first hand experience that Acer products are simply shit.

Back in the days, my Dad used to have this small Acer Tablet PC. I completely forgot the name or model because Acer, just like most computer manufacturers love numbers and codes instead of product names. This tablet PC is so shit that it made Dad asked me each day “what the fuck is wrong with this thing that it hangs when doing anything?” and it is so shit that it cannot level itself perfectly on a table with the battery attached.

Over the years, I have yet to see that improvement from Acer, not in quality, not in durability. They are all, in my opinion, still plasticky, and shit.

Now, recently, Acer announced that they wanted to be more like Apple, and they restructured themselves to make that happen. And seriously, who would’ve thought that in the process of being more like Apple, they decided to ape the MacBook Air and came out with this:

So do you think Acer deserves my loathe? Yes, just because I hate plagiarists. What’s next on your to-do list, Acer? An Aspire that looks like a Mac Pro? A Z5 that looks like an iMac? Or maybe an Iconia that looks like an iPhone? Or maybe, just maybe, a CEO that looks like Steve Jobs?

Just over a month ago, I reviewed my iPhone 4 sporting an aftermarket back plate, which I bought from Cellular Nationwide Network. I bought two back plates from them, the regular flat one, and the beveled one which I’m gonna review here.

First things first, here’s what my current iPhone looks like, with and without the Bumper:

Now let’s just get on with the review. Just like the flat case, I find this case exciting to use. And here are the pros that I could think of:

• It feels better than the original glass back plate, and it definitely would not shatter.
• The beveled plate makes it super-flush while using the Bumper case. It’s more ergonomic and lessens the fatigue when holding it.
• It looks superb. I could never understand why Apple didn’t come up with this in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, the glass back plate is also superb, but it doesn’t give that industrial look and class.

However, despite the excellent features, nothing is perfect, and this case didn’t escape that as well:

• The markings scrape off quite easily. You may not notice them in the photos, but I already have a few scratches on the Apple logo there. In fact, if you buy this thing now, they don’t sell ones with the markings anymore. Legal issues as well maybe? I don’t know.
• The screw mounts are just plain weak. Unlike the original back plate, which has steel screw mounts, this one (as well as the other ones from the same seller) has plastic mounts. So basically, screwing it altogether breaks the mount and makes the screws loose. This is where the Bumper case comes in handy.
• Not actually a con, but you might need to know that because of the beveled plate, no aftermarket cases other the Bumper or anything with a similar design, would fit after you have this back plate installed.
• Last but not least, when you are using this back plate, there will be involuntary vignettes and flash artifacts when taking pictures as seen in the example below. Although the flash artifact would only happen when you photograph objects from a half a meter or further.

These rather unpleasant results (which could actually can be useful if you’re a hipster) when taking photos are caused by the gap the back plate creates between itself and the camera lens and flash. It’s too bad because if only they made it flush, this wouldn’t happen. But it is a minor hassle if you can live with it.

There are also a few things to note if you do decide to buy this case and install it on your iPhone:

• First, you’ll need a Phillips 00 screwdriver to open your current back plate.
• If you just bought your iPhone recently, Apple ships them with pentagram screws. A common mistake is that people thought those are regular Torx screws. It’s not and you will most likely break it if you try to open it by force using a Torx or Phillips screwdriver. You’ll need a specialized screwdriver like this one or this one. And trust me, that’s not really easy to find here.
• I do recommend replacing the screws with the regular Phillips screw, because the pentagram screws don’t really last that long after repeated use.

So there we go, my complete review of the beveled metal back plate for the iPhone 4, and I will stress again that modifying your iPhone 4 physically is not condoned by Apple and may break your warranty. Do this at your own risk.

Update:
After further inspections with a different aftermarket back plate of the same type, apparently the flash artifacts was not caused by the beveled structure of the back plate, but it is more of a manufacturing defect. I noticed that the backplate is slightly off-center and this is why the flash reflects back into the camera upon firing. The conclusion is that since this is an aftermarket accessory, we cannot expect it to be in the same quality of Apple’s craftsmanship. So if you got yourself a perfectly aligned back plate, then you’re lucky. Otherwise, well that is something you have to expect from the moment you made the purchase.

I just successfully turned my iPhone 4 into an iPhone 4 Pro. LOL!

Well, not exactly. The photo up there is a real deal iPhone 4, with its back plate replaced with a metal version, which I got from here for $14. There is a beveled version of the case as well, which supposedly will make the iPhone more ergonomic to hold, but it’s still in the shipping box and I haven’t tried it on. Of course unless if another little birdy send me another iPhone 4 for some reason.

Replacing the back cover is also surprisingly easy. Unlike the previous iPhones which basically require a brute force teardown, this time you’ll only need a Philips #00 screwdriver (Make sure it’s #00 and not #0, or you’ll potentially ruin the screws) and steady hands. Remove the two screws at the bottom of the phone, slide the back cover, replace it, put the screws back in, and voila! The “unibody” iPhone 4 is in your hands :D

For comparison, here’s my phone in its original state:

Note:
By all means, these casing replacements are not official products of Apple, so if you decide to replace yours, you will most likely void the warranty (I practically don’t care about it now since my phone is not even from here).

We all agree that the new external antenna design of the iPhone 4 is groundbreaking, but at the same time it became a bag of worms to Apple because of that antenna “bridging” problem for left-handed users. It is also surprising why this issue escaped Apple’s product testing prior to the launch, and why they did not coat the antennas with non-conductive materials (as stated by AnandTech). Personally, this has not been a much issue for me, as I always put my iPhones in a case. But this is not what I’m going to talk about here. What I’m going to talk about is how people cannot make coherent comments about this matter, especially when they are relating the issue with how cheap Apple are paying to make these phones.

Some people commented that Apple made a lot of profit by manufacturing the iPhone for $188 a pop, and then selling it for several hundred bucks. These people probably never had the terms “R&D”, “marketing” or “manufacturing cost” crossing in their minds. If you idiots want Apple to sell these for $180 each then how are they (as well as other normal businesses) supposed to run their business?

Take Microsoft, for instance. How did you think they do their business so that they raked up humongous amount of money? Do you think they sell Windows for 10 cents each? Maybe you thought so because you live in Indonesia where you can buy a pirated copy for 25,000 rupiahs. They are selling Windows for at least $100 each. Now why don’t you go to them and complain that they should just charge people as much as they were copying the DVDs? I don’t know, like a buck each?

Let me put it this way. You people buy cars, right? In fact, some of you are probably lucky enough to be able to purchase European cars. Do you have the slightest idea how much they spend on manufacturing those cars? It’s probably half of what you paid for, if not less. Do you complain? No. You freaking know that Audis here cost more than they do in Europe, but you keep buying them. Do you know how much restaurants spend to make a soup that they sold for a severa thousand rupiahs? It’s probably just mere cents. Do you complain? No. Do you go barging into the kitchen demanding that they should’ve sold it as much as the production cost? No.

Apple is a premium product, and by being a premium product—despite of all its weaknesses (you dumbasses should also start to realize that nothing is perfect and even Ferraris have flaws)—They will not give a damn to those who doesn’t want to buy their products. As simple as that. It’s not fanboyism, but it is a simple fact. That is their product positioning, and it will be like that whether you like it or not.

So if you constantly whine on how Apple should do their business and that they need to lower their prices, then you can simply just ignore their products. Big deal, maybe their products were not meant for you. Now go buy an Acer or something and stop acting like a 10-year old, or you can probably try whining to Lexus that they should sell their cars as cheap as a Chery QQ. Hey, who knows? Maybe you can convince them.

Telkomsel proved to the Indonesian market today that they are probably the greatest irony that ever happened in the country. Here are the facts on why I came to this conclusion:

• Telkomsel is the largest cellular provider in this country, and with the widest coverage.
• Telkomsel is Apple’s exclusive partner that sells bundled iPhones in this country.
• As far as I know, the iPad 3G is the only device available right now (including here, despite it’s not officially imported) that uses a micro SIM.

So given those facts, Telkomsel should be able to steal the competition by supplying micro SIMs for Indonesian iPad 3G owners, right? No. We have to cut them ourselves instead, AND, instead of them, XL is pioneering the move. Ironic? Yes. But then again, Telkomsel’s 3G coverage (or stability) is not entirely that spectacular anyway.

Now, let’s see how long would it take for them to bring the iPhone 4 here, and how long would it take for them to sell them appropriately or competitively. But the way I see it, Apple should’ve ditched the partnership from the beginning and sell factory-unlocked iPhones through Indonesian authorized resellers instead. I’m pretty sure that this would work better in terms of sales.

So maybe, by the time the iPhone 4 is here, and we ask Telkomsel on whether we can get an official micro SIM card or not, this is the reply that you would probably get: “Mohon informasikan nomor telepon dan lokasi, tim kami yang akan menindaklanjuti.”

Sorry, just had to let that out :)