The Metal Aesthetic: China’s Smartphone Fad

 

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The last 2 weeks sent shockwaves through the Chinese smartphone and tablet device markets, with the long-anticipated announcements of new devices by Xiaomi and Meizu. Tech giants in their own right, both companies have come out with guns-blazing with new and improved devices.

But once we step-back from the hype, there’s a striking similarity between them (and indeed, many other devices currently on the market) – ALL METAL DEVICES ARE IN!

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Not only does this move signal a paradigm shift from the cheaper reinforced plastic versions of their predecessors, but perhaps we’re finally seeing a responsiveness from tech companies to the demand for a ‘premium-feeling’ that only metal can deliver.

Smartphones from HTC and Apple have sported metal exteriors for several years, so it’s a welcome relief to have a metal-clad warrior bursting onto (and from!) the Chinese domestic stage.

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Why Aren’t Mobile Phones Smaller?

Doesn’t Nokia 8810 phone and its metal cover bring great memories from the 90s? At that time,  people got to witness the mobile phone wars with two Nordic technology enterprises, the Finnish Nokia and the Swedish Ericsson. That time resembles much of what is happening now between Apple and Samsung, the phones were just different.

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 Michael Douglas with a ‘log’ in the movie Wall Street.

The first mobile phone came out in 1973 when Motorola released its 1.1 kilogram ‘log’ that took 10 hours to charge and that could be used only 30 minutes. On 1989 Motorola released the first commercial phone Motorola DynaTAC 8000X that was like its predecessor and its insane price was 4000 US dollars.

From 1989 until the early 2000s Nokia designed the world’s best mobile phones whose prices  were feasible for average consumers. Nokia gained much popularity trough movies as its 8110 ‘banana phone’ was viewed in the sci-fi movie called Matrix.

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Since the early days, mobile phones were really big and thereby Nokia also tried to design smaller and smaller phones. In the 90s it was fashion to own a small phone, smaller than anyone else had, or they were picked at school. Since the rise of smart phones, phones have grown bigger again. If there weren’t any tablets today, smart phones could grow to those measures. Even now the boundary between tablets and phablets seems to be really narrow.

But what was it that prevented Nokia and other manufacturers from designing even smaller phones? Technology does not set boundaries as components can be designed to be basically as small as people want. The main reason was the distance between mouth and ear. Smaller phones would not have been ergonomic enough. That simple!

Nokia 7650 was the first Nokia phone to have a built-in camera. It was also viewed in Tom Cruise‘s movie The Minority Report.

Like back in the days, today there is a lot of metal inside phones. Metals such as copper, aluminum and galvanized steel are used in phones such as the iPhone 6. Those metals can be purchased from Shanghai Metal Corporation. In order to learn more, please visit our website. Please also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Nokia, Youtube, Web Designer Depot, Know Your Mobile, Comunidad Movistar, Parade

Siri The Comedian

In honor of the new IPhone release, here’s hoping that haven’t changed the greatness that is Siri’s smart aleck replies:

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You: What is the meaning of Life?

Siri: Try and be nice to people. Avoid eating fat. Read a good book every now and then.

You: Will you marry me?

Siri: My end user licensing agreement does not cover marriage. My apologies

You:  What’s the best phone?

Siri: Wait… there are other phones? I think we both know that answer

You: Tell me a joke

Siri:I can’t. I always forget the punch line

You: Who’s your daddy?

Siri: You are. Can we get back to work now?

You: What are you wearing?

Siri: Aluminosilicate glass and stainless steel.  Nice, huh?

You: Who made you?

Siri: Like it says on the box… I was designed by Apple in California

You: “I need to hide a body.”

Siri: “What kind of place are you looking for?” — and she offers you a tappable list of choices like Reservoirs, Metal Foundries, Mines, Dumps and Swamps.

You: “Open the pod bay doors.”

Siri: “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Then: “Are you happy now?”

You: “How much wood would a woodchuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”

Siri: “42 cords of wood, to be exact. Everyone knows that.”

Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures the stainless steel used for phone components. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on  LinkedInTwitter, FacebookInstagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Source: The Economist

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

Sources: NY Times, Venture Beat

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

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Are Smart Watches The New Smart Phone?

Remember back to when you played as a child: talking into your wristwatch communicator Knight Rider style. Now these fantasies have been realized in the new wearable computing innovation.smartwatch1

A torrent of new smart watches from small startup companies, including Pebble and MegaWatch, hit the market in 2013, and big companies have arrived as well: Sony, Samsung, LG, and Qualcomm all offer smart watches. Rumor has it that Apple will be joining the crowd later this year. And Google recently launched a new operating system, called Android Wear, that’s designed specifically for wearable-technology devices. LG, Samsung, and Motorola, among others, are making smart watches that run on this new OS. 

But, are mainstream consumers ready for smart watches? According to a Parks Associates survey released in June of this year, just 4 percent of U.S. broadband households say they are very likely to purchase a smart watch in the next 12 months.

Most of the watches on the market today are what you might call “fashionably challenged” – they simply aren’t attractive enough to entice the masses. Moreover, Buzzfeed reports that lefties have been left out of the design, with humorous revisions to the current models proposed.

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Motorola has bucked this trend, and has gone high class with a stainless steel casing and Horween leather bands, bringing a level of style other leather and cheaper metal options the other manufacturers had yet to try.

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If you would like see stainless steel design from its inception, Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures the stainless steel used for designer items like watches. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website,, WordPress, LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook  and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code. Moreover, we sell directly from Alibaba , EC21 and Tradekey.

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Sources: Consumer Reports, EN Gadget, Buzzfeed

 

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

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