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Apple Cube Store Architect “Computer Illiterate”

You don’t have to be computer savvy to understand the vision of Steve Jobs.
Architect Peter Bohlin who designed Apple’s epic glass cube for the Fifth Avenue store in New York is “a total computer illiterate” his partner Bernard Cywinski told the Philadelphia Inquirer. He still sketches on paper rather than by computer and prefers talking [...]

Apple Now Accepting iPad Apps, Planning “Grand Opening” of iPad App Store

Apple is now accepting iPad apps for a “grand opening” of the iPad App Store, according to an email just sent to registered developers.
“iPad will begin shipping soon and your opportunity to be part of the grand opening of the iPad App Store starts today,” the email says.
There’s no details about when the store’s grand [...]

Security Expert: “Mac OS X Is Safer, But Less Secure”

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Tech site H-Online has an interesting story today, quoting security expert Charlie Miller about his forthcoming talk at the CanSecWest conference next week.
He says OS X is full of security holes. There are lots more than in Windows, he claims.
And yet: OS X is a safer system to use. Why? Because, in the words [...]

Apple Devotes Entire Home Page To Jerome York Obituary

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If ever you needed a sign that Apple was a different kind of technology company, this is it.
What other computer manufacturer would remove its top-selling, hype-inducing, industry-altering new product from the prime spot on its website home page, and replace it with an obituary to an investor?
This is one of those “Here’s to the [...]

Steve Jobs Awarded Patent For iPhone Packaging

iphone_box

Steve Jobs has been awarded a patent for the iPhone's box.

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to a delighted Macworld audience in January 2007, he said Apple had protected its invention with more than 200 patents.

He didn’t mention that his company had also patented the box the iPhone comes in.

On Tuesday, the U.S. patent office awarded Jobs and 16 other designers a patent for the iPhone’s packaging.

The iPhone’s box certainly is elegant. Pull off the top, and the iPhone is presented to its new owner sitting on a slab of glossy plastic, like an expensive watch. Hidden underneath are its accessories and instructions.

Jobs has always been fascinated by packaging, believing the unboxing routine to be a crucial part of the customer experience. All of Jobs’s products have been carefully packaged going back to the original Mac in 1984. Jobs believes unpacking a product is a great way to introduce unfamiliar technology to the consumer — they explore the components as they unbox them.

The new patent application contains little but pictures of the iPhone packaging. No less that 17 designers are named on the patent, including Apple’s design head designer Jonathan Ive.

Hit the jump for a cool exploded picture of the iPhone package.

box_exploded

Via Cell Passion.

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About the author

Leander Kahney

Leander Kahney is the editor of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

Email the author | Read more posts by Leander Kahney.

8 comments

    The slab of plastic the iPhone sits in hasn’t been clear since the Gen1 iPhone. The packaging is still brilliant nonetheless.

    How does the US Patent Office issue a patent on putting a PRODUCT in a BOX?!?

    I cant think of the number of products I have received that come nestled nicely atop a shelf, on display, as soon as you pull off the lid.

    thanks. you’re right. i’ll fix.

    Even the way the box opens is amazing. Its impossible to open it fast, because it just slowly slides apart unveiling the phone.

    [...] Steve Jobs has always been fascinated by packaging, believing the unboxing routine to be a crucial part of the customer experience. All of Jobs’s products have been carefully packaged going back to the original Mac in 1984. Jobs believes unpacking a product is a great way to introduce unfamiliar technology to the consumer — they explore the components as they unbox them. – Cultofmac.com [...]

    [...] And yet more steveness: When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to a delighted Macworld audience in January 2007, he said Apple had protected its invention with more than 200 patents. [...]

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