Apple Could Use Liquidmetal for New iPhone Antenna

Well, ever since iPhone 4 is using the fancy new antenna system, people buck about the antenna issue. I really don't like the new antenna system on iPhone 4. Wraparound antenna? Steve Jobs knows the design of the new iPhone is going to turn out this way but yet A GO AHEAD? BOO.

Maybe Apple is going another way for new iPhone antenna system?

Apple could use Liquidmetal for a new iPhone antenna according to the co-inventor of the metal alloy.

Apple recently entered into an agreement with Liquidmetal Technologies for an exclusive license to use its technologies in the consumer electronics field

CultofMac interviewed Dr. Atakan Peker who said Liquidmetal might be a good solution to replace the problematic antenna in the iPhone 4.

“Let me state that this is very exciting for me,” he said. “I made the first and original alloy formulations… I am a big Mac fan and admire greatly Apple as a company. I have been using Mac exclusively my whole life, both at work and home. It is a pleasant surprise for me to see both get together.”

Notably, Liquidmetal is already used to build the antenna for the Verizon USB727 wireless modem.

This is not the first time Apple will be using amorphous metal alloys. Apple already uses this technology in its newly released Magic Trackpad. Dr. Peker states that the properties of Liquidmetal make is an excellent substrate for usage as an antenna and could be one of many reasons why it has caught the fancy of Apple.

Not only this, there are plans for using Liquidmetal in complex and seamless casings for the iPhone, iPod or the iPad. And if this happens, the whole outer casing of the next-gen iPhones could be one big metal alloy antenna. The properties of these amorphous metal alloys also allow it to bend without fatigue or crimping so you could theoretically build one-piece hinges or even foldable devices.

Below you can go through a few properties of this so called Liquidmetal:

- Liquidmetal is generally described as a metallic glass

- It possesses high strength to weight ratio, high wear resistance, and a  low softening temperature
  that allows it to be molded into complex shapes and designs.
- Finds use in various consumer products including sports equipment like the casings of USB thumb   drives, MP3 players, and mobile phones.

Again, as expected from Apple, we are definitely going to witness a big innovation in it’s flagship mobile device – the iPhone. What do you think?