back to article 'BLING BLING, BLING BLING' 'Hello, yes, my iPhone is made of GOLD'

The Apple rumour mill is approaching lightspeed, fuelled by a growing number of insiders talking up a C-3PO-like gold iPhone 5S. Today's iOS mobes are only available in black and white, but more and more anonymous sources are piling in online to claim the next-generation model - due out on 10 September - will sport an optional …

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  1. ItsNotMe
    FAIL

    More lipstick on a pig.

    Next article please.

    1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
      FAIL

      Re: More lipstick on a pig.

      So you don't like apple. big frigging deal. There are others here who have the same opinion about Samsung.

      so what?

      If you don't like an article why ---- bother reading it and even worse adding an inane comment to it. It really adds nothing to the debate at all.

      {before anyone asks, I don't own an iPhone/iPad. I am currently using a Samsung Galaxy mini as the battery on my Nokia 6310i has died. The Samsung is a total POS but that it probably because it runs Android 2,.3}

      1. ItsNotMe
        Happy

        Re: More lipstick on a pig.

        My...my Stevie honey...sure got your little knickers in a tight wad...now don't you.

        1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: More lipstick on a pig.

          I am not your 'Honey'.

          I don't wear knickers (womens ones)

          And my undergarments are not in a twist.

          I'm just a little fed up with inane and frankly pointless comments from people like you.

          Those who say 'you are holding it wrong' are just as bad IMHO.

          These cheap points really add nothing to the topic being discussed.

          Ok, so let the mass down voting begin.

          1. Haku
            Happy

            Re: More lipstick on a pig.

            *grabs the popcorn*

            I love watching arguments on El Reg forums.

            *munch* *munch* *munch*

            Carry on.

            *munch* *munch* *munch*

            1. ItsNotMe

              @Haku

              Oh this is such great sport...and save some popcorn for me please. :-)

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: More lipstick on a pig.

            You haven't added much to the debate yourself Steve?

            That aside, who actually gives a fruit about the color of the phone, when you eventually clad it in a bumper because the god-dam screen is so fragile.

            I think it's about time that Apple innovate rather than change the appearance, but hey ho, at least it will be a truly shiny shiny.

          3. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: More lipstick on a pig.

            OK everyone. Only serious, well thought out comments on the colour of the new iPhone on here. You heard Steve. This is a serious, vitally important issue in today's society, and there is to be NO jocularity.

            That is all

            1. andreas koch
              Boffin

              @ AC 1423h GMT - Re: More lipstick on a pig.

              No joking. OK, then, serious now; I actuallly mean it. (And, although it won't pacify Steve, this also applies to Samsung.)

              The reason for a 'gold' iPhone should be obvious. Show that it's an iPhone 5S, not an old iPhone 5 which you otherwise couldn't tell.

              I've called high-end-mobiles 'Veblen Goods*' more than once. You will find them with people who neither need the functionality, nor are they able to use it to it's full potential. In this case the mobile is a fashion status symbol.

              As a fashion article, it only serves it's purpose if it clearly shows that it IS high fashion. Hence the overwhelming branding on FCUK and Abercrombie & Finch wear or the Dolce & Gabanna handbags.

              What if you can't tell the new from the old? You would have wasted your money on an article that does not immediately show that you're a trendy person, and thereby does not serve it's main function.

              A Samsung Galaxy 5 that looks like a Galaxy 2 is a no-status phone, you might just a well have the old one.

              An iPhone 5S in gold states that you have a distinguishable 'new' model, as last year's model only came in black or white. Even better, if the gold model is, let's say, £50 more expensive. This shows that you are successful enough to not have to worry about paying 10% above the average price.

              The most clever thing about all this is the actual price point of the article. You couldn't afford an Aston Martin DB9 to show off, neither to have it resprayed in gold. But everyone can afford an iPhone. It might mean that there's £30 a month less to go around, but that can be picked up somewhere, it's only £7.50 a week. This is, in matters of inconvenience, much cheaper than a Breitling or a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti** sneakers.

              See, Steve, no offence. This is not an Apple issue at all to me. This is a 'tech fashion' issue.

              And no-one does this better than Apple.

              * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good

              **No, I didn't know that name either; I just googled for an example.

              1. paulll
                Happy

                Re: @ AC 1423h GMT - More lipstick on a pig.

                "Abercrombie & Finch wear or the Dolce & Gabanna handbags."

                Totally have the theme from,"Only Fools and Horses," playing in my head right now :)

          4. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: More lipstick on a pig.

            "Ok, so let the deserved mass down voting begin."

            Will do.

            Glad you got that rant out, it may have turned you green!

          5. julianh72
            Trollface

            "Those who say 'you are holding it wrong' are just as bad IMHO."

            Wasn't that His Steveness?

          6. paulll

            Re: More lipstick on a pig.

            I agree about people chiming in just to say,"yawn," or whatever, But, "you're holding it wrong," is still fuckin' gold.

      2. frank ly

        @Steve Davies 3 Re: More lipstick on a pig. 6310i battery

        You can get them for less than £4 on e-bay. I got the high capacity ones about 4 years ago, still going strong.

        Nokia 6310i - great phone. I have a Nexus 4 running Android 4.3 - great phone.

        1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
          Thumb Up

          Re: @Steve Davies 3 More lipstick on a pig. 6310i battery

          Yep I know. Ordered last night. It should be delivered tomorrow. In the meantime, the Samsung POS will have to do. Ok?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @Steve Davies 3 More lipstick on a pig. 6310i battery

          HTC One running 4.3, even better still. LTE, better screen, more storage. Even the infra-red blaster works with stock android now.

      3. William 3 Bronze badge

        No-one asked.

        So excuse me if I don't get the worlds smallest violin out.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: More lipstick on a pig.

      Read it and weep dumbdroids - I laugh at you and your plastic phones - muhahahaha.

  2. Darryl

    I'm holding out for the greenish Boba Fett version

    1. pepper
      Coat

      I'll wait out for the deathstar one, I've heard it comes with a tractor beam and a optional laser that will destroy Android phones.

  3. TRT Silver badge
    Alert

    And introducing...

    the iLightSaber. Just... don't hold it wrong, OK? Ow.

  4. Ben Rose

    Gold iPhone ringtone...

    ...would have to be a certain song from Roy Chubby Brown.

  5. joeW

    If the rumours are true

    Then I for one will be very interested in seeing if a wider product portfolio does good things or bad for Apple's bottom line. I enjoy casual mockery of iStuff as much as the next fandroid, but I'd honestly like to see the new strategy pay off (not least because Apple are the largest single employer in the city I live - if they were to pull out it would be disastrous for the place).

    1. IHateWearingATie

      Re: If the rumours are true

      I want them to fail for the perfectly selfish reason I've chosen a Galaxy S4 for my work phone over a iPhone 5 (work not willing to wait to offer me a 5s) and my self esteem will get a boost if the 5s is the same as the 5 with a crappy finger print scanner, tacky gold colouring and fisher price inspired icons.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: If the rumours are true

      >>> I'd honestly like to see the new strategy pay off (not least because Apple are the largest single employer in the city I live

      Taiyuan!?

  6. Steve Button Silver badge

    Fished in!

    I can't believe you, El Reg, have fallen for this one along with everyone else. Shame on you. It's a smoke screen for the real announcement, which is... Idon'tgiveashit.

    1. Efros

      Re: Fished in!

      that's iDon'tgiveashit shurely.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ah, more pretentious prat for pretentious, self-proclaimed Apple uppercrusters.

    Really. A good number of iPhone users see themselves as classy, educated and simply better because they have chosen a material object that they perceive as better - Apple products. Not all Apple users, mind you, but a goodly number.

    So now those type of people get their [tiny] little egos stroked more. Surprise?

    1. Mike Moyle
      Mushroom

      Spoken (written) like a true AC...

      ...because, as we all know, (a good number of) Android users would never THINK of prating on about their tech devices of choice are the be-all and end-all, in order to (get their [tiny] little egos stroked more).

      (Not all [Android] users, mind you, but a goodly number.)

      Posted by an Android phone (ZTE) and iPad owner.

    2. Tom 38

      A good number of iPhone users see themselves as classy, educated and simply better because they have chosen a material object that they perceive as better - Apple products.

      It's funny, because a lot of Android users see themselves as classy, educated and simply better because they haven't bought an iPhone. What's the difference?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cash for gold better get their legal team ready

    As will a certain grape growing region of France, since as we all know Apple invented not only rounded corners, but the colour gold and the name champange!

    <full disclosure>

    I own a mac, but don't own a mobile phone of any variety :O

    </full disclosure>

  9. Zarniw00p

    Hmmm, a urine coloured iPhone eh? Not tacky at all, only because Apple are doing it otherwise it would be the tackiest most carried by pimps phone ever. But as Apple are releasing it, of course it ain't ;-)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Hmmm, a urine coloured iPhone eh? Not tacky at all"

      Fantastic, best quip of the day!

    2. Cliff

      Not 'urine'

      The official Pantone name is 'Fapple Yellow TM'

  10. Nezumi
    Trollface

    The idea is a bit tacky, even though the handset probably won't be...

    In fairness to Apple, they know a thing or two about design. I'm not expecting them to **** this up. However...

    Gold. Really? That's the best you can come up with? It has a whiff of 'chav' about it.

    IMHO, the iPhone design is looking rather dated and could do with modernizing. If I'm honest the whole thin and aluminium look is getting rather stale.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The idea is a bit tacky, even though the handset probably won't be...

      "In fairness to Apple, they know a thing or two about design."

      Wrong, So So Wrong!

      Glass and stainless steel, know a thing or two about design?

      Abandoning their original designs, and they know a thing or two about design?

      Designers are appalled. Plebs think it's the best thing since the stinking pastic cheap coloured iMac!

      PLEASE! You have no clue.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The idea is a bit tacky, even though the handset probably won't be...

      "It has a whiff of 'chav' about it."

      Only in certain quarters. And in the East, where all the new markets are, definitely not.

    3. Mystic Megabyte
      Boffin

      Re: The idea is a bit tacky, even though the handset probably won't be...

      Aluminium was the tech design chic of the 70s. I still use an Akai tuner/amp from that time.

      Apple used aluminium because it was the cheapest material that had the required strength..

      1. pepper

        Re: The idea is a bit tacky, even though the handset probably won't be...

        Aluminium does make it feel more solid, although it really is perception, my Saitek equipment has quite a bit of it in the design whereas the CH Pro gear doesnt. Both are good enough for their purposes and the thing that matters the most(the internals) need about as much maintenance for both after a decade.

        Still, I like aluminium for design much better then most other materials, except for Brass, that beats everything. Always go with Brass!

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I can't stand the excitement

    No, I really, really, really can't..

    But what happens if Samsung bring out a platinum coloured phone - disaster.

  12. Jerky Jerk face

    iCare - thats why its gold. If theres a market, leave it to apple to sniff it out. The gold makes sense, flashy people like iphones, how else are they going to waste cash on needless bling if you cant have one in gold!

    Personally i want a furry pink case with black and yellow dots, might be a while till that rolls out of the factory combination though.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Hmmm, a urine coloured iPhone eh? Not tacky at all"

    HAHAAHAHAHAHAHA THE funniest thing on here!

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    the other rumour you didn't report:

    and buying this iFolly won't make you look like a self important dicK!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Now that WOULD be a big change over the usual iPhone

  15. ted frater

    A true 24ct gold colour?

    Putting aside all the above personal views wether your in to the Iphone bling or not,

    its going to be interesting to look at one of these if it comes about, as Ive been involved in anodising for a long time, paticularly the colour gold..

    to get a true 24ct gold colour is quite difficult,

    1. you need to use a very high grade purity of aluminium, which is not suitable for mas production machining, ie Iphone body.

    2. the anodising is done in hot sulphuric acid to get any decent thickness of aluminium oxide, then ,

    3.the metal needs to be polished to a high degree before any anodising is done,

    4. then the most difficult bit, is dyeing it in the gold colour solution.

    5. Length of time in this tank and colour saturation are critical to get consistent results over a production run of thousands.

    My guess is that there will be colour variation , apart from colour fading over time.

    some colours are very fast, yellow is not one of them.

    hope this forewarns potential purchasers, Look at it before you buy to make sure its what you expect.

    Its a great finish if everything comes right.

    6. Finally, sealing in sodium silicate solution helps it last longer.

    For daily wear? not the best colour..

  16. NightFox

    Bigger Picture

    OK, so gold might have negative/tacky connotations in the West, but let's see beyond the ends of our noses and remember there's a whole wide world (read: bigger market) where gold is a popular colour choice.

  17. envmod

    it won't be gold enough!

    all you people who think it's going to be like, shiny and gold are wrong. wrong i tell you!

    it will be a light burnished gold-ish hue if anything, and matte.

  18. Shagbag

    Gold? Surely you mean...

    Yellow.

    To quote Johnny Mathis ("When a Child is Born"): "White, Black, Yellow - nobody knows"

  19. ratfox

    Yeah right

    I don't believe for a second that Apple is going to produce a gold-coloured phone. Honestly, they simply have better taste than that.

    This makes almost as much sense as the third-year-in-a-row rumour that a cheap iPhone will be introduced. When will people realise that the cheap iPhone is always the previous model??

  20. regorama

    just shows that you CAN shine sh.it!

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    To be fair you can't polish a turd

    However you can roll it in glitter...

    1. Matt Piechota

      polish

      Keep up, you can polish a turd.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJ9fy1qSFI\

      Gold iPhone? Eh, if you like that kind of thing. Most people will cover it up with a cover anyway.

  22. Zot
    Coat

    A brushed copper colour would be nice.

    Oh sorry, wrong place, I mean, it wasn't me. *ahem* - just leaving!... .. .

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wat it iz

    If you h8 apple then yr a m$ shill whos a hater, apple hater we luv r walled gardens the walls r made of stone 2 keep u haterz out,apple h8r Im gonna buy$ a gold (au) fone 2 go wid my gold ro$$$$$lex watch and boots. #applehaterzh82luv

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wat it iz

      You forgot to say 'Innit'.

      We are the knights who say "innit".

  24. julianh72
    Coat

    "Champagne"? I think not

    It'll be "Cider", surely?

  25. Rattus Rattus

    Who cares about the gold case, what I found interesting was IOS 7, with "a new "flat" design scheme that replaces the skeuomorphism of the past with brightly coloured icons". Is Apple going all Windows 8 here?

  26. RobertD
    Happy

    It might...

    ...sell well here in Scotland as it sounds like it might be similar enough in colour to Irn Bru or good whisky.

  27. ywdwarner

    this way the muggers will know who to target, thanx u fn geniuses. Jobs rolling over with ur egotism. Pink phones would deter theives, duh! " but since people have to buy new phones if theirs gets stolen, theft is 25% of ur business model, 25% replacing broken iphones. people have been shot for iphones. will apple ever accept responsibility for having crap kill switches for phones?

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You want a cheap golden apple gadget?

    How does $7.99 grab you? :-)

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