VonCase cages your iPhone in aircraft grade aluminum

At vonCase Designs, the team aspires to create an “exceptional iPhone case that is as unique as it is durable.” Utilizing American-made aircraft grade aluminum to craft complex designs with a hand-finished touch, vonCase enters with four eccentric iPhone cases that catch attention. Anodized for a permanent finish, the Variants, pop with vivid color and protect your precious device from drops and dings

Apple posts full iPhone 5 schematics

This is pretty interesting. It looks like Apple has posted up the full schematics for the iPhone 5 on its developer website. Even if you’re not a dev, you can find them in the Resources section.

Essentially, these are the blueprints for Apple’s new smartphone. And they give accessory and case makers dimensions for everything from the ringer switch to the home button

Delta and American Airlines also working on Passbook support

After months of waiting, we should finally get to see Passbook in action this month. Apple unveiled the app, which stores digital gift cards, event tickets and boarding passes, during its WWDC event.

As cool as the idea of Passbook is, it will only be successful if it can garner support from major businesses. But if the enthusiasm of the airlines is any indication, that won’t be a problem…

Hot on the heels of the story that Virgin Australia is already testing Passbook, comes a report that claims that both Delta and American Airlines are also actively working to support the service.

Travel site Skift has the scoop:

“A spokesperson for American Airlines reveals it will be “rolling out an app update in the coming weeks in support of Passbook. In the meantime, customers can still access their mobile boarding passes in the current version of American’s mobile app.”

And, Delta is known to be actively working on supporting Passbook’s functionality for mobile boarding passes, although the airline wouldn’t talk about it publicly.”

The author says that a spokesperson for United Airlines declined to comment on the matter, but points out that a United boarding pass is present in Apple’s screenshots of the Passbook app.

Again, if this is a sign of how other businesses are going to approach Passbook support, the sky is the limit. Imagine never having to carry another physical boarding pass, movie ticket or gift card.

What’s your take on Passbook? Will it be a hit, or will it fall on its face?

Apple researching new haptic feedback technology

Just hours before Apple unveiled its third-generation iPad this year, a report came out suggesting that the tablet could feature some sort of new haptic “touch-feedback” display.

Obviously, the story never materialized. But as it turns out, Apple is looking into it. The company has had over 4 patents published this year on haptics, including this one…

PatentlyApple points to a newly published invention from Apple regarding a “linear vibrator providing localized haptic feedback.” Here’s an excerpt from the description:

“Further, the vibrator may be configured to be activated when a user touches a particular portion of a touch-sensitive screen of the mobile phone. When the user’s touch or near-touch is sensed in the appropriate area of the screen, the vibrator may be activated in a boosted mode, thereby providing localized haptic feedback directly under the area in which the touch was sensed. In this manner, the localized haptic feedback may serve to confirm the touch to the user, for example by emulating the feeling of pressing a button.”

This particular patent application, #20120223824, was originally filed in the first quarter of this year, with Fletcher Rothkopf named as the inventor, and was published Thursday.

There’s obviously a million ways Apple could implement this kind of technology into its mobile devices. But the question is: should it? Is there a need for haptic in touch screens?

I think if it’s done right, it could make a positive impact — especially in gameplay.

What do you think?