Apple unceremoniously killed off the iPod Classic a few months ago, and the internet, as it is wont to do, basically exploded with consumerist anger. Although the iPod Classic probably won’t be coming back any time soon, this concept, if it were to become real, would make it all ok.
To be clear, this is not an actual product. It’s not even a hint of an actual product. It doesn’t even have a crowdfunding campaign yet. It’s just a concept from designer Claudio Gomboli, and it’s likely to remain that way.
Although the cover would be dead-simple to make (give me five minutes in an Apple Store with a hacksaw and a Sharpie and I’ll make a decent lookalike), the clever alternative UI that you see in the cover’s window would be difficult to get onto a non-jailbroken iPhone, thanks to Apple’s death-grip control over its products.
But screw reality. This is a great idea. The clickwheel was already a neat way of navigating around a device, and if the iPod Cover worked with gloves on, it’d be a killer winter accessory. It’d take an Apple intern twenty minutes to design. This is a personal plea to the Apple R&D team. If any of you have souls left, make this. Make it now. Then charge me $US99 for owning one. [Claudio Gomboli via Redmond Pie]