“Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China” – flip over any iPod or iPhone and this statement appears on the back. The popularity of these personal electronics from Apple has spawned an enormous accessories market that too has followed suit with regards to manufacturing and followed Apple’s lead of producing their products outside of America. But that is not the case with every company. Apex Armor of Milpitas, California is bucking the trend with their line of aluminum cases for the current generation iPod Nanos and iPhone.
The cases from Apex Armor are all manufactured from 100-percent U.S. domestically sourced 6061-T651 precision aluminum plate. They contract with a local machine shop, one with over 30-years of experience in the Aerospace industry, to machine each case to their design standards. The cases are then deburred, cleaned, anodized and packaged for the consumer.
The iPhone “Generation 3” case (this name might be confusing to some… it is designed for the iPhone 4) has a very minimalist design. The case fits closely to the phone, mimicking the silicone style bumper cases; but instead of fitting the case like a sock on the phone or snapping it on, the Generation 3 is shipped in two pieces that are slide down the edges of the phone and secure with two tiny machine screws.
For the iPod Nano IKONIK cases, Apex went with a wrist watch style design. Following the design of the Generation 3, this case also attaches to the iPod in two pieces that are secured with tiny machine screws. The IKONIK might look like other wrist watch style 6th/7th generation Nano cases, but it has a few other tricks. Not only does it attach to the wearer’s wrist, but there are rare earth magnets on the back that allow the iPod to be attached to any ferrous metal surface and the case allows the use of the Nano clip that is on the back of the iPod. Most other watch style Nano cases do not allow the use of the clip when inside the case.
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The cases from Apex Armor are available in a number of different colors, including red, black, clear and grey. The IKONIK has a few additional choices. The slick design of these cases, aluminum construction and domestic manufacturing means that they are prices a little higher than other available cases. The Generation 3 case for the iPhone has a MSRP of $79.99 (on sale now for $63.99) and the IKONIK has a MSRP of $89.99 (on sale for $71.99). This certainly might scare some iPod/iPhone users, but if you are looking for a tough case and appreciate the line, “Made in California”, the cases from Apex Armor might just be what you are looking for.