The iPod cases have *magnetic* closure? I would be awfully uneasy about putting a magnet directly next to my iPod hard drive.

I can see why they wouldn't want to do that for the iPhone. In addition to the hard drive, it might mess with some of the sensors, perhaps? But does the multitouch still work through a polycarbonate faceplate?

Even if they are produced from FSC wood, you know what's more sustainable? Not having one. And better still? Not getting an iphone, or giving in to any other momentary technolust. Treehugger is a funny name indeed for a site that cheers consumerism.

We have thousands of posts about consuming less. Or not consuming at all. Heaps of stories on dumpster diving, community gardens, making cool bikes from scrap parts, making washing machines from bikes, repairing, reusing, sharing, swapping, DIY.... At the other end of the spectrum we've articles on $300,000 electric cars and mega million homes made from retired 747 aircraft. A lot of what we post on should not be considered a destination in itself, more part of the journey. We won't arrive at a green future in an instant, there are 6 billion different ways of getting there.


And besides it's boring to be serious all the time. (But maybe we need to push our tonge more forcefully into our cheek, so it become more obvious.)

Tongue in cheek absolutely. But still good to look at 'options' out there of a green product that can replace plastic ones. While it's easy to say 'simply don't buy iPods' - the reality is that consumers do. So why not offer them a green option to garnish it with instead of a double negative plastic option. While this iWood one doesn't fulfill all requirements, there are some seriously exciting advances that are allowing us as a consumer to design and produce our own green products. There are some great innovative firms like www.desktopfactory.com and www.ulsinc.com (who provide the desktop manufacturing hardware you need) and http://www.ponoko.com who provides the personal manufacturing platform you need to buy, sell and share your product designs, and to make them for real with the click of your mouse. So while this iWood doesn't quite fit the bill, there's nothing stopping us designing and producing, without the extensive production costs, delivery costs, negative environmental impact etc, ourselves!

"Unlike the multitude of plastic electronics cases which we are destined to have as rubbish for the next 500 years..."

Just a technical comment: I understand that there is no living thing that can break down plastic molecules into molecules of anything else, meaning that plastic is here for pretty much forever. It is true that sunlight can break big pieces of plastic into increasingly smaller pieces of plastic over time, until a phone or computer case is only billions of single plastic molecules. But the plastic hasn't gone away, just become too small to see. According to the law of entropy, these molecules will disperse far and wide, becoming ubiquitous in the ocean, plankton, fish, birds, humans, soil, etc.

Thanks ecogal. Yes, plastics are forever, unless we recycle them. The 500 year figure is often used just to give an indication of most plastic's inertness -- longevity in its original form. It will, as you say, eventually become plastic dust, thence it becomes less rubbish and more a pollutant, and even harder to manage. At least as trash we can see it, collect it and reprocess it. As dust we have way less opportunity to keep it in check. One of the reasons why responsible decision making by industrial designers is so important.

ok buy less plastic and buy more wood. Buy more wood, there are less trees. With less trees less oxygen. Not buying is the best option as so to not pollute.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS PRODUCT.

Miniot sent me a badly made excuse for a case, the product was damaged out of the box, i ordered a logo- they got the placement and size of it wrong, the power button did not line up right and ended up dinging my phone, furthermore there are metal rods inthe back which they shoddily cover and of you don't look to make sure they will scratch the back of your phone.

Miniot is a horrible company which refused to take responsibility for the damage there crappy case did to my phone, and refused to try and send me a working one....my suspicion is that all of them are slightly messed- they even admitted to me that the tolerances are still changing.....

GREAT PRODUCT IN THEORY, BUT FAR LESS THAN PERFECT.

IF YOU LIKE GREEN THINGS, DONATE THE $175 TO A CAUSE THAT PROTECTS TREES, AND DOESNT DESTROY THEM TO MAKE A PRODUCT THAT IS A SLIGHT STEP ABOVE FIREWOOD.

Thomas, every post in the blogosphere about the iWood for iPhone bears your annoyance regarding your experience, and when I made my purchase I simply shrugged off your comments as a rare one-off.

But lo and behold, I also got less than what I hoped for. Sure, unlike yours my engraving was perfect and the power button was fine (although it needs a bit more pressure to push than normal, but you'd expect that).

However, the camera hole is not properly centered (made worse by climactic shifts) and the little opening for the silent/ring switch is nigh on impossible to operate even with the tiniest of pinky fingers.

The magnets they use to keep the two pieces together are nowhere near strong enough and have popped out numerous times (I've finally used some Loctite super glue to bung 'em in).

The power of the magnets prove futile, especially when the said product exhibits a gap between the pieces that is further exacerbated by changing weather or the warmth of your trouser pocket.

My worst scenario is when it's a humid or hot day, and when it comes time to answer a call, one piece decides to stay in my pocket. I am also able to wobble both pieces freely. It looks to me like they never built this product with any design tolerance towards the fit and the magnet's pulling power. I guess the Dutch aren't known for precision engineering like the Germans.

So to sum it up; risk it if you want, but you're paying a heck of a lot for a badly crafted piece of wood, not covered by any warranty or guarantee by a company with nonexistent customer support. Oh, prepare to be potentially slugged more with their payment system that uses delayed conversion rates compared to PayPal.

It's too bad. In my eyes this case has the best aesthetics when compared to any leather, plastic or silicone case.

Please note: This is a critique of the iWood for iPhone. Who knows, the line for iPods might be pretty good.