Apple Hardware Prototypes: Four Radical New Concepts Revealed
Posted 11/28/2007 at 12:15am
| by Jon Phillips
iProtection
A postmodern response to the existential threats of urban living.
Sure, you chuckle now. But in 10 years’ time—when the polar caps have melted and wild dogs are roaming the streets—you’ll be glad Apple had the foresight to develop iProtection. This pocket-sized mobile security system is the world’s first hip and mainstream personal safety device. Who says your descent into full-tilt paranoia need not be fun? Music might be your boyfriend, but the arc of an 800,000-volt stun gun is your biker-looking uncle who lets you shoot guns in the backyard.

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1. A perfectly cylindrical iProtection baton might roll away if dropped. That’s why our design includes a single flat face.
2. Releasing the stun gun button resets the biometric safety, ensuring that your iProtection can’t easily be used against you (should, God forbid, the worst occur)
3. You’ll be interested to know that iProtection doesn’t carry any version of iTunes and can’t play any type of media downloaded from the Internet. (The soundtrack of postmodern paranoia can be heard in the wind.)
Identification, illumination, and electrification are the cornerstones of iProtection safety. If you sense an assault is imminent, you can activate a piercing, 120-decibel alarm siren that immediately identifies the locus of your trouble. A built-in GPS tracker further identifies your whereabouts—as soon as you hit the alarm (which also includes a silent mode), a distress signal sends your coordinates to local law enforcement. The GPS also includes a real-time display, which is perfect for calling in updates of your exact location should you ever find yourself stuffed in the trunk of a moving car, your iPhone conveniently within reach.
Naturally, the iProtection system includes a high-intensity LED flashlight. Your acts of urban payback will be nothing if not well lit. All of which leads us to the baton’s offensive component, an 800,000-volt stun gun with a three-stage safety trigger. Press the trigger once, and a biometric sensor immediately recognizes the thumbprint as yours, unlocking the safety toggle. Press the button a second time to arm the stun gun; the electrodes will rise from the baton’s surface. Press the button a third time and iProtection issues a nasty electrical discharge. Your assailant would not want to be mocking your choice of iPod colors right about now.