Transparent rear panel puts iPhone 4's guts on display
Ever wonder what your handset looks like on the inside? This $30 replacement panel gives you a permanent peek at your iPhone's underbelly.
Looking for a fun and unusual way to trick out your iPhone 4? Repair-guide site iFixit now sells an iPhone 4 Transparent Rear Panel for $29.95.
Made of clear glass, this replacement back cover reveals all the inner workings of your device. Actually, it reveals mostly battery, but it's still pretty cool if you're into that whole "naked" look.
The panel consists of a camera lens, flash diffuser, and bezel. To install it, you simply remove the two screws from the bottom of your iPhone, pop the old panel off, place the new one, and restore the screws.
The only potential problem is if you have the newer pentalobe screws, in which case you should consider tossing iFixit's $14.95 pentalobe screwdriver into your cart. (Better yet, grab one on eBay for as little as $2.29 shipped.)
One other caveat: the Transparent Rear Panel is compatible with only the GSM (i.e. AT&T) versions of the iPhone 4, meaning Verizon iPhone owners are outta luck. "We have nothing against the Verizon users," says the iFixit blog. "Apple chose to modify the rear panel layout for the Verizon version, and sadly our panel can only fit GSM iPhone 4 units."
What do you think of the Transparent Rear Panel? Cool way to make your iPhone stand out from the crowd, or painful reminder that the iPhone looks a lot sexier with its clothes on?