This isn’t actually a real CrunchDeal, but it is a pretty good bargain if you’re in Japan. It seems that Apple went to a Japanese metalworker named Kobayashi Kazuo to create the shiny aluminum back for its many iProducts. They wanted an 800-grade finish, and then a 1000-grade finish, which is, as far as I can tell, 100% reflective. This is difficult to do (mirrors aren’t aluminum, you know) so they took it to this guy, who did it himself.
It’s kind of an interesting story, being the source of the iPod’s classic shiny look. If he hadn’t shown it to be possible to bring their aluminum to that level of shine, what might Apple have done? Have a monochrome iPod? Regular brushed aluminum? Maybe they would have given up entirely and closed down shop.
The best part is that you can take your iPod in and he’ll shine the hell out of it for ¥2100, which is just over $21. Damn, when I was in Japan that would have been like $17. Finally this economy seems real to me.