SIM Eject Tool (iPad, 2010)

The iPad SIM Eject Tool shipped with the original iPad. This tool is built into the envelope packaging that shipped with the iPad and is referenced in the iPad User Guide:

Remove the micro-SIM card:
1 Insert the end of the SIM eject tool into the hole on the SIM tray.
Press firmly and push the tool straight in until the tray pops out. If you don’t have a
SIM eject tool, you can use the end of a paper clip.
2 Pull out the SIM tray and remove the micro-SIM card from the tray.

The SIM Eject Tool is no longer included with products that include a SIM card. Instead, the Apple website recommends and depicts a somewhat inelegant bent paperclip for ejecting SIM cards.

Back in 2010, the SIM Eject Tool became newsworthy when it was disclosed that Apple had manufactured this tool from a metal alloy known as Liquidmetal. This news came after Apple “entered into an exclusive agreement with Liquidmetal Technologies.” The alloy is described as an “amorphous, non-crystalline material…2.5 times the strength of commonly used titanium alloy and 1.5 times the hardness of stainless steel found in portable electronic devices.” (AppleInsider)

Reports also stated that, “Liquidmetal Technologies has granted all of its intellectual property assets to Apple, under a worldwide agreement that gives Apple the exclusive rights to use the alloy in electronic products” at a cost of nearly $11 million (AppleInsider).

In 2018, Apple was granted patents for parts made of Liquidmetal, but the alloy has not been confirmed as being used in production, aside from this SIM Eject Tool.

Sources: Apple (iPad User Manual, SIM eject page), AppleInsider, Patently Apple

iPad 10W USB Power Adapter (unopened, 2011)

This iPad 10W USB Power Adapter is compatible with iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and iPod nano devices with a 30-pin connector. The part number is MC359LL/A.

The box contains three parts, a 30-pin to USB cable, a power “brick,” and a removable 2-prong US power plug. This example is unopened in its original packaging.

iBook Power Adapter (1999)

This iBook Power Adapter is for the original iBook models (1999–2001) with the “clamshell” design. The model number is M7387LL/A.

The iBook Power Adapter is in two parts. The round silver “yo-yo” part has a white Apple logo and allows the thin cord that plugs into the iBook power port to wrap around the inside of the circle for storage. The part of the cord that plugs into the wall is primarily white with transparent ends, allowing the internal wiring to be visible. This transparent design aesthetic is consistent with the translucent plastics used on both the iBook and the color iMac models of the time.

This iBook Power Adapter is stored in its original packaging.

Speaker Grille (for Power Mac G4 “mirrored drive doors,” 2002)

This Speaker Grille for the Power Mac G4 “mirrored drive doors” model was included to protect its single front speaker. The previous Power Mac G4 (“Quicksilver”) included a similar speaker design, but the speaker was located at the bottom-center of the tower and no grille was included. The Power Mac G4 “mirrored drive doors” design had four air vents across the bottom in the same position of the speaker on the “Quicksilver” design.

The manual references the speaker grill twice:

On page 11, “Don’t put anything in the recessed speaker opening except the optional speaker grille. Touching the speaker can damage it.”

And on page 15, “Speaker—Use the recessed internal speaker to hear sound from the computer. Take care not to let anything touch the fragile speaker mechanism. To protect the speaker from damage, a speaker grille is included with your computer. However, you’ll receive better sound quality without the grille.”

Source: Apple

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic (without Mic for the iPod Shuffle Generation 3, 2009)

These Apple earphones are a bit of an anomaly. The design is based upon its Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic that was sold independently and also included with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, and iPod touch (Generation 3). Each of those devices used a microphone. At the same time, Apple released the iPod Shuffle Generation 3 that did not have microphone compatibility. Instead of using an old earphones design, they instead produced the same design without a microphone.

This version of the Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic without a Mic lacks the small Mic hole in the housing on the right-ear wire. Previous Apple Earphone designs lacked the + and – volume controls and the microphone on models that included the Mic.

Of course, I would love to tear these apart or X-ray them to see if Apple left out the microphone, or simply covered the microphone hole in this version of the earphones.

Sources: Apple, Apple (via webarchive)

AirPort Extreme Card (2003)

The AirPort Extreme Card card replaced Apple’s original AirPort card in 2003. The first computers designed to use this card were the iBook G4/800 12-inch (original) and the iMac G4 1.0 17-inch (flat panel).

Apple devices with wireless capabilities after the AirPort Extreme Card had Wi-Fi as a standard feature built in to the architecture beginning in mid-2005. Beginning in 2006 with the Intel-based MacBook Pro, Apple used non-Apple-branded internal wireless cards (e.g., Atheros, Broadcom).

According to Apple’s AirPort Extreme Card User’s Guide:

AirPort Extreme Card Specifications
• Wireless Data Rate: Up to 54 megabits per second (Mbps)
• Range: Up to 150 feet (45 meters) from the base station in typical indoor use
(varies with building)
• Frequency Band: 2.4 gigahertz (GHz)
• Radio Output Power: 15 dBm (nominal)
• Standards: Compliant with 802.11 HR Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
11 Mbps standard, 802.11 DSSS 1 and 2 Mbps standard, and 802.11g specification

Sources: EveryMac, Wikipedia, Apple

Apple AirPort Carrier Card Adapter (1999)

The Apple AirPort Carrier Card Adapter (M8753G/A, 820-1066-A) is for the slot-loading G3 iMac (400MHz or faster). The “carrier card” allows a standard original Apple AirPort wireless card to be installed in an iMac.

At the time, wireless capability was not considered a standard computer feature so the iMac G3 not only did not include an AirPort Card, but it also lacked the internal port to accept it. Instead, Apple required this carrier to allow an AirPort Card to be added. The 802.11b AirPort Card was not included.

Source: EveryMac

AirPort External Antenna (for Power Mac G5, 2005)

The Power Macintosh G5 from 2005 allowed a wireless network connection using an internal AirPort Extreme card. Since the Power Macintosh G5 had an external aluminum case, this external AirPort antenna was included.

The back of the Power Macintosh G5 included a proprietary port, the AirPort Extreme antenna port:

AirPort Extreme antenna port—Connect the AirPort Extreme antenna to this port if your Macintosh has an optional AirPort Extreme Card installed.”

This AirPort Extreme antenna port is unopened in its original packaging.

Source: Apple

30-pin Digital AV Adapter (unopened, 2012)

This adapter allows an iPad with the original 30-pin connector to be connected to an HDMI display and simultaneously charged. It is compatible with any iPad with a 30-pin connector, iPhone 4 (or later with a 30-pin connector), and iPod touch Generation 4 (or later with a 30-pin connector). Mirroring is supported only by iPad 2 (or later with a 30-pin connector) and iPhone 4s (or later with a 30-pin connector).

From my experience, the ability of an iPad to be mirrored on an HDMI screen is frequently misunderstood. Because an iPad screen is in the 4:3 aspect raitio, when it is mirrored on an HD display (16:9 aspect ratio or other wide format), some users are surprised that the entire external display is not “filled.” I have never been able to understand what the user is expecting—a ridiculously stretched version of the iPad display; a “zoomed” version of the iPad display with the top and bottom cut off; or that somehow the iPad will magically rearrange itself to fill a widescreen display, thus making it a completely new display and, therefore, not mirrored. Instead, the iPad works as expected and appears centered in the middle of a larger display with black bars on both sides (this is called “letterboxing”). If a user launches an app that uses the full screen, such as a presentation designed in HD format or an HD movie, the iPad fills the entire screen.

This 30-pin Digital AV Adapter is unopened in its original, somewhat beat up, packaging.

Microfiber Case for iPod

This iPod microfiber case shipped with one of the iPod models. The case is a microfiber-lined sleeve with stitched sides and the iPod logotype embossed on the top edge in the Myriad Apple font. The case measures 118×76 mm.